I was home last night in time for Becker and David Letterman. I was so glad to see the conflicted New York City, store front doctor and his zany friends. They certainly help to put things into perspective
Aurora's General Committee meeting started at 7p.m. Ended an hour later. Then the real fun began. It was the fourth session on the same issue. That's how long it took for the Mormac twins to get the decision they wanted.
You won't know about it for another two weeks. The Mayor wants to "see what happens" in the meantime.
Things are definitely becoming frayed to the point of frenzy around the edges.
Considerable time was spent discussing my blogs and confidentiality.They were not items on the agenda.
There were two lawyers on hand. They didn't talk about blogs.
The Procedural Bylaw and Code Of Conduct were referenced.
Well, you should have seen the conduct. Not much there to commend the Code.
If I ever had any illusion that code was intended as an instrument for good, I would certainly have lost it last night.
I snapped after about ninety minutes and said a bad word.
If I were still at the Age of Reason, I would certainly have a sin to confess.
But not a crime.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
TO MARKET!!!!!!!!!!!!! TO MARKET
Aurora Farmers' Market starts on Saturday at the Town Park at 8 a.m. on Wells Street.
Vendors have made their permit applications and paid their fees. There's a bottleneck . As of today, permits are not yet issued.
There has been no advertising because the Mayor's favourite volunteer quit.
Councillor Stephen Granger, the Mayor's Council Liaison Appointee has also terminated his connection.
For the moment, The Farmers' Market is at sixes and sevens.
But never fear. They will rally and be better than ever this year.
All the better for being independent.
Starting Saturday, a favourite summer ritual will commence again at 8 a.m. on Wells Street. in front of the beautiful old school building, at the Town Park in Aurora.
Come One!!!!!!! Come All!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy a piece of the past and The Select Purveyors of the Aurora Farmer's Market
By Appointment to the Good People of Aurora
All other Aurora blogs please copy
Vendors have made their permit applications and paid their fees. There's a bottleneck . As of today, permits are not yet issued.
There has been no advertising because the Mayor's favourite volunteer quit.
Councillor Stephen Granger, the Mayor's Council Liaison Appointee has also terminated his connection.
For the moment, The Farmers' Market is at sixes and sevens.
But never fear. They will rally and be better than ever this year.
All the better for being independent.
Starting Saturday, a favourite summer ritual will commence again at 8 a.m. on Wells Street. in front of the beautiful old school building, at the Town Park in Aurora.
Come One!!!!!!! Come All!!!!!!!!!
Enjoy a piece of the past and The Select Purveyors of the Aurora Farmer's Market
By Appointment to the Good People of Aurora
All other Aurora blogs please copy
I Digressed
An alternate term for Breach of Confidentiality, is Breach of Trust.
It's a Criminal Offense. Charges can be laid under the Criminal Code of Canada.
A charge is not a conviction. A judge makes that determination after listening to legal arguments.
But first, a determination has to be made by the appropriate official about intent and impact and the merits of laying a charge.
I do not claim proficiency in law. I have the same sense of logic and fairness as any other citizen. In addition,I have experience acquired over many years as an elected official.
I am as capable as any of determining public interest.
It is as follows;
In matters of litigation, the town takes legal advice. From time to time,Council must give authority for certain steps to be taken. Councillors must be informed. Conveying such information to a party litigating against the town is a Breach of Public Trust.
It might be inadvertence.
It might be mischief.
It might be information traded in consideration of financial exchange.That's the baddy
Whatever the reason, if the town's interest is compromised, a person could be found to be in Breach of Trust.
********************************************
Two other aspects of town business qualify for confidentiality.
The first is individual right to privacy .
The second, labour negotiations.
Bargaining in good faith is required by law.
If Council gave authority to an hourly rate increase between two figures and a Councillor conveyed the figures to a union representative, the municipality's interest would be compromised.
That would be a Breach of Trust.
*************************************
In the matter of individual right to privacy:
If an employee is terminated and decides to sue for unfair dismissal. The issue of course becomes the subject of litigation.
A Councillor may become possessed of particular details.
Under Rights to Privacy and because of litigation or potential litigation, the municipal interest may be doubly compromised by public release of details detrimental to the employee
or conversely, detrimental to the interest of the municipality.
That would be a Breach of Trust.
****************************************
There's nothing complicated about the principles.
Most people, in their daily lives, have to make decisions about their own , their family or their business interest. As citizens of a society long governed by law, we have an intuition about what is right and just. Common Law is based on exactly that.
What we have to look out for in municipal politics are decisions made behind closed doors that do not belong there
A closed door session used improperly for the purpose of suppressing the public decision-making process, I think, is a Breach of Public Trust as surely as all the rest.
It's a Criminal Offense. Charges can be laid under the Criminal Code of Canada.
A charge is not a conviction. A judge makes that determination after listening to legal arguments.
But first, a determination has to be made by the appropriate official about intent and impact and the merits of laying a charge.
I do not claim proficiency in law. I have the same sense of logic and fairness as any other citizen. In addition,I have experience acquired over many years as an elected official.
I am as capable as any of determining public interest.
It is as follows;
In matters of litigation, the town takes legal advice. From time to time,Council must give authority for certain steps to be taken. Councillors must be informed. Conveying such information to a party litigating against the town is a Breach of Public Trust.
It might be inadvertence.
It might be mischief.
It might be information traded in consideration of financial exchange.That's the baddy
Whatever the reason, if the town's interest is compromised, a person could be found to be in Breach of Trust.
********************************************
Two other aspects of town business qualify for confidentiality.
The first is individual right to privacy .
The second, labour negotiations.
Bargaining in good faith is required by law.
If Council gave authority to an hourly rate increase between two figures and a Councillor conveyed the figures to a union representative, the municipality's interest would be compromised.
That would be a Breach of Trust.
*************************************
In the matter of individual right to privacy:
If an employee is terminated and decides to sue for unfair dismissal. The issue of course becomes the subject of litigation.
A Councillor may become possessed of particular details.
Under Rights to Privacy and because of litigation or potential litigation, the municipal interest may be doubly compromised by public release of details detrimental to the employee
or conversely, detrimental to the interest of the municipality.
That would be a Breach of Trust.
****************************************
There's nothing complicated about the principles.
Most people, in their daily lives, have to make decisions about their own , their family or their business interest. As citizens of a society long governed by law, we have an intuition about what is right and just. Common Law is based on exactly that.
What we have to look out for in municipal politics are decisions made behind closed doors that do not belong there
A closed door session used improperly for the purpose of suppressing the public decision-making process, I think, is a Breach of Public Trust as surely as all the rest.
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
More About Water Rates
Yesterday's post was rough at the edges. More needs to be told. Few around when the Region was created, are still here to tell the tale.
Before Region, we had our own wells .Numbers of them . Water used by town departments was minimal.
The Town Hall was an old bank building on Yonge Street. We had less than a half -dozen people on staff there.
One toilet upstairs and one down served the needs.
The works department was a couple of battered and rusty old quanset huts on Wellington Street. There would be a toilet or two in there and I'm pretty sure, a shower of sorts.
We had one community centre with maybe three full-time staff and a bunch of rink rats.
There were probably more toilets and showers there than anywhere. They weren't much used on weekdays.
We had a traffic court in the auditorium ,with a magistrate,cops and various other miscreants from ten to four during the week.
We had the Firehall. They had a room at the back which, I discovered years later, was a bit of a watering hole for various people in the know. The Fire Chief was the only full-time person on the payroll.
Water was ours. We found it. We pumped it. We treated it. We created reservoirs. We distributed it.
The flat rate was so low, it hardly seemed worth sending out bills every three months. So they went out with hydro bills. We owned that too.
Revenue paid all costs and provided a stash to fund whatever small projects came along. Like an extra bay on the firehall. Money was borrowed from the reserve and paid back with interest.
Things were so beautifully simple. We only had three parks.I don't know if even schools were billed for water use. We owned them too. When students and staff were using facilities in the schools ,they weren't using them at home.
In those days, people who worked for the town, lived in the town.
When the region was created things didn't change right away. Ownership of wells was
transferred, But they were still the same wells and the same people using the water. We still had a flat rate user fee though it increased substantially.
When the new firehall was built, a weir was built on the creek to allow that water to be used for fire practice. I don't know if they're still doing that. We have a joint fire service with Newmarket. I mentioned it at fire committee last week but didn't get a straight answer.
But since then, My Goodness, how things have changed.
We have swimming pools. Numbers of them.
A summer ice facility at the Aurora Leisure Complex uses hundreds of thousands of litres of water daily for the cooling system. In the beginning, there was tin roof and the system worked overtime to accomplish its function. Then the roof was insulated. It still uses horrendous amounts of water, which still clean, is dumped into the sewer system and we pay for it to be treated as sewage.
We have a splash pad in the town park. I don't know if anyone knows the water consumption for that facility.But it certainly is substantial and more than before.
We have miles more streets to be washed. Hydrants to flush to keep pipes clean and clear. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of vehicles to be washed. Toilets flushing constantly in town facilities all over . The Mayor's office suite has a beautiful washroom facility complete with shower.
When I was Mayor, I had a room in the old town hall. A previous Mayor had rousted out a desk from storage and brought in an old carpet from the Queen's Hotel, his home on the north east corner of Yonge and Wellington.
I had to vacate every time the Clerk-Administrator needed it for a private meeting.
The Clerk's office had room for a desk ,two chairs and a filing cabinet .Some days you'd be hard-pressed to find him behind the stacks of papers on his desk.
It was within feet of Yonge Street and the papers would have a film of dust and black sooty specks . The stack on the file cabinets reached almost to the ceiling.
Preparing for an election, every year and then every two, battered metal ballot boxes would be scattered around . We literally had to climb over them to get around .
It was the norm. Nobody noticed the inconvenience.
Anyway, I know some town buildings are currently metered.
The question is, does the town bill itself for water used in tax-supported facilities and services? Or do we continue the practice of years ago.....when wells were ours.... flat rate charged to consumers was minimal ....and water used by the town was infinitesimal...and wasn't worth measuring?
Do we take the Region's charge for total consumption of water and simply calculate from that rates sufficient to foot the region's bill ?
That is not honest. People believe they are paying only for the water they use.They are encouraged to conserve.
When I asked the question, the answer was fuzzy. Like.... "there's an averaging factor".
Well I'm not sure that's good enough. I don't re-call any debate to signal a change. I would have noticed that.
There has to be a reason, besides size and population, why Richmond Hill's rate is hundreds of dollars a year less than our own.
When the answer is forthcoming, I will pass it on.
I just thought of something weird. I am asking questions I have never heard asked before.
I know how things were. I don't know for sure how they are.
Did the process for calculating water rates change with steadily increasing use of water by town departments ?
Or was it just not thought about?
Is the use still so insignificant it doesn't need to be thought about?
Does town staff have responsibility only to ensure sufficient funds are collected in water rates to pay the bill?
As they do in tax rates
Or when they state, water rates are not tax supported... are they not also obliged to ensure water rates do not subsidise tax rates?
Is it Council's responsibility, in a year when water rates increased by 12%, to look closer and make sure people are being fairly charged?
I think the questions are reasonable. I am one of nine. Why am I the only one interested in the
answers?
Before Region, we had our own wells .Numbers of them . Water used by town departments was minimal.
The Town Hall was an old bank building on Yonge Street. We had less than a half -dozen people on staff there.
One toilet upstairs and one down served the needs.
The works department was a couple of battered and rusty old quanset huts on Wellington Street. There would be a toilet or two in there and I'm pretty sure, a shower of sorts.
We had one community centre with maybe three full-time staff and a bunch of rink rats.
There were probably more toilets and showers there than anywhere. They weren't much used on weekdays.
We had a traffic court in the auditorium ,with a magistrate,cops and various other miscreants from ten to four during the week.
We had the Firehall. They had a room at the back which, I discovered years later, was a bit of a watering hole for various people in the know. The Fire Chief was the only full-time person on the payroll.
Water was ours. We found it. We pumped it. We treated it. We created reservoirs. We distributed it.
The flat rate was so low, it hardly seemed worth sending out bills every three months. So they went out with hydro bills. We owned that too.
Revenue paid all costs and provided a stash to fund whatever small projects came along. Like an extra bay on the firehall. Money was borrowed from the reserve and paid back with interest.
Things were so beautifully simple. We only had three parks.I don't know if even schools were billed for water use. We owned them too. When students and staff were using facilities in the schools ,they weren't using them at home.
In those days, people who worked for the town, lived in the town.
When the region was created things didn't change right away. Ownership of wells was
transferred, But they were still the same wells and the same people using the water. We still had a flat rate user fee though it increased substantially.
When the new firehall was built, a weir was built on the creek to allow that water to be used for fire practice. I don't know if they're still doing that. We have a joint fire service with Newmarket. I mentioned it at fire committee last week but didn't get a straight answer.
But since then, My Goodness, how things have changed.
We have swimming pools. Numbers of them.
A summer ice facility at the Aurora Leisure Complex uses hundreds of thousands of litres of water daily for the cooling system. In the beginning, there was tin roof and the system worked overtime to accomplish its function. Then the roof was insulated. It still uses horrendous amounts of water, which still clean, is dumped into the sewer system and we pay for it to be treated as sewage.
We have a splash pad in the town park. I don't know if anyone knows the water consumption for that facility.But it certainly is substantial and more than before.
We have miles more streets to be washed. Hydrants to flush to keep pipes clean and clear. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of vehicles to be washed. Toilets flushing constantly in town facilities all over . The Mayor's office suite has a beautiful washroom facility complete with shower.
When I was Mayor, I had a room in the old town hall. A previous Mayor had rousted out a desk from storage and brought in an old carpet from the Queen's Hotel, his home on the north east corner of Yonge and Wellington.
I had to vacate every time the Clerk-Administrator needed it for a private meeting.
The Clerk's office had room for a desk ,two chairs and a filing cabinet .Some days you'd be hard-pressed to find him behind the stacks of papers on his desk.
It was within feet of Yonge Street and the papers would have a film of dust and black sooty specks . The stack on the file cabinets reached almost to the ceiling.
Preparing for an election, every year and then every two, battered metal ballot boxes would be scattered around . We literally had to climb over them to get around .
It was the norm. Nobody noticed the inconvenience.
Anyway, I know some town buildings are currently metered.
The question is, does the town bill itself for water used in tax-supported facilities and services? Or do we continue the practice of years ago.....when wells were ours.... flat rate charged to consumers was minimal ....and water used by the town was infinitesimal...and wasn't worth measuring?
Do we take the Region's charge for total consumption of water and simply calculate from that rates sufficient to foot the region's bill ?
That is not honest. People believe they are paying only for the water they use.They are encouraged to conserve.
When I asked the question, the answer was fuzzy. Like.... "there's an averaging factor".
Well I'm not sure that's good enough. I don't re-call any debate to signal a change. I would have noticed that.
There has to be a reason, besides size and population, why Richmond Hill's rate is hundreds of dollars a year less than our own.
When the answer is forthcoming, I will pass it on.
I just thought of something weird. I am asking questions I have never heard asked before.
I know how things were. I don't know for sure how they are.
Did the process for calculating water rates change with steadily increasing use of water by town departments ?
Or was it just not thought about?
Is the use still so insignificant it doesn't need to be thought about?
Does town staff have responsibility only to ensure sufficient funds are collected in water rates to pay the bill?
As they do in tax rates
Or when they state, water rates are not tax supported... are they not also obliged to ensure water rates do not subsidise tax rates?
Is it Council's responsibility, in a year when water rates increased by 12%, to look closer and make sure people are being fairly charged?
I think the questions are reasonable. I am one of nine. Why am I the only one interested in the
answers?
Monday, 3 May 2010
Bafflegab and Water Rates
To coin the crude and the vernacular, I think we're being screwed on water rates.
I don't have proof positive yet but I'm working on it.
Your next water bill will reflect a 12% increase.
I don't think that's right.
You need to know what I know.
First,York Region is responsible for the supply of water.They sell it to us at a wholesale price.
I'm not challenging their calculations. Not yet.
Second, water is taken from the ground. . It's not like coal,oil,.copper,diamonds or gold. We take what we need.We use it. We treat it. We return it to its source.
Water is pumped from the deep dark recesses of the ground. It's stored,treated and distributed . Water doesn't cost money. All that other stuff does.
Before meters, a flat rate was charged to every household for water. It came out with the hydro bill. I don't think it ever went much beyond $9.95 every quarter.
As little as it was, we were able to pump, store,treat and distribute fresh.cold.spring water,
to homes in Aurora, pay whatever it cost and still grow a water reserve account.
When I was Chair of the Fire Committee, we had to build an extra bay on the fire station. I think it cost $18.thousand dollars. We borrowed it from the Water Reserve Account.
It was the only reserve we had.
Sewage treatment was on the general levy.
Water meters were installed for the purpose of charging for sewage treatment.
Now the bill also includes the cost to collect rain from roofs and roads in new subdivision and to store it in ponds, for God's sake.
It's a far cry from the cost of water.
Not all water we use goes into the sanitary sewers. But we pay a sewage rate for it just the same.
Water used in the garden, car-washing, topping up the pool,or any other outdoor purpose goes through the water meter and gets charged as a sewer rate.
The Chief Financial Officer told us last week , the region allows for that in the calculation of rates.
I do not recall ever seeing an explanation in the water bill to that effect.
I am not able to accept it.
And that's not all I am unable to accept.
*******************************************
A presentation by the Treasurer was made in Council last Tuesday to explain the double digit increase in the water bill.
It started with the premise, water is not a tax supported service. .
We all know that.
For accurate application of the principle however , the user pays only for water used by the user.
*****************************************************************
First, the Region has increased water rates by ten per cent. That is not within our control.
Second, all regional municipalities pay the same for water.
Not all charge the same rate to consumers.
Why is our rate different to Richmond Hill's rate?
Why is our rate the same as the Town of Newmarket
*********************************************************
Last Tuesday, I attended a joint Fire Services Committee. An Officer referred to water and a Regional agreement.
I seized the opportunity to ask if water used by the fire department is billed to the fire department.
My thought was, water is not tax supported and that is an accepted principle.
But fire protection is tax supported.
Is the cost of water used by the fire department shown in the cost of providing that service or is it somehow folded in to water rates not supported by taxes but charged to consumers?
We have a new fire chief. Newmarket's CAO was at the table. The Deputy Chief ,who prepares the budget was there. And Newmarket Treasurer.
It was established most fires are extinguished with water from the tanker. The tanker is filled at the station. The station is metered.
It was not established that the cost of water used is reflected in the department's budget.We heard from several at the table.
The Treasurer did not volunteer any information.
******************************************
In his presentation to Council that evening, Aurora Treasurer explained that for better accounting he and the Public Works Director had, during their budget preparation, removed $250 thousand, expenditure normally charged against a capital reserve account for maintenance of a capital asset and transferred it to user water rates.
That was before the year end. I do not remember that item being pin-pointed.That's what happens when a change is made.
It decreased the tax rate and five months later, it contributed to a double digit increase in water rates.
In conjunction with public works director, it was also decided to increase estimated "water loss" from 8% to 12%.
"Water loss" they claim, is from "seepage" in the system. Water used in fire practice was mentioned.
The Treasurer explained Provincial requirements for water treatment have increased since Walkerton and that contributed to the increased cost of water .
Walkerton happened ten yeasr ago. . I know bafflegab when I hear it. God knows I've heard enough of it.
When meters were introduced the figure for "water loss" was 4%,I think. Since then, many miles of new waterlines have been installed ,old lines have been re-placed and others re-lined.
That's not a reason for an increase in " water loss" If anything it should accomplish the opposite.
The question about various tax supported services , such as fire department, works department, parks department, town hall, reflecting water consumption in their budgets was answered in the affirmative.
Yet I have no recollection of ever seeing water as a budget item reflected in any department's budget.
We also heard that water revenue decreased last year. It was a wet summer. Consumption was down. A deficit in revenue was likely but not mentioned as the need to increase water rates this year.
********************************************************
I voted against the water rate increase. Just me, myself,alone. Again.
I don't believe the year the region increased the water rate by ten per cent is the year to change book-keeping in a capital reserve account for maintenance of a capital asset to be added to an increase in non tax supported water rates
I don't believe it is the year to increase the estimate of "water loss"
Which I suspect is a misnomer.
I believe the budget item number to prove water use is reflected in the budgets of tax supported services should have been produced immediately the question was asked,to support the statement they are in fact included .
I do not accept justification to charge consumers in Aurora, several hundred dollars more for water than consumers in Richmond Hill, which municipality pays exactly the same for water as we do.
As a representative of the consumer in Aurora, I think we are being royally screwed in the matter of water rates.
I will be happy to be proven wrong.
I don't have proof positive yet but I'm working on it.
Your next water bill will reflect a 12% increase.
I don't think that's right.
You need to know what I know.
First,York Region is responsible for the supply of water.They sell it to us at a wholesale price.
I'm not challenging their calculations. Not yet.
Second, water is taken from the ground. . It's not like coal,oil,.copper,diamonds or gold. We take what we need.We use it. We treat it. We return it to its source.
Water is pumped from the deep dark recesses of the ground. It's stored,treated and distributed . Water doesn't cost money. All that other stuff does.
Before meters, a flat rate was charged to every household for water. It came out with the hydro bill. I don't think it ever went much beyond $9.95 every quarter.
As little as it was, we were able to pump, store,treat and distribute fresh.cold.spring water,
to homes in Aurora, pay whatever it cost and still grow a water reserve account.
When I was Chair of the Fire Committee, we had to build an extra bay on the fire station. I think it cost $18.thousand dollars. We borrowed it from the Water Reserve Account.
It was the only reserve we had.
Sewage treatment was on the general levy.
Water meters were installed for the purpose of charging for sewage treatment.
Now the bill also includes the cost to collect rain from roofs and roads in new subdivision and to store it in ponds, for God's sake.
It's a far cry from the cost of water.
Not all water we use goes into the sanitary sewers. But we pay a sewage rate for it just the same.
Water used in the garden, car-washing, topping up the pool,or any other outdoor purpose goes through the water meter and gets charged as a sewer rate.
The Chief Financial Officer told us last week , the region allows for that in the calculation of rates.
I do not recall ever seeing an explanation in the water bill to that effect.
I am not able to accept it.
And that's not all I am unable to accept.
*******************************************
A presentation by the Treasurer was made in Council last Tuesday to explain the double digit increase in the water bill.
It started with the premise, water is not a tax supported service. .
We all know that.
For accurate application of the principle however , the user pays only for water used by the user.
*****************************************************************
First, the Region has increased water rates by ten per cent. That is not within our control.
Second, all regional municipalities pay the same for water.
Not all charge the same rate to consumers.
Why is our rate different to Richmond Hill's rate?
Why is our rate the same as the Town of Newmarket
*********************************************************
Last Tuesday, I attended a joint Fire Services Committee. An Officer referred to water and a Regional agreement.
I seized the opportunity to ask if water used by the fire department is billed to the fire department.
My thought was, water is not tax supported and that is an accepted principle.
But fire protection is tax supported.
Is the cost of water used by the fire department shown in the cost of providing that service or is it somehow folded in to water rates not supported by taxes but charged to consumers?
We have a new fire chief. Newmarket's CAO was at the table. The Deputy Chief ,who prepares the budget was there. And Newmarket Treasurer.
It was established most fires are extinguished with water from the tanker. The tanker is filled at the station. The station is metered.
It was not established that the cost of water used is reflected in the department's budget.We heard from several at the table.
The Treasurer did not volunteer any information.
******************************************
In his presentation to Council that evening, Aurora Treasurer explained that for better accounting he and the Public Works Director had, during their budget preparation, removed $250 thousand, expenditure normally charged against a capital reserve account for maintenance of a capital asset and transferred it to user water rates.
That was before the year end. I do not remember that item being pin-pointed.That's what happens when a change is made.
It decreased the tax rate and five months later, it contributed to a double digit increase in water rates.
In conjunction with public works director, it was also decided to increase estimated "water loss" from 8% to 12%.
"Water loss" they claim, is from "seepage" in the system. Water used in fire practice was mentioned.
The Treasurer explained Provincial requirements for water treatment have increased since Walkerton and that contributed to the increased cost of water .
Walkerton happened ten yeasr ago. . I know bafflegab when I hear it. God knows I've heard enough of it.
When meters were introduced the figure for "water loss" was 4%,I think. Since then, many miles of new waterlines have been installed ,old lines have been re-placed and others re-lined.
That's not a reason for an increase in " water loss" If anything it should accomplish the opposite.
The question about various tax supported services , such as fire department, works department, parks department, town hall, reflecting water consumption in their budgets was answered in the affirmative.
Yet I have no recollection of ever seeing water as a budget item reflected in any department's budget.
We also heard that water revenue decreased last year. It was a wet summer. Consumption was down. A deficit in revenue was likely but not mentioned as the need to increase water rates this year.
********************************************************
I voted against the water rate increase. Just me, myself,alone. Again.
I don't believe the year the region increased the water rate by ten per cent is the year to change book-keeping in a capital reserve account for maintenance of a capital asset to be added to an increase in non tax supported water rates
I don't believe it is the year to increase the estimate of "water loss"
Which I suspect is a misnomer.
I believe the budget item number to prove water use is reflected in the budgets of tax supported services should have been produced immediately the question was asked,to support the statement they are in fact included .
I do not accept justification to charge consumers in Aurora, several hundred dollars more for water than consumers in Richmond Hill, which municipality pays exactly the same for water as we do.
As a representative of the consumer in Aurora, I think we are being royally screwed in the matter of water rates.
I will be happy to be proven wrong.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
The Figure asked For
I have on occasion posted political on the personal blog. Any time I've done that. I've needed
Heather Sisman to switch it for me. Well today I did it myself. I cut and pasted successfully once again.
I also have the cost of the ad that ran on the April 15Th edition of The Banner.It cost $3,700 for both pages. exclusive of GST. I calculate that at $455. The total therefore would have been in excess of $4,000.
In the ebb of a four year term, within weeks of an election campaign, I think public
perception could easily be, the ad is promoting incumbent politicians rather than the town.
No fair No fair.
Posted by Evelyn Buck at 3:36 PM
Heather Sisman to switch it for me. Well today I did it myself. I cut and pasted successfully once again.
I also have the cost of the ad that ran on the April 15Th edition of The Banner.It cost $3,700 for both pages. exclusive of GST. I calculate that at $455. The total therefore would have been in excess of $4,000.
In the ebb of a four year term, within weeks of an election campaign, I think public
perception could easily be, the ad is promoting incumbent politicians rather than the town.
No fair No fair.
Posted by Evelyn Buck at 3:36 PM
A New Element
I received an e-mail yesterday from a resident who watched part of the council meeting on Tuesday.He watched it again on -line with Rogers on Wednesday. He wanted to assure me my hearing was correct.
To the second, he gave me the time Councillor Gallo made the statement that he wanted to correct the record against my comments about the Mayor's appointment to committees.
Again to the second, my correspondent gave me the time the Councillor denied having made that reference..
I tried to copy and paste the e-mail this morning to show it in the Blog. This time I blew it and lost the whole thing. It isn't even in my delete box.
So...I am not as smart as I thought I was. Oh well.
My objective is not to prove perfidy. I've already established Councillor Gallo is taking direction from the wrong teachers. He will have to learn that for himself . He has chosen the hard way. It will be at his cost.
I wanted to show the e-mail because I think it's such a positive sign that people are becoming evermore actively involved . I think blogs and the opportunity to engage without risk is the reason.
We have always been able to cast a ballot in secret. Now we can talk about politics anonymously and let it rip. I think that's great. It may be the element needed to make democratic politics real and not just a philosophical idea. The new element may not yet have reached it's full potential. But I think it's getting there.Fast.
Paul, if you are reading this post, please send me a copy of the e-mail. It may be somewhere in ether-ether land still but I haven't a clue how to find it.
We had a vote on Tuesday to increase the water rates by 12%. I am not satisfied that amount of increase was necessary. Every municipality in the Region is paying the same rate to the Region. But the rate charged to consumers is not the same. Richmond Hill's rate is a couple of hundred dollars less than ours.
Our Chief Financial Officer informed us water rates are not tax supported. That means the user pays what it cost. In answer to my question, he also stated water used by various tax-supported services like works, parks and fire is charged to each department's budget. I do not re-call any discussion about a 10% increase for water in department budgets.
On Saturday, my task will be to scrutinise the budget with a friend to verify that we are not charging water used by tax supported services to non-tax supported rates to consumers..
If we are using water rates to reduce tax rates I want to know so that I can tell you about it.
Since the increase has already passed by your Council there's no hope of changing it.
That makes it an election issue.
Posted by Evelyn Buck at 2:58 PM 0 comment
To the second, he gave me the time Councillor Gallo made the statement that he wanted to correct the record against my comments about the Mayor's appointment to committees.
Again to the second, my correspondent gave me the time the Councillor denied having made that reference..
I tried to copy and paste the e-mail this morning to show it in the Blog. This time I blew it and lost the whole thing. It isn't even in my delete box.
So...I am not as smart as I thought I was. Oh well.
My objective is not to prove perfidy. I've already established Councillor Gallo is taking direction from the wrong teachers. He will have to learn that for himself . He has chosen the hard way. It will be at his cost.
I wanted to show the e-mail because I think it's such a positive sign that people are becoming evermore actively involved . I think blogs and the opportunity to engage without risk is the reason.
We have always been able to cast a ballot in secret. Now we can talk about politics anonymously and let it rip. I think that's great. It may be the element needed to make democratic politics real and not just a philosophical idea. The new element may not yet have reached it's full potential. But I think it's getting there.Fast.
Paul, if you are reading this post, please send me a copy of the e-mail. It may be somewhere in ether-ether land still but I haven't a clue how to find it.
We had a vote on Tuesday to increase the water rates by 12%. I am not satisfied that amount of increase was necessary. Every municipality in the Region is paying the same rate to the Region. But the rate charged to consumers is not the same. Richmond Hill's rate is a couple of hundred dollars less than ours.
Our Chief Financial Officer informed us water rates are not tax supported. That means the user pays what it cost. In answer to my question, he also stated water used by various tax-supported services like works, parks and fire is charged to each department's budget. I do not re-call any discussion about a 10% increase for water in department budgets.
On Saturday, my task will be to scrutinise the budget with a friend to verify that we are not charging water used by tax supported services to non-tax supported rates to consumers..
If we are using water rates to reduce tax rates I want to know so that I can tell you about it.
Since the increase has already passed by your Council there's no hope of changing it.
That makes it an election issue.
Posted by Evelyn Buck at 2:58 PM 0 comment
I Went to a Marvelous Party
I Went to a Marvelous Party
The Blessing of St. Maximilian Kolbe Separate High School on Wellington Street, Aurora. It's the first one of those I have ever attended.
The evening was crammed full of unexpected images. I have to go back on my scooter for a proper tour.
But Oh My...It started at 7 p.m; a brilliant and bright celebration in every sense of the word.
Elizabeth Crowe, trustee for Aurora, King and Whitchurch- Stouffville and Chairman of the Board shared honours with Trustee Theresa McNicol of Newmarket.
When the site plan came forward to this Council for approval, incredibly a majority expressed opposition.
The land had had to be quietly assembled for the board to arrive at the point of processing a site plan. Had Council refused it, months of delay would have ensued and legal costs for the Town and the Board, all coming out of the same pocket.
Two public bodies, accountable to the same taxpayers, would have undoubtedly locked in a dispute before the Ontario Municipal Board, an outside and separate body of jurisdiction.
Councillor Gaertner had most to say.
It would be too great a burden on the town's taxpayers.No tax revenues would be derived.
A full complement of teaching, support and custodial jobs were dismissed as insignificant and not an asset to the town's economy.
How did the school board know there were enough students to justify the school ?
Where would students come from? Didn't some come from out of town? The Councillor sounded like she wanted to see the figures to be satisfied the board was making the right decision.
It was before the possibility Dr.G.W.Williams High School being closed was on the radar. When the same Councillor presented the reverse argument.
Then the business community in that neighbourhood would be devastated by loss of the school
Students and teachers were a great asset to the economic well-being of that neighbourhood. Susan Walmer was all set to lead the charge on that issue.
That was after the opportunity to sell a parcel of land to the Region for Police Headquarters with seven hundred well paid jobs in the 404 area had been turned down.
For the same reason. It would be too great a burden on the taxpayers.
When the Separate High School crisis happened, the whole burden lay on the shoulders of Elizabeth Crowe, trustee for three communities. She was not Chairman at that time.
She rallied parents, who chose spokespersons from every separate school in town to address Council and speak to the issue of need. Father Don MacLean , Our Lady of Grace parish priest came with them to lend his support and gave expression to the meaning of the school to Catholic parents.
They made the difference. The vote shifted.
Councillor MacEachern noted her daughter attends Cardinal Carter High School. The Mayor recalled she had attended a Catholic school.
Councillor Gaertner's arguments were suddenly irrelevant.
No doubt exists in my mind , were it not for the effort of School trustee Elizabeth Crowe ,
the beautiful new High School on Wellington Street, Aurora would not be.
As it stands in all it's splendid function, a distinct attribute to this community, it is a credit to the leadership of one small very determined woman who never lost sight of the main objective.
What Kind Of A March Was That
Yesterday, at a march to legalise marijuana. a man was critically injured when he fell out of a tree.
I have heard of various effects of smoking pot. But marching up a tree is new.
In the same edition of the paper, a headline referred to the charmed life of a tree whisperer. But it was a different story.
The best item was by Christopher Hume. His column generally deals with the living city. This one referred to the illusion that Toronto is a progressive city.
He says municipal councillors have made whole careers out of pandering to every last nimby impulse local residents can muster.
He called Rob Ford and Rocco Rossi "nattering nincompoops of nonsense" They are candidates for the office of Mayor of Toronto.
He said Mel Lastman's great contribution was to leave the budget in tatters and embarrass the city on network television at every turn.
But the Toronto media, of which Hume is a part, largely commended former Mayor Lastman
when he left office undefeated.
It was the phrase " nattering nincompoops" that caught my attention.
The incredible fact is, Rob Ford is, according to polls, running second in the mayoralty contest
It doesn't mean he will be the next Mayor just that, nattering nincompoop of nonsense notwithstanding, , he could be the next Mayor of the Toronto
If we compare that with our situation, we find distinct similarities.
Pandering definitely is the main modus of operandi. We do have a Number One Nimby with followers;
And despite Mr. Hume's mocking reference,confidence abounds, that pandering is sound and the only way to win votes and influence people.
Anyone who dares to challenge the theory is tilting at windmills and must be punished with penalties yet.
Can all these experienced municipal politicians be wrong?
Will "the nattering nincompoops of nonsense" win the prize in October?
Sometimes I think ....Nah!
Other times, when I listen, I think..... Oh My God, maybe!
Who's going to stop it?
Then I think of the missing factor.
Pandering is undeniable and prominent at all levels of politics
As long as leadership is the missing factor, pandering will continue to fill the bill.
I have heard of various effects of smoking pot. But marching up a tree is new.
In the same edition of the paper, a headline referred to the charmed life of a tree whisperer. But it was a different story.
The best item was by Christopher Hume. His column generally deals with the living city. This one referred to the illusion that Toronto is a progressive city.
He says municipal councillors have made whole careers out of pandering to every last nimby impulse local residents can muster.
He called Rob Ford and Rocco Rossi "nattering nincompoops of nonsense" They are candidates for the office of Mayor of Toronto.
He said Mel Lastman's great contribution was to leave the budget in tatters and embarrass the city on network television at every turn.
But the Toronto media, of which Hume is a part, largely commended former Mayor Lastman
when he left office undefeated.
It was the phrase " nattering nincompoops" that caught my attention.
The incredible fact is, Rob Ford is, according to polls, running second in the mayoralty contest
It doesn't mean he will be the next Mayor just that, nattering nincompoop of nonsense notwithstanding, , he could be the next Mayor of the Toronto
If we compare that with our situation, we find distinct similarities.
Pandering definitely is the main modus of operandi. We do have a Number One Nimby with followers;
And despite Mr. Hume's mocking reference,confidence abounds, that pandering is sound and the only way to win votes and influence people.
Anyone who dares to challenge the theory is tilting at windmills and must be punished with penalties yet.
Can all these experienced municipal politicians be wrong?
Will "the nattering nincompoops of nonsense" win the prize in October?
Sometimes I think ....Nah!
Other times, when I listen, I think..... Oh My God, maybe!
Who's going to stop it?
Then I think of the missing factor.
Pandering is undeniable and prominent at all levels of politics
As long as leadership is the missing factor, pandering will continue to fill the bill.
Saturday, 1 May 2010
In Terms Of History
The separate school board has had the right to build complete high schools for about thirty years.
When the law changed in Ontario, they started slow. They converted elementary schools. My daughter Heather went to St. Roberts in Markham . After Grade Ten, she wanted to go to Williams because private school fees were required at St Robert's.
After a few weeks, she was utterly miserable. Sheer size and numbers at Williams had completely overwhelmed her'
I don't think any institution is improved by enormity..I think it becomes dehumanized.
Heather went back to St Roberts.
When I finished writing about St. Max on Friday, I thought about how a public school supporter parent might feel about such a school being built in Aurora but not available to their children.
Then I remembered. Sue Walmer and her "organisation" went to battle to ensure it wouldn't.
When the public board was contemplating location of a new high school. the horns blared with the call to mount the ramparts to challenge the board's authority..
The Mayor, completely in character, immediately engaged and the council chamber was made available to accommodate opposition hordes to assemble and plan the campaign.
The issue was on the board's front burner because they have to make the need for a site known when development is being planned.
Arguments presented against a new school were opposite to the arguments against a new separate high school just weeks before.
Except for the lament about heritage and tradition which, in the context of education. I frankly find extraordinary.
Sue Walmer, as I said led the charge. She took CAO John Rogers to task for failing to act in making the Council Chamber available.A Council decision is required. Ms Walmer is completely confident in her supervisory role in Town affairs.
Mayor Morris inferred the town would block any attempt by the board to sell the Williams site for development. The Mayor is equally confident of her autocratic authority..
Oh....the majesty of it all.
Except maybe for police facilities which function twenty-four- seven, , nothing is as hard-worn as a school. It acquires an odor. A mixture of lunch boxes ,chalk,running shoes ,sweat , winter outerwear,exercise togs and hormone-driven youth.
People who complained about odour in the change rooms of the Aurora Community
Centre have a sense of it.
But Walmer and Morris, like a Punch and Judy Show, promptly beat upon the heads of board trustees for even thinking of such a thing.
They may not have won the battle. The school board still has a worn out building that costs hundreds of thousands to maintain and provides few of the facilities required for a modern education.
They still have a vastly expanded future student population to plan for and a decision pending
They may, like everyone else, be waiting for the next election to be over, when decisions can be made without Meddling Messrs Morris and Walmer on the scene ever-ready for combat.
The Dunning Avenue school site is worth millions which would go a long way to providing funding for a new school in a new location with all the space needed.
It would provide for housing envisaged by the Province for "infilling" to reduce urban sprawl.
Which in turn would provide passengers for a rapid transit system.
Which would reduce pollution by taking cars of the road.
Which would fulfill Aurora's commitment to environmental protection so oft cited by none other than Messrs Morris and Walmer
Oh yes, let's not forget Councillor Gaertner and MacEachern in the phony baloney
histrionics that represent Aurora's politics.
But more than anything, it would provide opportunity for public school students to enjoy facilities that would generate new enthusiasm and commitment of parents and staff and students to their future, their community and their world.
At the opening of the refurbished Church Street School, MLA Frank Klees received the only real applause of the evening. When he said we need to do the same thing with Wells Street there was a shout of laughter and the people there came to life. .
I thought, .what is the matter with these people that they can only get excited about musty, malodorous , mouldy, worn-out, relics of the past.
When the law changed in Ontario, they started slow. They converted elementary schools. My daughter Heather went to St. Roberts in Markham . After Grade Ten, she wanted to go to Williams because private school fees were required at St Robert's.
After a few weeks, she was utterly miserable. Sheer size and numbers at Williams had completely overwhelmed her'
I don't think any institution is improved by enormity..I think it becomes dehumanized.
Heather went back to St Roberts.
When I finished writing about St. Max on Friday, I thought about how a public school supporter parent might feel about such a school being built in Aurora but not available to their children.
Then I remembered. Sue Walmer and her "organisation" went to battle to ensure it wouldn't.
When the public board was contemplating location of a new high school. the horns blared with the call to mount the ramparts to challenge the board's authority..
The Mayor, completely in character, immediately engaged and the council chamber was made available to accommodate opposition hordes to assemble and plan the campaign.
The issue was on the board's front burner because they have to make the need for a site known when development is being planned.
Arguments presented against a new school were opposite to the arguments against a new separate high school just weeks before.
Except for the lament about heritage and tradition which, in the context of education. I frankly find extraordinary.
Sue Walmer, as I said led the charge. She took CAO John Rogers to task for failing to act in making the Council Chamber available.A Council decision is required. Ms Walmer is completely confident in her supervisory role in Town affairs.
Mayor Morris inferred the town would block any attempt by the board to sell the Williams site for development. The Mayor is equally confident of her autocratic authority..
Oh....the majesty of it all.
Except maybe for police facilities which function twenty-four- seven, , nothing is as hard-worn as a school. It acquires an odor. A mixture of lunch boxes ,chalk,running shoes ,sweat , winter outerwear,exercise togs and hormone-driven youth.
People who complained about odour in the change rooms of the Aurora Community
Centre have a sense of it.
But Walmer and Morris, like a Punch and Judy Show, promptly beat upon the heads of board trustees for even thinking of such a thing.
They may not have won the battle. The school board still has a worn out building that costs hundreds of thousands to maintain and provides few of the facilities required for a modern education.
They still have a vastly expanded future student population to plan for and a decision pending
They may, like everyone else, be waiting for the next election to be over, when decisions can be made without Meddling Messrs Morris and Walmer on the scene ever-ready for combat.
The Dunning Avenue school site is worth millions which would go a long way to providing funding for a new school in a new location with all the space needed.
It would provide for housing envisaged by the Province for "infilling" to reduce urban sprawl.
Which in turn would provide passengers for a rapid transit system.
Which would reduce pollution by taking cars of the road.
Which would fulfill Aurora's commitment to environmental protection so oft cited by none other than Messrs Morris and Walmer
Oh yes, let's not forget Councillor Gaertner and MacEachern in the phony baloney
histrionics that represent Aurora's politics.
But more than anything, it would provide opportunity for public school students to enjoy facilities that would generate new enthusiasm and commitment of parents and staff and students to their future, their community and their world.
At the opening of the refurbished Church Street School, MLA Frank Klees received the only real applause of the evening. When he said we need to do the same thing with Wells Street there was a shout of laughter and the people there came to life. .
I thought, .what is the matter with these people that they can only get excited about musty, malodorous , mouldy, worn-out, relics of the past.
Friday, 30 April 2010
I Haven't Finished With My Impressions
St.Max opened last September. They are coming to the end of their first year. Only Grade Nine and Ten were in operation last year. Each year a Grade will be added.
On Tuesday we had a chance to see results of one year.
Two girls, not more than sixteen, if that, rendered several songs with complete professional composure
.A young man who needed support to stand, sang Ave Maria.
A Grade nine student played a Chopin piece...you know... waterfall music.
A grade nine class performed a dance interpretation of Life before the Nazis, life in death camps, the Saint's ministry to his fellow prisoners and his death .
There was an incredibly, graceful and professional interpretive dance by Grade Nine girls.
Come to think of it,I'm not really sure if that was Grade Nine or Ten, no matter, it was incredible.
The Arts are a part of the phys. ed department. They have a dance studio.
As far as I could see. and in accordance with my limited awareness. the stage is fully equipped for dramatic productions.
A manufacturing process is part of the school curriculum.
They have White boards throughout the school.
Workshop programs are available to all of the students.
I am not aware the Separate School system has ever offered Continuing Education Courses
and I don't know what would be involved but it boggles the mind to think of what might be possible.
In the Catholic school system, students with different abilities are not segregated. I saw a younger dark-haired edition of my grandson Adam participating with his peers. I knew he would be there.
Sports facilities are already underway and some are completed. They hope to have a football team next year.
The Separate School system has a record of sharing facilities with the community.
Aurora. we should be taking note of what we have here and what new opportunities are possible.
This was a celebration we can all share.
On Tuesday we had a chance to see results of one year.
Two girls, not more than sixteen, if that, rendered several songs with complete professional composure
.A young man who needed support to stand, sang Ave Maria.
A Grade nine student played a Chopin piece...you know... waterfall music.
A grade nine class performed a dance interpretation of Life before the Nazis, life in death camps, the Saint's ministry to his fellow prisoners and his death .
There was an incredibly, graceful and professional interpretive dance by Grade Nine girls.
Come to think of it,I'm not really sure if that was Grade Nine or Ten, no matter, it was incredible.
The Arts are a part of the phys. ed department. They have a dance studio.
As far as I could see. and in accordance with my limited awareness. the stage is fully equipped for dramatic productions.
A manufacturing process is part of the school curriculum.
They have White boards throughout the school.
Workshop programs are available to all of the students.
I am not aware the Separate School system has ever offered Continuing Education Courses
and I don't know what would be involved but it boggles the mind to think of what might be possible.
In the Catholic school system, students with different abilities are not segregated. I saw a younger dark-haired edition of my grandson Adam participating with his peers. I knew he would be there.
Sports facilities are already underway and some are completed. They hope to have a football team next year.
The Separate School system has a record of sharing facilities with the community.
Aurora. we should be taking note of what we have here and what new opportunities are possible.
This was a celebration we can all share.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
A Special Guest
Max Eisen was a special guest at the High School Blessing and Opening Celebration. He was identified on the program as an Auschwitz Survivor.He was an inmate in 1944.
Father Maximillian Kolbe was a Franciscan priest, also an inmate of Auschwitz who was executed there in 1941. He gave his life in place of another's . Of Mr. Eisen's family of 65 members almost all were executed in 1944.
A group of students and staff of the high school went to Poland and France last year to learn what they could of the man whose life is commemorated in the spirit of their school.Mr Eisen had helped them understand how things were in Auschwitz.
I was not able to watch that part of the video. I have vivid memories of what the allies found in the death camps when the war ended. The images will haunt me as long as I live.
Father Lucian, also a guest,was a colleague of St Maximilian Kolbe. He spoke of him as a brother. Of his scholarly intelligence. Of his interest in science. How he embraced the modern media of his time and thereby attracted Gestapo attention to himself.
I have never met anyone who knew a Saint. I don't even know anyone who has. I have no doubt he was everything they said he was.
Yet the message Father Lucian brought to the students from the saint was simple.
Love...Love your neighbour.
The auditorium was full of students, parents, teachers, two parish priests and a Bishop gathered together to make a joyful commitment, to their faith , their future, their community and their world.
The evening, the school, the ceremony, certainly made the connection for me between the evil that was The Holocaust and school in a small Town in Canada, thousands of miles distant and a mere seventy years apart.
I personally expect great things of St Maximilian Kolbe Separate High School on Wellington Street, Aurora.
Father Maximillian Kolbe was a Franciscan priest, also an inmate of Auschwitz who was executed there in 1941. He gave his life in place of another's . Of Mr. Eisen's family of 65 members almost all were executed in 1944.
A group of students and staff of the high school went to Poland and France last year to learn what they could of the man whose life is commemorated in the spirit of their school.Mr Eisen had helped them understand how things were in Auschwitz.
I was not able to watch that part of the video. I have vivid memories of what the allies found in the death camps when the war ended. The images will haunt me as long as I live.
Father Lucian, also a guest,was a colleague of St Maximilian Kolbe. He spoke of him as a brother. Of his scholarly intelligence. Of his interest in science. How he embraced the modern media of his time and thereby attracted Gestapo attention to himself.
I have never met anyone who knew a Saint. I don't even know anyone who has. I have no doubt he was everything they said he was.
Yet the message Father Lucian brought to the students from the saint was simple.
Love...Love your neighbour.
The auditorium was full of students, parents, teachers, two parish priests and a Bishop gathered together to make a joyful commitment, to their faith , their future, their community and their world.
The evening, the school, the ceremony, certainly made the connection for me between the evil that was The Holocaust and school in a small Town in Canada, thousands of miles distant and a mere seventy years apart.
I personally expect great things of St Maximilian Kolbe Separate High School on Wellington Street, Aurora.
Cost of The Ad
I have on occasion posted political on the personal blog. Any time I've done that. I've needed
Heather Sisman to switch it for me. Well today I did it myself. I cut and pasted successfully once again.
I also have the cost of the ad that ran on the April 15Th edition of The Banner.It cost $3,700 for both pages. exclusive of GST. I calculate that at $455. The total therefore would have been in excess of $4,000.
In the ebb of a four year term, within weeks of an election campaign, I think public
perception could easily be, the ad is promoting incumbent politicians rather than the town.
No fair. No fair.
Heather Sisman to switch it for me. Well today I did it myself. I cut and pasted successfully once again.
I also have the cost of the ad that ran on the April 15Th edition of The Banner.It cost $3,700 for both pages. exclusive of GST. I calculate that at $455. The total therefore would have been in excess of $4,000.
In the ebb of a four year term, within weeks of an election campaign, I think public
perception could easily be, the ad is promoting incumbent politicians rather than the town.
No fair. No fair.
Springtime and Mayhem in Ukraine
Last week, on international news, we saw Ukraine Parliamentarians throwing eggs and other non-lethal stuff at each other. Similar events have been caught on camera in a Japanese Legislative Assembly.
Members there were climbing over desks and reaching for a throat to throttle.
It doesn't happen under British Parliamentary Rules of Order . The objective there of course is to maintain civility at all costs. As in a court room.
Tuesday night was mayhem in Aurora.It started with Councillor Gallo raising a Question of Privilege.
The Councillor's Question was a letter of mine to an editor which set out how committees are chosen in the Mormac regime.
A Question of Privilege allows a Councillor to object to his motives having been impugned or of being accused of wrong doing during a council debate.
The Question must be raised immediately the offending comment is made, or at the start of the next meeting before any other business has been conducted. Expectation is, the comment will be withdrawn and an apology offered. All very civilized.
Councillor Gallo's Question of Privilege was not apt. I expect he was advised by the presiding Member and her terrible twin, Councillor MacEachern.
Councillor Gallo is earnestly trying to acquire the skills necessary to function with ease in Council debate. Unfortunately, he has chosen the wrong teachers.
It was an evening of repeated similar attempts to call me to task. Councillor Gaertner did something equally inapt
Then there was a letter from Rebbecca Beaton stating my formal motion of request for re-consideration of a previous council decision was shameful.
I've known Rebbecca since she was a toddler.She grew up on my street. Went to school with my children.
There have to be icons in her life. She tags along willing to provide whatever support her patrons may require of her.
When I read her letter, it reminded me of Mister Wilson's conduct before he became a Councillor and after. I had taken the last seat at the table in his second bid for office. Rebecca used to sit beside him in the darkened back row of seating in the Council Chamber.
Wilson would descend to take the podium in public forum and heap abuse on my head, his voice rising to a hysterical shriek as his outrage grew.
The first time he did it I waited for the Mayor to put a stop to it. He didn't. I told the Mayor, no citizen has a right to behave like that in the Council Chamber.
It is disorderly conduct.
He repeated the behaviour.. Again the Mayor did not stop him. I told the Mayor , if you let him do that one more time I will not be responsible for how I will respond.
Next time he started , the Mayor stopped him. But Councillors Vrancic and Keane also thought a citizen had the right to behave that way.
It takes two to start a brawl. Once it starts, there's no telling where it will end.
It was Mayor Morris's turn on Tuesday to insist a citizen has a right to verbally attack an elected representative in a formal meeting of Council within the Council Chamber.
Of course she is wrong. Her ignorance knows no depth.
No-one has that right in a civilized society.
But since this presiding member makes up the rules as she goes along and as it suits her, the options for a Councillor are few.
A brawl is the most likely.
It will not be this Councillor who turns Aurora Council Chamber into a mud-wrestling pit.
Still ....I am not completely without resources.
But Rebbecca Beaton is not likely to be the target.
I suspect the Mayor and her terrible cohort Councillor Evelina MacEachern urged it upon her to write the offending comment.
The attack was personal but not made in person . Rebecca knows me. She might very well expect a vigorous response to a gratuitous insult.
I cannot imagine why anyone would think it's safe to attack this politician in a public meeting.
Members there were climbing over desks and reaching for a throat to throttle.
It doesn't happen under British Parliamentary Rules of Order . The objective there of course is to maintain civility at all costs. As in a court room.
Tuesday night was mayhem in Aurora.It started with Councillor Gallo raising a Question of Privilege.
The Councillor's Question was a letter of mine to an editor which set out how committees are chosen in the Mormac regime.
A Question of Privilege allows a Councillor to object to his motives having been impugned or of being accused of wrong doing during a council debate.
The Question must be raised immediately the offending comment is made, or at the start of the next meeting before any other business has been conducted. Expectation is, the comment will be withdrawn and an apology offered. All very civilized.
Councillor Gallo's Question of Privilege was not apt. I expect he was advised by the presiding Member and her terrible twin, Councillor MacEachern.
Councillor Gallo is earnestly trying to acquire the skills necessary to function with ease in Council debate. Unfortunately, he has chosen the wrong teachers.
It was an evening of repeated similar attempts to call me to task. Councillor Gaertner did something equally inapt
Then there was a letter from Rebbecca Beaton stating my formal motion of request for re-consideration of a previous council decision was shameful.
I've known Rebbecca since she was a toddler.She grew up on my street. Went to school with my children.
There have to be icons in her life. She tags along willing to provide whatever support her patrons may require of her.
When I read her letter, it reminded me of Mister Wilson's conduct before he became a Councillor and after. I had taken the last seat at the table in his second bid for office. Rebecca used to sit beside him in the darkened back row of seating in the Council Chamber.
Wilson would descend to take the podium in public forum and heap abuse on my head, his voice rising to a hysterical shriek as his outrage grew.
The first time he did it I waited for the Mayor to put a stop to it. He didn't. I told the Mayor, no citizen has a right to behave like that in the Council Chamber.
It is disorderly conduct.
He repeated the behaviour.. Again the Mayor did not stop him. I told the Mayor , if you let him do that one more time I will not be responsible for how I will respond.
Next time he started , the Mayor stopped him. But Councillors Vrancic and Keane also thought a citizen had the right to behave that way.
It takes two to start a brawl. Once it starts, there's no telling where it will end.
It was Mayor Morris's turn on Tuesday to insist a citizen has a right to verbally attack an elected representative in a formal meeting of Council within the Council Chamber.
Of course she is wrong. Her ignorance knows no depth.
No-one has that right in a civilized society.
But since this presiding member makes up the rules as she goes along and as it suits her, the options for a Councillor are few.
A brawl is the most likely.
It will not be this Councillor who turns Aurora Council Chamber into a mud-wrestling pit.
Still ....I am not completely without resources.
But Rebbecca Beaton is not likely to be the target.
I suspect the Mayor and her terrible cohort Councillor Evelina MacEachern urged it upon her to write the offending comment.
The attack was personal but not made in person . Rebecca knows me. She might very well expect a vigorous response to a gratuitous insult.
I cannot imagine why anyone would think it's safe to attack this politician in a public meeting.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Ten Best Signs
I left Council at the hour of adjournment last night three hours and thirty minutes after the start.
The Mayor was putting on a slide show of seemingly permanent blighted sites down town and re-writing history as she went. Apparently Her Worship and a Department head or three took a conspicuous photographic tour to create a record, so that Councillors and the home audience could become aware of how bad things are in down town Aurora and what the Mayor is doing single handed to correct the situation.
I had asked immediately prior to the presentation about a massive coloured advertisement from the Town of Aurora that appeared a couple of weeks ago in a local newspaper. I queried who authorized it, what was its purpose and how much it cost.
The Chief Administrator claimed responsibility and said its purpose was to show how good things are in the Town of Aurora. He did not know off the top of his head, how much it cost
I was home in time to watch David Letterman. Some nights he's better than others but last night I particularly enjoyed his show.
A regular feature of the program is Ten Best Signs. Last night, they were Signs Your Neighbour is An Alien.
I thought....sipping on my single malt, with ice, no water, a gift from my son....I could do that. It could be... Ten Best Signs Five Councillors and a Mayor have a hate on for Evelyn Buck.
The possibilities are endless. I would need a tape of last night's meeting.
Ten Best Signs Mayor Morris is out of her depth. . Tina Fey would be perfect casting.. Sarah Palen's line still gets a laugh. "I can see Russia from my house" to illustrate her depth of foreign policy awareness.
Sue Walmer's character could be featured as Champion of her beloved leader and all that is pure and virtuous and if it's land abutting yours, keep it idle in perpetuity.
I had an inquiry at the week-end. At a silent auction for a cancer fundraiser a Certificate for a Splash Pass at a town facility was an item. Donor was Mayor Morris. My correspondent wondered if that should have been the Town of Aurora.
I asked. The Town's Parks and Recreation department have a policy of providing certificates, value $40. for charitable causes.
The request for a donation was funneled through the Mayor's office.
My inquirer was correct, the donation to the charity should have been credited to the Town of Aurora.
The Mayor was putting on a slide show of seemingly permanent blighted sites down town and re-writing history as she went. Apparently Her Worship and a Department head or three took a conspicuous photographic tour to create a record, so that Councillors and the home audience could become aware of how bad things are in down town Aurora and what the Mayor is doing single handed to correct the situation.
I had asked immediately prior to the presentation about a massive coloured advertisement from the Town of Aurora that appeared a couple of weeks ago in a local newspaper. I queried who authorized it, what was its purpose and how much it cost.
The Chief Administrator claimed responsibility and said its purpose was to show how good things are in the Town of Aurora. He did not know off the top of his head, how much it cost
I was home in time to watch David Letterman. Some nights he's better than others but last night I particularly enjoyed his show.
A regular feature of the program is Ten Best Signs. Last night, they were Signs Your Neighbour is An Alien.
I thought....sipping on my single malt, with ice, no water, a gift from my son....I could do that. It could be... Ten Best Signs Five Councillors and a Mayor have a hate on for Evelyn Buck.
The possibilities are endless. I would need a tape of last night's meeting.
Ten Best Signs Mayor Morris is out of her depth. . Tina Fey would be perfect casting.. Sarah Palen's line still gets a laugh. "I can see Russia from my house" to illustrate her depth of foreign policy awareness.
Sue Walmer's character could be featured as Champion of her beloved leader and all that is pure and virtuous and if it's land abutting yours, keep it idle in perpetuity.
I had an inquiry at the week-end. At a silent auction for a cancer fundraiser a Certificate for a Splash Pass at a town facility was an item. Donor was Mayor Morris. My correspondent wondered if that should have been the Town of Aurora.
I asked. The Town's Parks and Recreation department have a policy of providing certificates, value $40. for charitable causes.
The request for a donation was funneled through the Mayor's office.
My inquirer was correct, the donation to the charity should have been credited to the Town of Aurora.
Monday, 26 April 2010
New Evidence
Three years ago , an anonymous letter was placed in each Councillor's box . It bore no date stamp for incoming mail, however delivered. The Clerk said it had been received at the Mayor's office and brought across to the Clerk's department. .
The Councillors room is secure. No-one can gain entry without the little do-hickey that does the open- sesame thing. Only Councillors and staff have access.
The letter was six pages long and full of hate. My experience and age were a specific target.
Colleagues felt it should not be ignored. An R.C.M.P. officer informally reviewed it and deemed it " incitement to hatred"
I forwarded it to Chief Armand La Barge and an officer attended on the Clerk. The nature of the letter was not disputed but tracking its source was next to impossible.Also "incitement to hatred" is an offence in only certain circumstances.
The letter, if not written, had certainly been distributed by a Councillor.
Mr. Wilson's frequent personal attacks in the public forum during the previous term of Council made him a likely possibility.
I referred to the letter publicly. Councillor MacEachern denied either she or Councillor Gaertner were responsible. I believed that. Councillor MacEachern is famous for her vituperative style of self- expression but she always signs her name.
Recipients of the Councillor's insults compared notes and established her most spectacular missives were usually dispatched around midnight... the witching hour.
At 8.31 p.m. on Sunday, Councillor Wilson sent an e-mail to Mayor Morris, copied to Councillors and the Chief Administrative Officer, expressing similar sentiments to the anonymous letter.
Authorship is no longer in doubt.
Councillor Wilson's unhappiness with my conduct continues. He is confident however the good work of Council to improve the Town is recognized and appreciated.
The following is an exert:
even with years of experience there can be a complete lack of understanding
of how to effectively deal with issues and conduct one's self in the 21st
century.
This consistent style of negativity and conflict while directed at staff as
'the punching board' is clearly meant to discredit the whole Council and
thereby the Town in any effort of continuous improvement, change or
potential success;
'the true motive has become more than obvious'.
The good news is that this 'mud slinging' has failed! It simply is not
effective; the constant combative poking, negativity and critical style
towards individuals, in this case again senior staff, (often it is the
elected &/or the public) can only be for a personal agenda, almost a
vendetta, and does nothing to make Aurora a better place.
******************************
The Councillor continues along the same vein , vows to defend staff against me and encourages other Councillors to do the same.
I have no doubt he believes what he says. He is consistent.
A question occurs;why he is not prepared to shout it from the roof-tops when he is so confident of his rectitude and public appreciation of his good faith.
I think of the conference I attended in St.Johns, Newfoundland.
Staff went out from the University and asked people, in their homes and places where they gathered, what are the problems and how they could be fixed.
The film- makers returned later with videos for the participants to hear what they had said and examine their own logic.
In effect,people took their thoughts out, laid them on the table, to poke them and prod them and see how they stood up to the examination.
It's a Catholic idea. Examination of conscience.Impure thoughts and all that. The ritual becomes the habit of a lifetime. A particular genre of humour has been developed from the practice. We all recognise a Catholic when we hear one.
The University's project was so simple, it was brilliant.
Hundreds visit this Blog every day. Numbers continue to grow. I remain content I am making a contribution. It's not the one I would chose but it is the only one available to me.
I do not claim to be the single voice of the people. No-one can.
Mr. Wilson and his colleagues resolved from the beginning; no input from myself would be welcomed or permitted. They made no bones about it.
Time passed. Other Councillors were marginalised. The claque continued to hold the majority and added to it when former Councillor Grace Marsh resigned.
Four years is too long to sit quietly with hands folded in submission.Well,.Hell, four minutes is
entirely unlikely.
It is too long to spend being idle. You know what they say about the devil. I chiseled out my own role.
Councillor Wilson's bitter reaction is not surprising.
I recognize no obligation to uphold or explain decisions I strenuously oppose.
I do not hold staff responsible for decisions made by the Mayor and her following.
To allow them to pass unnoticed. To be forgotten by the time of the election.
No No No...Laddie
It's not going to happen.
If I were to copy the anonymous letter and Councillor Wilson's last e-mail and provide them to the two students invited to join this Council at the table to discover how this Council functions behind the scenes,
What impression would that make on fresh young minds, I wonder.
But I wont.
I will leave that up to the Councillor's own judgement
.
The Councillors room is secure. No-one can gain entry without the little do-hickey that does the open- sesame thing. Only Councillors and staff have access.
The letter was six pages long and full of hate. My experience and age were a specific target.
Colleagues felt it should not be ignored. An R.C.M.P. officer informally reviewed it and deemed it " incitement to hatred"
I forwarded it to Chief Armand La Barge and an officer attended on the Clerk. The nature of the letter was not disputed but tracking its source was next to impossible.Also "incitement to hatred" is an offence in only certain circumstances.
The letter, if not written, had certainly been distributed by a Councillor.
Mr. Wilson's frequent personal attacks in the public forum during the previous term of Council made him a likely possibility.
I referred to the letter publicly. Councillor MacEachern denied either she or Councillor Gaertner were responsible. I believed that. Councillor MacEachern is famous for her vituperative style of self- expression but she always signs her name.
Recipients of the Councillor's insults compared notes and established her most spectacular missives were usually dispatched around midnight... the witching hour.
At 8.31 p.m. on Sunday, Councillor Wilson sent an e-mail to Mayor Morris, copied to Councillors and the Chief Administrative Officer, expressing similar sentiments to the anonymous letter.
Authorship is no longer in doubt.
Councillor Wilson's unhappiness with my conduct continues. He is confident however the good work of Council to improve the Town is recognized and appreciated.
The following is an exert:
even with years of experience there can be a complete lack of understanding
of how to effectively deal with issues and conduct one's self in the 21st
century.
This consistent style of negativity and conflict while directed at staff as
'the punching board' is clearly meant to discredit the whole Council and
thereby the Town in any effort of continuous improvement, change or
potential success;
'the true motive has become more than obvious'.
The good news is that this 'mud slinging' has failed! It simply is not
effective; the constant combative poking, negativity and critical style
towards individuals, in this case again senior staff, (often it is the
elected &/or the public) can only be for a personal agenda, almost a
vendetta, and does nothing to make Aurora a better place.
******************************
The Councillor continues along the same vein , vows to defend staff against me and encourages other Councillors to do the same.
I have no doubt he believes what he says. He is consistent.
A question occurs;why he is not prepared to shout it from the roof-tops when he is so confident of his rectitude and public appreciation of his good faith.
I think of the conference I attended in St.Johns, Newfoundland.
Staff went out from the University and asked people, in their homes and places where they gathered, what are the problems and how they could be fixed.
The film- makers returned later with videos for the participants to hear what they had said and examine their own logic.
In effect,people took their thoughts out, laid them on the table, to poke them and prod them and see how they stood up to the examination.
It's a Catholic idea. Examination of conscience.Impure thoughts and all that. The ritual becomes the habit of a lifetime. A particular genre of humour has been developed from the practice. We all recognise a Catholic when we hear one.
The University's project was so simple, it was brilliant.
Hundreds visit this Blog every day. Numbers continue to grow. I remain content I am making a contribution. It's not the one I would chose but it is the only one available to me.
I do not claim to be the single voice of the people. No-one can.
Mr. Wilson and his colleagues resolved from the beginning; no input from myself would be welcomed or permitted. They made no bones about it.
Time passed. Other Councillors were marginalised. The claque continued to hold the majority and added to it when former Councillor Grace Marsh resigned.
Four years is too long to sit quietly with hands folded in submission.Well,.Hell, four minutes is
entirely unlikely.
It is too long to spend being idle. You know what they say about the devil. I chiseled out my own role.
Councillor Wilson's bitter reaction is not surprising.
I recognize no obligation to uphold or explain decisions I strenuously oppose.
I do not hold staff responsible for decisions made by the Mayor and her following.
To allow them to pass unnoticed. To be forgotten by the time of the election.
No No No...Laddie
It's not going to happen.
If I were to copy the anonymous letter and Councillor Wilson's last e-mail and provide them to the two students invited to join this Council at the table to discover how this Council functions behind the scenes,
What impression would that make on fresh young minds, I wonder.
But I wont.
I will leave that up to the Councillor's own judgement
.
Sunday, 25 April 2010
The Question Has Been Asked
A citizen can file a complaint under the Code Of Conduct against a Member of Council
A staff person can file a complaint under the Code of Conduct against a Member of Council.
A Member of Council can file a complaint under the Code of Conduct against a Member of Council.
There is no provision for a Council to file a complaint against a Member of Council. Mr Mascarin the solicitor retained by Mayor Morris, pointed that out several times before six of them did it
A staff person can file a complaint under the Code of Conduct against a Member of Council.
A Member of Council can file a complaint under the Code of Conduct against a Member of Council.
There is no provision for a Council to file a complaint against a Member of Council. Mr Mascarin the solicitor retained by Mayor Morris, pointed that out several times before six of them did it
See How They Run
The following is an exert from a Sunday Toronto Star report of a Mayoralty debate that took place yesterday. An issue was the sale of Toronto Hydro. Front runner candidate George Smitherman is opposed.
**********************************************
They’ve seen what happens when we lose control of public assets like we did with Highway 407,” he elaborated in a brief interview after the debate.
In February, a freedom of information request turned up the fact that after selling its street lights to Toronto Hydro in 2005 to raise $60 million, the city of Toronto will pay more than $420 million over the next 30 years to rent the lights back
********************************************************
Let's consider for a moment that information in the context of a Mayoralty debate:
Obviously Toronto owns Toronto Hydro.
A few years ago, the city sold the street lights to Toronto Hydro for $60 million dollars. They needed the money and the street lights were a mess.
In effect, they sold the lights to themselves.They took money out of one pocket and put it into another.
Then, in the story without attribution, the point is made that over thirty years it will cost $420million to rent them back.
Quick now, how much is that a year?
So the city will pay themselves all that money to rent their own lights back from themselves.
The lights on the other hand will show up in Toronto Hydro's books as assets. If Toronto Hydro is sold, assets create value.
So Toronto could get the money for the same lights twice..
Unless the lights have been replaced with newer lights. Then the city could get new lights back for the price they paid for the old lights, if they didn't sell the lights with Hydro.
Are we all following the logic?
What if Toronto got enough for Toronto Hydro to clear off all their debts.
Why are Mayoralty candidates talking sale of Hydro without referring to value and what could be done with the money.
How much transit would it buy?
Would they stop looking for innovative taxes like a toll on the Don Valley Parkway, to avoid raising the property tax and boasting about Toronto having the lowest taxes in the GTA.
Smitherman refers to the Province's sale of the 407.
What about it?
None of the other candidates it seems, referred to the Province, ruminating publicly about assets they might sell, like the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. to reduce their deficit.
GTA residents need to pay attention to Toronto's Mayoralty race. Smitherman is the front runner.
How much influence would he have convincing his former boss to unload more of Toronto's costs on to taxpayers in the rest of the GTA.
It's been done before.
And who do we have in York Region likely to put up a fight against that?
**********************************************
They’ve seen what happens when we lose control of public assets like we did with Highway 407,” he elaborated in a brief interview after the debate.
In February, a freedom of information request turned up the fact that after selling its street lights to Toronto Hydro in 2005 to raise $60 million, the city of Toronto will pay more than $420 million over the next 30 years to rent the lights back
********************************************************
Let's consider for a moment that information in the context of a Mayoralty debate:
Obviously Toronto owns Toronto Hydro.
A few years ago, the city sold the street lights to Toronto Hydro for $60 million dollars. They needed the money and the street lights were a mess.
In effect, they sold the lights to themselves.They took money out of one pocket and put it into another.
Then, in the story without attribution, the point is made that over thirty years it will cost $420million to rent them back.
Quick now, how much is that a year?
So the city will pay themselves all that money to rent their own lights back from themselves.
The lights on the other hand will show up in Toronto Hydro's books as assets. If Toronto Hydro is sold, assets create value.
So Toronto could get the money for the same lights twice..
Unless the lights have been replaced with newer lights. Then the city could get new lights back for the price they paid for the old lights, if they didn't sell the lights with Hydro.
Are we all following the logic?
What if Toronto got enough for Toronto Hydro to clear off all their debts.
Why are Mayoralty candidates talking sale of Hydro without referring to value and what could be done with the money.
How much transit would it buy?
Would they stop looking for innovative taxes like a toll on the Don Valley Parkway, to avoid raising the property tax and boasting about Toronto having the lowest taxes in the GTA.
Smitherman refers to the Province's sale of the 407.
What about it?
None of the other candidates it seems, referred to the Province, ruminating publicly about assets they might sell, like the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. to reduce their deficit.
GTA residents need to pay attention to Toronto's Mayoralty race. Smitherman is the front runner.
How much influence would he have convincing his former boss to unload more of Toronto's costs on to taxpayers in the rest of the GTA.
It's been done before.
And who do we have in York Region likely to put up a fight against that?
One Of The Good Things
and not the least of them, is Blog does not use paper.If a post is read every day by a couple of hundred people and not a single page of paper has been used that must be a good thing. Think of all the paper not printed, stapled,collated or circulated that doesn't need to be collected, re-cycled, pulped or take up space in a landfill site
Last week's Council in Committee agenda had 203 pages.
A report from the Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services on new speed limits on Regional Roads had a twenty-two page regional report, complete with tables, already circulated at the region, attached to it.
Last time I asked, we were circulating thirty six copies of agendas. We added two more for students who don't attend council-in -committee meetings and even if they did, would be unlikely to read a twenty two page regional report complete with tables while attempting to follow discussion at the table.
In the same agenda ,we had a copy of a report circulated on- line to all Councillors from the Ontario Association of Municipalities. It had thirty-three pages of print, including cover and content pages. It was down-loaded and copied and circulated to all members of Council and sundry others to a total of probably forty, at the request of Councillor Gaertner.
It was entitled a Joint and Several Liability Paper submitted to the Province about the hardship of municipalities becoming third parties in law suits because we are the ones with the money.
No reason was given for its inclusion in the agenda. I didn't stay to ask.
Councillor Gaertner is a founding member of the Town's Environmental Advisory Committee,which advised creating the position of Environmental Engineer within the Department of Public Works, now Department of Infrastructure and Environmental Services.
When I asked about return on investment of a hundred thousand dollars a year on the position, The answer was; "identifying environmental initiatives"
I ask during budget discussions each year ,which environmental initiatives have been identified?
The answer is; no answer. Just a glance of complete mystification cast in my direction.
**************************************************************************************
On Friday I received a lengthy e-mail from the Mayor, circulated to all Councillors except one, entitled "harassment". the mayor took me to task for "criticizing" a senior staff member.
I had inquired of reasons for advertising for Parking Control Officers.What did it cost? Were we adding to the complement? I did not re-call an increase in officers discussed during budget.
No we are not, was the answer. The jobs are contract positions and therefore it should not be assumed the best people are in the jobs.
I had done a little digging and determined two officers have done the job for ten and twelve years and two others five years apiece. The fifth officer works from October until May. The jobs are all part-time.No benefits are paid. No union representation.No job security.
A job with serious responsibilities done for minimal cost...one might say, cheap at the price.
The one job which has changed, very recently, is Manager of Bylaw Services. Also recently Bylaw Services have been transferred from jurisdiction of Town Clerk to Chief Building Official.
Human Resources has also recently been transferred from the Clerk's jurisdiction to the Treasurer's. Both have new long-winded titles.It was the Treasurer/Human Resources Director who responded to my inquiry.
It seems to me, when people have been doing a job as long as the parking control officers have, it is reasonable to assume it has been done properly.That's a sensitive job. If it were not being done properly and fairly, elected officials would certainly hear about it. Nobody...but nobody..likes getting a parking ticket.
I have had the temerity to say, I am unable to accept the rational for recruiting new parking control officers.
Heavens to Betsy!!!!!!
The Mayor says that is criticism of senior staff and harassment.
****************************************************************************
Within the last year, the position of Chief Financial Officer, now Human Resources Director as well, was filled without recruitment or a competition. Despite there is a Provincial Regulation which requires recruitment and a Town Policy setting out the process.
Council was informed of the interim appointment behind closed doors.
The position is statutory. Statutory officers must be appointed by Bylaw. Only Council has authority to pass Bylaws.
Ergo, only Council has authority to appoint.
The Bylaw was passed after the fact.
It happened again when the interim appointment was made permanent. The morning after the last Council Meeting in December of last year, Council was informed, by e-mail, along with all employees, the appointment of Treasurer/Human Resources Director had been made permanent.
Again without authority.
Again without the Bylaw.
Provincial law requires municipalities to have a Treasurer. We did not for several weeks.
******************************************************************************
Municipalities carry insurance against the possibility of loss of funds for whatever reason.
Everyone who owns a house or a vehicle quickly learns the significance of fine print in an insurance policy.
It occurs to me to wonder if our insurance indemnification protects us in the circumstances of a loss, if the legal process(recruitment) for filling the position of Town Treasurer/ Human Resources Director by competition,to ensure we have the best person for the job, has not been followed.
Last week's Council in Committee agenda had 203 pages.
A report from the Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services on new speed limits on Regional Roads had a twenty-two page regional report, complete with tables, already circulated at the region, attached to it.
Last time I asked, we were circulating thirty six copies of agendas. We added two more for students who don't attend council-in -committee meetings and even if they did, would be unlikely to read a twenty two page regional report complete with tables while attempting to follow discussion at the table.
In the same agenda ,we had a copy of a report circulated on- line to all Councillors from the Ontario Association of Municipalities. It had thirty-three pages of print, including cover and content pages. It was down-loaded and copied and circulated to all members of Council and sundry others to a total of probably forty, at the request of Councillor Gaertner.
It was entitled a Joint and Several Liability Paper submitted to the Province about the hardship of municipalities becoming third parties in law suits because we are the ones with the money.
No reason was given for its inclusion in the agenda. I didn't stay to ask.
Councillor Gaertner is a founding member of the Town's Environmental Advisory Committee,which advised creating the position of Environmental Engineer within the Department of Public Works, now Department of Infrastructure and Environmental Services.
When I asked about return on investment of a hundred thousand dollars a year on the position, The answer was; "identifying environmental initiatives"
I ask during budget discussions each year ,which environmental initiatives have been identified?
The answer is; no answer. Just a glance of complete mystification cast in my direction.
**************************************************************************************
On Friday I received a lengthy e-mail from the Mayor, circulated to all Councillors except one, entitled "harassment". the mayor took me to task for "criticizing" a senior staff member.
I had inquired of reasons for advertising for Parking Control Officers.What did it cost? Were we adding to the complement? I did not re-call an increase in officers discussed during budget.
No we are not, was the answer. The jobs are contract positions and therefore it should not be assumed the best people are in the jobs.
I had done a little digging and determined two officers have done the job for ten and twelve years and two others five years apiece. The fifth officer works from October until May. The jobs are all part-time.No benefits are paid. No union representation.No job security.
A job with serious responsibilities done for minimal cost...one might say, cheap at the price.
The one job which has changed, very recently, is Manager of Bylaw Services. Also recently Bylaw Services have been transferred from jurisdiction of Town Clerk to Chief Building Official.
Human Resources has also recently been transferred from the Clerk's jurisdiction to the Treasurer's. Both have new long-winded titles.It was the Treasurer/Human Resources Director who responded to my inquiry.
It seems to me, when people have been doing a job as long as the parking control officers have, it is reasonable to assume it has been done properly.That's a sensitive job. If it were not being done properly and fairly, elected officials would certainly hear about it. Nobody...but nobody..likes getting a parking ticket.
I have had the temerity to say, I am unable to accept the rational for recruiting new parking control officers.
Heavens to Betsy!!!!!!
The Mayor says that is criticism of senior staff and harassment.
****************************************************************************
Within the last year, the position of Chief Financial Officer, now Human Resources Director as well, was filled without recruitment or a competition. Despite there is a Provincial Regulation which requires recruitment and a Town Policy setting out the process.
Council was informed of the interim appointment behind closed doors.
The position is statutory. Statutory officers must be appointed by Bylaw. Only Council has authority to pass Bylaws.
Ergo, only Council has authority to appoint.
The Bylaw was passed after the fact.
It happened again when the interim appointment was made permanent. The morning after the last Council Meeting in December of last year, Council was informed, by e-mail, along with all employees, the appointment of Treasurer/Human Resources Director had been made permanent.
Again without authority.
Again without the Bylaw.
Provincial law requires municipalities to have a Treasurer. We did not for several weeks.
******************************************************************************
Municipalities carry insurance against the possibility of loss of funds for whatever reason.
Everyone who owns a house or a vehicle quickly learns the significance of fine print in an insurance policy.
It occurs to me to wonder if our insurance indemnification protects us in the circumstances of a loss, if the legal process(recruitment) for filling the position of Town Treasurer/ Human Resources Director by competition,to ensure we have the best person for the job, has not been followed.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Look Look I did it again
I wish to respond to your blog.
Firstly, the granting of a charitable tax receipt by the OHF does not mean there is a sale involved. A right of use can be considered a gift and attract a receipt. The nature and condition attached to the gift determines its nature.
The discussion about the town getting part of the property and letting OHF sell part did not emanate from the OHF, but rather the Town(See www.bryanmoir.ca)
Finally, as I said before, a thorough review by a competent solicitor hired by the town confirmed that Mrs. Bartley-Smith intentions were to preserve this property. I concur with that view and even suggested that a court decide the issue, which OHF were not interested in.
Does not the fact the OHF is interested in a custodial agreement fly in the face of their position that they can do with the property what they want?
*******************
The foregoing is a comment to my post about the Ann Bartley Smith lands and Ontario Heritage Trust.
There's a reference to Bryan Moir who was a candidate in the last election.He was never a Councillor so, wherever he is now, he was never in a position to speak with certainty about the town's actions.
His web site references a letter in which he claims Ann Bartley Smith put a curse on the land. and suggests she and her husband are buried there.
He also claims to have been a founding member of S.W.A.T. So how much credence should we give to his statements?
There is also a contradiction in the claim, the town proposed development, while at the same time retaining a lawyer to confirm Ann Bartley Smith's intent was the opposite.
While I am not disagreeing the town obtained a legal opinion to opine on Ann Bartley Smith's intent, it still seems to me, if that's what she wanted to do with the land, that's what she would have done.
People do make straightforward bequests in wills, don't they?
And....wasn't that will challenged in court by the son? And upheld?
I'm just asking.
We have a custodial agreement with Heritage Trust of Ontario. It has been in place for years.
This week we have to try to change the mind of an official that a permeable product, very expensive, should be used to pave the parking lot at Shephard's Bush.We have a federal grant to pay for two-thirds of the project.Our share is $250,000.
Nobody should have any illusions that agreement gives us anything but responsibility for maintaining the property. At the time we were planning the artificial turf installation, Councillor Gaertner noticed a clause in the agreement that concerned her. It required permission for anything we do there. And further requires that anything we do, they can order us to undo at any time.
Councillor Gaertner successfully moved the clause be negotiated out of the agreement. Well,
that didn't happen.
No sir...A custodial agreement on the Ann Bartley Smith lands would do nothing but cost us money in exchange for Nothing, Nada, Zilch and Zero.
It's an illusion Mayor Morris is planning to point to, as an achievement in her re-election campaign.
Like the custodial agreement with the McLeod lands on Leslie Street owned by the Oak Ridges Moraine Trust. We get to pay four years back taxes and don't even get to take a walk in the woods for another six .
Like the Promenade Consultant Study which the Mayor claims is a greater investment than any Council has ever "invested", is, as we speak, restoring the downtown core to a vibrant commercial centre.
Smoke and Mirrors. Smoke and Mirrors.
Firstly, the granting of a charitable tax receipt by the OHF does not mean there is a sale involved. A right of use can be considered a gift and attract a receipt. The nature and condition attached to the gift determines its nature.
The discussion about the town getting part of the property and letting OHF sell part did not emanate from the OHF, but rather the Town(See www.bryanmoir.ca)
Finally, as I said before, a thorough review by a competent solicitor hired by the town confirmed that Mrs. Bartley-Smith intentions were to preserve this property. I concur with that view and even suggested that a court decide the issue, which OHF were not interested in.
Does not the fact the OHF is interested in a custodial agreement fly in the face of their position that they can do with the property what they want?
*******************
The foregoing is a comment to my post about the Ann Bartley Smith lands and Ontario Heritage Trust.
There's a reference to Bryan Moir who was a candidate in the last election.He was never a Councillor so, wherever he is now, he was never in a position to speak with certainty about the town's actions.
His web site references a letter in which he claims Ann Bartley Smith put a curse on the land. and suggests she and her husband are buried there.
He also claims to have been a founding member of S.W.A.T. So how much credence should we give to his statements?
There is also a contradiction in the claim, the town proposed development, while at the same time retaining a lawyer to confirm Ann Bartley Smith's intent was the opposite.
While I am not disagreeing the town obtained a legal opinion to opine on Ann Bartley Smith's intent, it still seems to me, if that's what she wanted to do with the land, that's what she would have done.
People do make straightforward bequests in wills, don't they?
And....wasn't that will challenged in court by the son? And upheld?
I'm just asking.
We have a custodial agreement with Heritage Trust of Ontario. It has been in place for years.
This week we have to try to change the mind of an official that a permeable product, very expensive, should be used to pave the parking lot at Shephard's Bush.We have a federal grant to pay for two-thirds of the project.Our share is $250,000.
Nobody should have any illusions that agreement gives us anything but responsibility for maintaining the property. At the time we were planning the artificial turf installation, Councillor Gaertner noticed a clause in the agreement that concerned her. It required permission for anything we do there. And further requires that anything we do, they can order us to undo at any time.
Councillor Gaertner successfully moved the clause be negotiated out of the agreement. Well,
that didn't happen.
No sir...A custodial agreement on the Ann Bartley Smith lands would do nothing but cost us money in exchange for Nothing, Nada, Zilch and Zero.
It's an illusion Mayor Morris is planning to point to, as an achievement in her re-election campaign.
Like the custodial agreement with the McLeod lands on Leslie Street owned by the Oak Ridges Moraine Trust. We get to pay four years back taxes and don't even get to take a walk in the woods for another six .
Like the Promenade Consultant Study which the Mayor claims is a greater investment than any Council has ever "invested", is, as we speak, restoring the downtown core to a vibrant commercial centre.
Smoke and Mirrors. Smoke and Mirrors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
