"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

Friday 9 September 2016

ASK AWAY

Anonymous  has left a new comment on your post "WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?": 

The town of Brampton has just laid off 25 "managers."

Who and what their roles were in the managerial hierarchy isn't clear. What is apparently clear is that the town will save $2 million a year. On a strictly mathematical basis that's $80,000 per head.

What could Aurora do along this line?

Can we ask? Can we find out?

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 8 September 2016 at 19:24

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Brampton's population was forecast for 2016 to be 756,000. It has been a city since 1974. The operating budget in 2016 was $ 607 million. 

Brampton is not a comparator with Aurora .

 Aurora is a fraction of the size and a large percentage of our urban area has been transferred from private to public ownership so potential for revenue shrinks even more. 

No good planning is involved and certainly no advantage to the municipality's economy. 

Our  population is a tenth of Brampton's  and the budget is about the same factor. 

The question can certainly be asked. Relevant answers are unlikely.

 A reduction of managers will not realise immediate savings to Brampton.

Redundant employees are entitled to severance packages. Rule  of thumb is a month's wages for each year of employment. Twenty-four years of employment would  mean two years salary. 

The  municipality would have the expense without return. 

Savings from space,furnishings, equipment for each employee  are not realized. The expenditure is not recoverable. 

Vacation time, sick time, maternity leave, statutory holidays, birthdays, compassionate leave, benefit and pension plans and mat leave replacement are ancillary cost. Maternity leave can be taken by
both parents.

2016 is the second of a four year term. Cutting payroll costs may look good in campaign literature.
With a budget like Brampton, it's meaningless.

Brampton had a 1.2% increase  in 2016/ 2018 tax period. 

According to news reports, Aurora is considering 4% in 2017. 




2 comments:

Anonymous said...


Possibly we should get better "managers" so that we don't have to spend so much on consultants, whose recommendations often end up in the trash basket.

Our council seems to spend too much time - time is money - on concepts that are impractical and/or expensive and/or both.

A shovel- ready university. Chicanery in the north-east quadrant to calm traffic. $100,000 for "sleeping policemen" on three town streets. Hillary - land. An excess park that is not in the plan. A nature reserve that will be banned to townspeople. The Yonge-Wellington left-turn brouhaha that is not even ours to decide. Cultural designated neighbourhoods.

Why-for art thou council?

Anonymous said...

From what I hear is that most of these 25 managers were long standing soldiers to the old mayor. What I don't understand is what took so long? Bradford needs a cleanup as well.