"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

Tuesday 26 April 2016

A SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "GUEST POST": 

Maybe we could adopt the Admiralty Flag too. 
It is all huff & puff. The OMB is not going to change itself. But I do think that Mr B might be vulnerable if the conservatives can get their act together. 
Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 26 April 2016 at 11:02

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The OMB did not create itself. It will not transition itself either. Just because Councillors  and a bunch of nimbies think it should. 

The Board was created after municipalities were organised. Because a job needing to be done was not being done properly. 

Every  time Tom gleefully announces another town has endorsed the Aurora's resolution, the full scope of abysmal ignorance of the history of government in Ontario is displayed. 
 
Before settlement, transit was by waterways. Mrs. Simcoe wrote a diary. 

Then trees were cut down,logs trimmed and laid side by side to form corduroy roads. They still exist under original  arteries . Currency was British Sterling.

Post offices  followed roads  and were placed at intersections for widest  convenience. 

Settlements grew around them.  Aurora is  typical. Councils were created to manage local services.
Mostly roads. 

In the early days government was by trial and error. Councils were dominated by local business .  

They were responsible for education. 

Of typical colonial mind-set, children of the well-to-do were sent to boarding schools in "the old country" . 

Councillors were not keen on educating the children of factory workers. 

Boards of Education were created. Responsibility for funding remained with the Council. 

During the depression, some  Councils borrowed to fund their operations , then declared bankruptcy to escape paying the bills.  

The OMB was created with authority and for the purpose of controlling municipal debt and stop bankruptcies. 

A hundred years went by, regions replaced counties and  borrowing authority was transferred to  Regions. Huh!

Planning Boards were separate from Councils because politicians could not be trusted to make sensible  planning decisions. Politicians whined about non-elected bodies making decisions and municipalities having to foot the bill .

Responsibility for Property assessments had to be  taken from them as well.

When Regions were created,the  municipal councils became the planning board .A Planning Act was passed and implemented with regulations. 

In Aurora, decisions that might cost votes were avoided and a  petition is now  circulating to deprive a class of property owners the right to appeal .

A million dollar price tab liability is due to land on the town's doorstep. 

 The simple solution is to prohibit the  right to appeal and btw, stop building , making  a living for themselves and a few thousand tradesmen and sustain the provincial economy. 

The solution is simple alright but simplistic is better. 

It has a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding. 

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

NEWSFLASH: Local history buff admits liking to "grandstand."

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Evelyn. And I believe that everyone trying to fight this believes you as well. The question is why are they trying? Is it just a big political performance?

Anonymous said...

So, Garbe has poached the Town Clerk for Richmond Hill. Cue another executive search.

Anonymous said...

Yes about how terrific our history is.
Too bad the society does not get it.

Anonymous said...

Saw an interesting display late yesterday afternoon at the postal outlet in the Aurora Shopping Centre.

Former councillor Al Wilson came in and rummaged through the boxes of Income Tax booklets. All of the forms were gone. He rolled his eyes (like he used to do), mumbled under his breathe and scurried away.

Anonymous said...

Did he then attack a marketeer?

Anonymous said...

Who is Al Wilson ? He must have passed under my radar. Maybe part of Morris' brief tenure ?

Anonymous said...

Yes, 07:01, it's all about 'hey, look at me' self-promotion.

Anonymous said...

What is wrong with self promotion?
It is in every field, and community.
Get over it 11:24.

Anonymous said...

Another staff gone to another municipality....wow we must suck.

Anonymous said...

Just because something is prevalent doesn't make it a virtue, 11:43. Tell me, what is good about narcissism?

Anonymous said...

Yes, 11:01, he used to carry her handbag.

Anonymous said...

Every one of them used to carry it. It was explained that she had to be able to shakes hands.
Wonder how that's working out for her now.

Anonymous said...

Who cares, 14:05? All that's important, is that we've washed our hands of her.

Anonymous said...

Al Wilson was what I referred to as the drama queen of council. He would sit forward in his chair, hit the microphone button and say his piece. Then he would turn off the mic and with a flick of the wrist, fling the mic up out of the way and them roll his eyes to the camera and sit back in his chair with arms crossed.

Anonymous said...

She's still around. Along with the other characters.

Anonymous said...

He loved his performances.

Anonymous said...

13:14
The fact you think you can diagnose others, is a sickness in itself.

Anonymous said...

Al Wilson should also be remembered for his election signs that included "Tax Fighter" and "Crime Fighter". I guess its safe to assume he did not keep his election promises. What a surprise.

Anonymous said...

Ah, I remember him now. The one who didn't like the train whistles.