BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 20 October 2017 at 17:54 LISTEN TO ME CAREFULLY .. I SHALL SAY THIS MORE THAN ONCE"

Oh, we know. Boy, oh Boy we know.

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 20 October 2017 at 17:54

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No,No ...you don't know what you think you know. 

But you don't need to know what you don't want to know.

If you don't want to know, I'm not talking to you .

GO ....AWAY.

This space is mine . 

 I write about my experience.  If you don't want to share,you don't have to. You are welcome to leave. 

The full story of my brush with the law has waited to be told. ....absorbed ,understood , seen 

in a larger picture from broader experience.

 It means going back to the beginning .So be warned.

I've been publishing a blog for ten years. The act of writing always produces new insight. Details 

are assembled and the story takes shape , stone upon  stone. Quite often it takes a different 

direction from the one intended and discovers a different truth . 

I write  for readers who may,or may not, be there. For the story to be known in this place and 

hopefully ,because of it's familiarity, never happen again. I am the eternal

optimist. 

Legal action was an entirely new experience for me. In my long career in politics ,I had never felt  

the need nor had recourse to lawyers to fight my battles. What I learned could not have been learned without doing. 

During the process ,queries  from people who sought advice on  how or if to proceed could not be answered.

The years, the surprises,the let-downs, twists and turns were a labyrinth throughout and in 

the end , the end was difficult to comprehend and accept.

I smile now at my naïveté but without amusement. Fortunately, great  age has an advantage. 

Unpleasant surprises are minimal to nil.   

My trust in the justice system was never absolute but it rated higher than politics. 

I was wrong. 

If I do this right,  someone else may recognize the path and avoid the pitfalls. 

ROUND AND ROUND THE RUGGED ROCK, THE RAGGED RASCAL RAN ...AND RAN AND RAN

FAnonymous has left a new comment on your post "LISTEN TO ME CAREFULLY. ..I WILL SAY THIS MORE THA...": 
You failed to mention that the then mayor, having difficulty with your obedience to her, decided to go about getting your attention in a different way. She would bring in the big municipal legal gun George Rust D' Eye. Everyone would be in awe. He was probably given instruction to "shake down" the wayward councillor and get her to "step into line" and then bill the town accordingly. After all, cost was not an issue. 
A warning from the distinguished counsel would surely be enough. My memory goes a little vague here on the actual reason for the encounter but there he was face to face - the big legal gun with you in his sights about to drop the hammer.  
Poor Rusty couldn't get any traction. All his legal knowledge and reputation were of no use. He failed in the task. I suspect the then mayor was furious.  
Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 20 October 2017 

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The full story is worth re-calling. There may be a lesson to be learned. 

The Region offered to buy land from the town.They offered to pay the asking price. The site was needed for the new Police Headquarters. The land was on the market for sale. 

The offer and the plan were  good news for Aurora. 

Chairman Fisch and the Police Chief attended a closed council meeting on September 12th .to make the offer. The sale did not proceed

In November, a story to that effect appeared in The Auroran.

The Municipal Act requires public business to be conducted in public. 

Recommendations are reported from closed meetings to be ratified in public. 

The weeks passed after the offer was received. No report came to Council. I inquired of CAO Rogers. He acknowledged the Act but noted no time limit to report is cited within it. 

In my experience, nothing like it had happened before.

The Region's decision to locate the new headquarters in Aurora was apparently already known throughout the police community . 

In November,The Auroran published the story and the organic matter hit the fan,

Mr Rust D'Eye appeared at the Council ; apparently by invitation. 

The Mayor, opened the public meeting, declared an emergency and ushered Council into a closed meeting. 

The Municipal Act requires the purpose of a closed meeting to be disclosed  beforehand. I sought 

clarity. 

The Mayor said knowingly   "Ah no, Councillor Buck, you will not catch me with that"

 Before joining coiuncil  in the back room, she brought the lawyer around  and introduced him to me. 

Body language from the pair indicated I was expected to rise and be escorted from that place.  

Instead, I indicated the empty chair beside me and invited Mr. Rust  D'Eye to sit. The Mayor left 

him to carry out her instructions. 

His first question.. .. Had I retained legal counsel?

"Why would I do that?" I asked.

 He wasn't suggesting It, he responded. 

Then he talked about new ,more severe penalties in the Conflict of Interest Act and suggested my presence at the meeting would be a serious conflict of interest if I heard anything that might be of benefit in any legal action that might evolve from the meeting. 

The penny dropped. The Mayor did not want me at the meeting to hear what they planned . The lawyer was charged with advising me of stuff that would discourage me from attending .

it was at that point, I decided I would attend. 

I rose from my chair. "I am a member of Council " I informed him. "I have a right to attend the meeting" 

He trailed in behind me. It was satisfying to see the surprise on their faces. I had no allies in that Council at that time. 

Better than anyone in the room , The lawyer was aware ,Conflict of Interest Legislation requires

an elected official  to make the determination. Legal advice from the municipality is not available. 

When the Boroughs of Metro were amalgamated ,a redundancy of officials resulted in the GTA. 

Mr. Rust  D'Eye was one of hundreds cast adrift. 

His advice to Council that night was that the Code Of Ethics could not be enforced without an

Integrity Commissioner. 

Details or interpretation of a Provincial  Act is not a matter permitted to be discussed behind closed doors . 

I assumed Mr.Rust D'Eye was also aware of that particular. His bridled  when I sought to be reminded what position he formerly held within the Metro regime. 

The story had an ironic twist...or three.  The  Region's offer to purchase was not refused by the town. Land transfer was staff responsibility, specifically CAO John Rogers. 

The Mayor and Councillor MacEachern refused to authorize Mr Rogers conduct the negotiations. it was part of their campaign to humiliate him . Mayor assured me however the sale would not be 

Impeded. 

It appeared her intent was to handle the deal herself and win the credit. 

She would have received the credit anyway but it didn't work out that way. The Region made a different plan. 

Negotiations did not proceed as intended and there was no sale. Instead two floors for headquarters were added to a  police building already being designed in the same location. 

The story was  told in The Auroran. Hell hath no fury and without further council ado, 

Rust D'Eye was called in and  wheels set in motion in a different direction.

It wasn't the first unwarranted legal expenditure and as months passed ,it wouldn't be the last. 

Funds flowed freely from town coffers to settle invoices for legal services having nothing to do 

with town services. 

LISTEN TO ME CAREFULLY. ..I WILL SAY THIS MORE THAN ONCE

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "YOU ASKED....HAPPY TO OBLIGE": 

He well deserved it, long before the JOC disaster. The JOC was the final expensive straw that broke taxpayers backs. 

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 18 October 2017 at 20:45

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The commenter has not followed  the map I laid out .

Staff replacements were carefully selected during the Mormac term .

Prime criteria was not experience and judgement but to follow the Mayor's orders while appearing to provide professional advice to Council. With a consistent obedient majority of six ,they didn't have to try real hard.  

Service  to the community wasn't the objective , so much as servitude to the Mayor. Under those  circumstances, judgement and experience would have been a liability. 

 At one point,a new town affairs blog  received orders from the CAO, without Council authority,

 to remove an anonymous comment by a stated deadline and reveal the identity of the author. 

They removed the comment but could not provide the identity. 

Litigation was undertaken by the town against three local residents who apparently took turns as blog moderators.

In a closed meeting chaired by the Mayor, the town solicitor was instructed to proceed against the residents ,in the Mayor's name ,at town expense. 

The proceeding was found to be SLAPP action; meaning,  intended to silence public 

participation. In the written decision,the Judge deemed the town solicitor,who filed the complaint on behalf of the Mayor,was the only witness, had evaded answering questions and lied. 

The solicitor's employment was terminated by the new Council. 

He wasn't part of the Unholy Trinity appointed during the Twilight Zone but he was the only one sent

on his way immediately after. 

Legal invoices were being received  several years thereafter. 

The CAO continued in his capacity seven more years. The Chief Financial Officer still 

serves . 

Re-organization of  re-organizations was partially and severally repeated.Without input from Council

or notable improvement. 

Failed renovation of the Family Leisure Complex has been noted previously. That was prior to the last election. 

The Municipal Clerk's office was reduced in status and the office changed hands several times.

It's understood the Chief Building Official  is in charge of the Legal Dept and Municipal Clerk's office. 

Recently heard from my daughter Heather, a regular user of the pool at AFL. The facility was closed 

for weeks for cleaning and renewal. On re-opening ,half the liner was blue like new, the other half ,deep disgustingly, unclean green . Apparently enough funds were available to clean only half the liner. You

have to be in the pool to see the unbelievable stupidity.

Special Olympic Ducks, paying full rates for prime time,have had lanes taken from them to make

room for potential but not real, new clientele .if they appear, they will pay full rates; same  as the 

Ducks. 

Special Needs Olympic swimmers will not be travelling on public transit in the late hours.

I've been writing this blog since August 2007, provided insight not available elsewhere.

Much was never told because normally sensible policies were manipulated to suit the

twisted purposes.

With a change of Council ,some circumstances changed too many did not. If we can sort 

It out, we will. 

Please note the comment that Dawe and Abel were the financial ver sight committee for 

the Joint Operation Centre. 

 

POLITICS IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN PHYSICS...Albert Einstein.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB ...AURORA HAD A SCAPEGOAT": 

My thoughts:

"Aurora's taxpayers are victims in this story" is a kernel of truth we need to keep reminding ourselves as we ponder the next municipal election.

I guess the Mayor's chair is very comfortable at $150,000/yr. He may need a strong arm to push him out. I hope voters are staying informed and have a strong arm.
Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 18 October 2017 at 15:01

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The current Mayor was first ever elected in Aurora without prior experience or proven competence. The community did have the strong arm. Then they put it down again. . Unfortunately ,he proved disappointing.  

In the next election, he was challenged and re-elected. 

All he had going for him was that he wasn't Morris. 

Yet If he learned anything from anyone, his took lessons from his predecessor. 

His challenger in the second contest was in her camp and presented no option. 

Council has remained a non-entity with no role in town business . Mostly from choice and partly from ignorance. 

I shudder to re-call  the various battles in that first four years : 

3 trees that needed to be removed to make a house habitable. So anxious were they not to lose a single vote, no matter the evidence, the decision had to be wrested like a sword from a stone. There was never an attempt at leadership. 

A cell phone tower on Bathurst St. Councillors urged funding for a legal battle to compel Bell to remove a structure erected in King Township in accordance with all rules and regulations. Not even the solicitor could convince them the attempt was ludicrous. 

Hydro property giveaway and Queen's York Rangers got a lease extended from twenty to thirty years. 

All to foil federal plans. Fort York Armories  in Toronto closed.  But Aurora's taxpayers were saddled with the burden by their elected represented . Silly ass snobbery. 

Litigation compelled the forced sale of 6 acres from a developer for $2+ million and $3+million 

was spent to build a park where none was required. All to satisfy the neighbours who did not 

want the land developed. Councillor Able declared all undeveloped land should be acquired and parks created.

Growing assessment revenue is the business of the municipal corporation. 

Continued  hand-out of $1 million to fund programs and provide space  to a private corporate board to duplicate services already provided within the community.  Culture.

Half million handed to the federal government  for a contaminated drill shed taking up a corner of the town park for more than a hundred years. The town should have been paid to take it ,as is , off the governments hands .

The ongoing, shameful pandering was never kept secret. It was their stock in  trade. 

Whatever was needed to bring it to the attention of the taxpayers, I did.  

To what effect.

The lower the backward bend under the Limbo pole the higher the score in the ballot poll.

Accumulation of support for  pandering politicians will always carry slow pokes forward.The 

electorate shapes the mould. 

What some regard as shocking betrayal of trust,appalling absence of intestinal fortitude,complete lack of integrity and conspicuous  lack of common sense , is haughtily dismissed with insufferable condescension as  " a kernel of truth". 

By another chicken-shit candidate, I suspect. 

Lord....Give  me strength. Make me an instrument ....But not of your peace. 

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB ...AURORA HAD A SCAPEGOAT

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "YOU ASKED....HAPPY TO OBLIGE": 

The IES Director has already paid the price for the JOC as the sacrificial lamb. 

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 17 October 2017 at 17:15

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Mais non, mon ami ....

Aurora's taxpayers are victims in this story. 

Four years ago, salary grid for the position of IES director was within the range of $189,000. It's

likely more now. 

The CAO position was in the range of $200,000. He moved on to $260,000.

Complete with other benefits,averaging  $30,000. vacation around 6 weeks, plus time off for

 meetings attended, the financial impact of administration of town business is real and substantial

 even without the $26 million cost of the project so far spent.

Chief Financial Officer is within the same range as the others. 

Full - time Mayor  salary is  $150,000  or thereabouts , plus benefits. Vacation time is indeterminate and difficult to discern,from days of doing little that's discernible. 

If the pattern established by an earlier termination for cause, on advice from the CFO,was followed,

a month's salary was paid to the departing IES Director for every year of employment. 

Considering value not received for resources expended, sacrifice is definitely on the backs of  

residents. None of the directors referenced lived in the town. 

Aurora taxpayers are IT.

In recent years,three construction projects were completed within budget and on time; 

Seniors' Centre,Aurora Recreation Complex and Leslie Street Industrial Park Development .

All supervised by the longest serving member of the Administration, The Director of Leisure Services. 

In 2006/10, his authority for buildings and facilities was transferred to IES in a re-organisation recommended by the new CAO. The one who recently defected.  He came from the Region,where he served as  Manager of Database in the CAO's office. He wasn't in the Aurora job long enough to know how things were done  before sweeping changes were recommended to do them differently. 

I found no merit in the proposal. I suspected the origin. I voted against .

Not long after, the town's Parks Department was evicted from the Hydro Building to make way for Queen's York Rangers, to save them from extinction. A lease was recommended. 

I found the recommendation to be totally without merit and in fact contrary to town interest. I voted against. 

Mr Ballard ,not yet Councillor but a pstrong supporter of the former Mayor, had a special relationship  with QYR. He was appointed as a citizen member of the Economic Development Committee. 

Councillor Mac Eachern stepped aside to allow him to take the Chair. He took credit for the Promenade Study designed to revitalize the downtown,eventually incorporated in the Official Plan .

It's been seven years. Can't say I've noticed any spectacular results. 

There was one recommendation to budget to replace sidewalks with an ornamental surface and buy heritage street furniture for downtown in a million dollar figure. It was not approved. 

This story has many twists and turns. 

The Family Leisure Complex addition,was undertaken in the 2010 /14 term under supervision of 

IES Director. Completion was months beyond schedule. Cost was millions above budget. Work 

is still outstanding and the project  was a fraction of the JOC contract. 

The IES Director had a business administration degree from a Scottish Distance University. He had previously been a private contractor but came to Aurora directly from York Region's Water Department.

The Public Works Director was an early departure  after Mormac took office.The exodus that followed was fairly steady.The Town had difficulty attracting candidates thereafter. 

One vacancy had 3 candidates.Two had no credentials and even less idea of what the job was about. 

Every vacancy attracts applications like that. But this one only had one with credentials and two without. It was the Municipal Clerk post. 

Although the Municipal Act requires a competition be held for Municipal Treasurer, it didn't happen.

The former CFO gave 3 months notice. Weeks went by, no action. Eventually ,Council was 

informed, behind closed doors, of interim appointment of a candidate of the CAO's choosing. 

The decision wasn't his to make and if truth were told he probably didn't. 

The Chief Financial Officer of a municipality is appointed by Council Bylaw. 

The interim appointment was later confirmed . It was learned the job had been offered 

over a coffee in a doughnut shop. The CFO had worked for Richmond Hill for twelve years. 

The municipality went to a commission system a year before and he had been employed by a consultant since. 

When responsibility for supervising the JOC contract was assigned, failures in the previous project were already known to Council. It was not their first experience. 

But the majority decided to proceed in all haste. It was election year. They had to be seen to be getting things done. 

Disaster was a long time coming ,easily foreseen and only more visible than many others.

Our Town was consistently  ill -served. 

There can be no shifting of responsibility . 

Councils elected to provide oversight and ensure competence and financial efficiency...have not done 

their job. . ..the list is endless. 

One vote makes little difference. 

It can easily be disregarded, dismissed and disrespected. 

YOU ASKED....HAPPY TO OBLIGE

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "THE NATURE OF 

To change the subject to something more local,the JOC has been on my mind. What could have gone wrong? Seems it is now realized it was a very difficult piece of land. Did anyone know about this at the time? External auditors on the taxpayers' dime might be needed to figure it out.

I would love for you to refresh our memory here and perhaps in a letter to the editor on your advice at the Council table when the project was proposed.

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 15 October 2017 at 14:50

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The first half of this comment was rejected. Truth has to be twisted like a pretzel for such a statement

to be made.

I will not repeat it. 

The town's joint operation centre never had my support. Best use was not being made of existing facilities.

I had no confidence in recommendations from staff. It was not the professional advice expected. 

There was an exodus of senior staff at the beginning of the 2007/10  term. 

Under -qualified replacements  were made with the understanding the Mayor was in charge. 

Advice Council received would be what she perceived to be to her political advantage. 

Five Councillors consistently provided the support. Councillor Grace Marsh resigned and 

then there were six.

 Staff continued to be replaced . 

The first sell- out of town interest was  the former hydro property being  handed over to Queen's York Rangers to extend their existence. 

There were administrative offices, a garage /workshop, 5 acres of  electric-fenced storage yard 

and parking lot with landscaped frontage. 

Two lawful options existed; for the property to be sold, realizing the financial asset,obtain an industry, earn assessment revenue and replace the twenty-seven jobs lost when the utility was sold. 

 Municipal Act regulations govern disposal of surplus property. Leasing  to QYR forfeited the asset,  revenue and jobs. As landlord , the town is responsible for upkeep and receives no grants in lieu from the federal government. Adding insult to injury, the town paid the federal government half a million dollars for the drill shed that occupied a corner of the town park since the days of Queen Victoria.

Several hundred thousand was spent on the hydro building to suit QYR needs. 

The Municipal Act requires surplus property to be publicly declared. Invitation to tender to an advertised competition.

The second option, was already in place. The parks department had moved in. The yard was being used for storage, parks furniture was being built in the workshop and town archives were being stored 

In the office building. 

Either the sale or parks' use would have served the town's interest well. Instead parks was evicted

to make way for QYR. 

A newly elected Council could have changed that. Instead, the lease with QYR  was extended to thirty years.

The existing works yard was badly organized. Waste materials were hoarded. Heritage salvage was transferred from the Hydro property. Contractors used space for storing vehicles and equipment. I understood access to vehicle maintenance department was also available.  

A particular service contract, plastic lining  of pipes to prevent water loss, was re-signed annually

without tenders. Even after it was learned Newmarket was getting a better price.  Average of a million dollars is spent annually on the process. All of their equipment is kept at the town yard at no expense to the contractor. 

I asked once when the work would end and was cockily informed ,probably never. When it finished  

it would start all over again. I never saw the logic .

 

Original estimates for the JOC was $13 million ,moving to $18 million and again to $26 million.

 

Initial estimates  must have been meaningless. And that  raises the question of accuracy of specifications. The awarded contract,we now know, was not met. 

 

An audit might show is how much more will be needed  to complete the project as originally 

designed. 

Under the circumstances ,there can be no confidence in the design either.   

Had Councillor Ballard not vacated his seat,the project would not have proceeded. His replacement provided the vote to carry it forward. 

 Mayor Dawe is adamant, "micro-management" of decision-making  will not be permitted. 

So.....neither  Council nor Mayor has a meaningful function.there is no Council control. 

The youth facility addition to the Family Leisure Centre was a disastrous failure. 

As a result , a committee of the Mayor, Councillors Abel and Thompson were appointed to oversee the JOC project. 

The end result of the second was not an improvement. 

There's enough blame to go around. But two main protagonists have already flown the coop. 

The ravine site was  always a bad choice. On a dangerous curve of the Industrial Parkway, a road had to be built to circle the property for  access and egress for an operation composed entirely of trucks and equipment. 

I did not support the project going forward. I urged Council to step back and take a closer look.

The decision was a one vote majority. 

My opposition was noted as negative. A  frequent vote of eight to one was evidence of my failure 

to comprehend.

In Hollywood ,I could never hope to win an Oscar or have a Star on the Walk of Fame. 

In Aurora, my parting gift was a pad of lined copy paper with a plastic cover.... in a gift bag ...with a bow ...from the dollar store.