"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Thursday 23 June 2011

About Rogers' Cameras

I'm not sure if it was  cameras or the truck on the blink on Tuesday.

But here's the thing;in the third year of the last term, Rogers asked  for permission to install cameras in the council chamber.

They would provide a better image. They wouldn't need to be transported and installed every other week.  They would need only one technologist. He would be in a back room.

All they asked was an agreement that if the town wanted to sever the arrangement, Rogers  would be allowed to remove their equipment.  It's very expensive.

It was one of those items discussed behind closed doors for no good reason.

The discussion  though was dumber than dumb.  Dumber than the norm of dumb for a  meeting of the last council. The same level of dumb we still have with us.

The  question was  whether or not Rogers should pay  for the privilege of installing expensive cameras in our council chamber to allow the community the privilege of watching their  regal council at work.

Why should they be allowed to do it for nothing? It probably makes money for them.

They never were allowed.  

The  matter never came back to us for a decision. Like it had fallen off the planet. Stuff like that often happened in the last council....fell off the planet,I mean..

The community  never knew the offer had been  made.

The election came and went.

Rogers offer was one of the first things I raised in the new council.

Let's take Rogers up on their offer, I said, in a few dozen words.

I think cameras in the council chamber are great. Some politicians are not so comfortable. There were  frequent dark allusions to "playing to the cameras"

When I raised it  early in the term, we were told it was underway. That's months ago. On Tuesday, the council meeting was not televised. People are  annoyed.  I am annoyed.

When I came to the town hall and the truck wasn't there, I thought "Oh good. Maybe Rogers new cameras have been installed "

But no! No such luck. There had been  a technological glitch.

It's not Rogers fault we're still using horse and buggy techniques.

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