THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MICE AND MEN

The Mavrinac 6 acres that the town just bought for $2.4 million dollars  is a story that took a few twists and turns and the final writhing  is yet to come.  

The town has already acquired full entitlement for park and recreation needs for the neighbourhood.

They are built and in place.  

Legal fees are not the only ancillary expense of the acquisition.  A park is not built without cost nor maintained without manpower. There can have been no capital forecast for the expense. It was never anticipated.

 A park on that site is completely redundant and a classic example of how Topsy grows and decisions are made and by the way without advice from the Chief Financial Advisor. 

The Public  and Separate board both earmarked sites as required by the Planning Act. The Public School Board site, substantially larger, was intended for a high school. The Public Board paid for and acquired their site.

Opposition to the transfer of Dr .G.W.Williams HS. to the new neighbourhood was organized by friend and campaign manager of the former Mayor. The plan changed. The Board is now in a position to re-sell the site to a developer at market value. Who knows who.....maybe Minto will buy it back. 

When the Separate School Board decided not to take up the site, town staff had no knowledge of the clause in the subdivision agreement requiring it to be sold to the municipality. 

No such clause had  been seen before. 

Former Councillor Gallo brought it to the attention of Council and staff but first to the neighbourhood. He hand delivered a letter informing residents  and advising them he favored the site be acquired and used as a park. 

He booked the Council Chamber and chaired a meeting to promote the project.Councillors couldn't

wait to jump on the bandwagon. Councillor Abel in the forefront, first. On his feet, he  repeated his commitment to buy everything in sight and create parks,parks and more parks. 

You'd have to be on that council and the one before...and the one before ...to understand how such a clause could get into a legal agreement.

Once the town sold a small parcel to a developer. Against the advice of an interim town solicitor, a Councillor insisted on a clause that eventually brought the agreement back to be amended. The bank had refused to finance the project .

The clause effectively placed a condition on the sale,requiring it to be reversed, at the original price, if not used  for the purpose the buyer stated. 

It was to be used as stated but bank refusal to finance the project would not permit that to happen. 

Municipal politics may not be the only place for imbecility. It's the only one I know intimately. 

John Gallo,one of the gang of six on the previous Council, was the only Councillor who knew of the clause in the Minto agreement. Lines of communication between himself and probably Councillor MacEachern was a badly kept secret. With the help of the former CAO ,he once got a stop work order on a couple of tennis courts that were all but completed and within budget.They did not get finished for another nine months and of course at greater cost. 

Minto, the developer likely had his own reasons to cave in to the town.Toadying to politicians is part of the price of being in business. Discreet complaints are made at private dinners where hundreds of thousands can be paid to break bread with provincial movers and shakers. 

Then half-baked legislation like Conflict of Interest  is passed to no effect other than to place another burden on municipal property taxpayers. 

But I digress. ....Only slightly. 

Now they've got it, town has to decide what to do with the Minto property. 

Neighbours  are naturally pleased and magnaminiously recommend a purpose that will benefit the entire community... Huff Puff ....Rightly so.  

Thus far the entire community has footed the bill.  

It cannot be a park. According to town standards,already higher than need be, the neighbourhood is fully serviced with recreation amenities. 

The Mayor has  righteously proclaimed the purchase. 

 No longer is there a need to justify upholding an irregular,never-seen -before, clause in a subdivision agreement.

Now all that is needed is  an explanation of why the town needs the land. To what purpose?

Certainly not a park. 

In partnership with the Region,the Town of Newmarket has been successful in providing affordable 

housing in that community. 

Aurora could do that. Why not?

$2.4 million is only 20% of the planned giveaway to entice York University to locate a campus on our border. 

Great excitement and seat -gripping tension was not the reaction Town staff actually left their officers and went out and about asking people if they wanted to sell their property and if-so ...name the  price . 

Did I read somewhere only eight people viewed the last council meeting? 

That should suit them just fine. 

IT 'S GOOD TO FEEL

,When a comment is received in response to one  identified by a time line, I have to go into published comments and scroll down looking for the time before I make the decision to publish or not. Sometimes the date is all that's recorded. 

It's a nuisance. 

If contributors gave  themselves a nom-de-plume, I might remember the comment being responded and save myself a step. It might also help to discern between friend  and foe. 

The nasty one tried calling me by my first name to trick me into publishing.

 

Like Duh !

So hostile yet can't stay away or control the desperation to be mean  and still get published on my blog.

Go figger!

"Something Fishy in Aurora" has participated on the blog since it started in August 2007. Helpful information and links are often supplied that prove the accuracy of my argument. It's a good feeling

to know I'm not alone. 

Others concerned for my well -being urge me to take a break and go out and enjoy the sunshine and the garden. 

When I see  a comment from Kanon, there's a little rush of excitement. It can be support for an argument or a logical alternative but it's  always a pleasure. 

The blog is an important part of my life. Though anonymous, those who share it are important to me. They make me feel it matters. 

I matter. 

GRANDFATHER'S WISE ADVICE

16.37 lives by the advice of a grandfather who lived through two wars and a Great Depression. 

I've never understood why catastrophic and utterly destructive events are described in superlative terms. Wars are described as Glorious ,Great, Heroic and The  War To End All Wars.  

Grandfather's advice  also noted how governments skew facts to portray things in a different light so people can be persuaded to deny  reality. 

I grew up in the aftermath and  terrible despair of World War 1, during the terrible depression, the Second  World War and lived through years of austerity that followed to pay off debt for the conflagration .

I know how  the Greeks are feeling. 

The only people with secure jobs and "holidays" were policeman,postman,firemen,teachers and the like. 

 

In return for security and benefits ,like one week of holiday and miniscule pensions (superannuation) , wages were a paltry sum. 

Some things change. Some remain the same. 

Government at all levels skew facts and  people appear content to accept it. 

In Aurora,  the treasurer provides tables at budget time that suggest excessive taxation does not create hardship. 

The majority of residents have post-secondary education. Inckmes are higher than average so it 

doesn't  matter how high the taxation, they can afford it. 

One can understand where he is coming from. His income is well above average. He doesn't pay Aurora taxes . Apart from members of Council, he likely knows few who do. Certaily not his immediate superior. 

Obviously , he never identified with moi and never  heard a whimper from the others. Councillor Abel was certainly content to echo his support for the philosophy. He stated he had never met anyone who complained about high taxation. 

In the last eight years I never heard either Mayor or  Councillors disagree with the  theory .

Except for moi. I lived through the aftermath of one horrifying war, grew up during a dreadful depression, experienced  the awful reality of the Second War to End All Wars, sparked by stupidity of the ending of the First War To End All Wars. 

I endured twelve years of  continued threat of war and austerity that followed to pay off the debt for the war. I finally left to find something better. 

It  turned out to be a wise move. 

I found it . 

I was given an opportunity to respect and defend it. 

For which I will be forever grateful. 

ANOTHER FINE MESS YOU'VE GOTTEN US INTO, STANLEY

Last night a news item ran about a Niagara Region employee being fired because he made  critical comments on social media about an elected official he said, cared more about publicity than doing what was good  for the community. 

The employee was on television. Looked to be in his thirties. Worked in the transit division. That's a good job. Nobody has benefits like municipal employees ....worth more than many others earn in a year. 

The sentiment expressed is not unusual....it's the general public perception of politicians. 

He apparently had no idea of constraints in the public service. 

It's about responsiblity for maintaing public confidence in the  institution.

Insofar as respect for  law and order is essential to maintain a civil society. 

Or is that also an outmoded concept? 

How could he get to his mid-thirties with a career in public service without understanding the line between elected and appointed officials. 

It's not in writing. It has to be taught. 

Except in the Police Code of Discipline.

Because of their authority under the law, the police are prohibited from involvement in politics.

It's the reason former Toronto Chief Blair's contract was not renewed.

After being an officer for decades and governed by the Code of Discipline,he still hasn't got it,

He should not have been having Toronto's Mayor investigated. Nor making statements to that  effect to the media. 

If he got away with that no elected official could ever again be safe from abuse of power by the police .

It did not need to be discussed. 

 It was enough that every Police Chief in the  Province understood .

if the contract had not been handily up for renewal, the terminology might have been different. 

No charges were laid against Rob Ford. Investigation of the Mayor died with Blair's departure. 

Charges were laid against his friend. One  to date has failed to hold up in court. 

But Big Bumbling Bill Blair is possibly on his way to bigger and better things as a candidate for he Federal Liberal party. Shows how much the Liberal Part understands with Trudeau Junior at the helm. 

If elected, like his predeccesor police chief Julian Fantino ,maybe a bungled cabinet ministry is in his future.  

So much to be said for understanding principles, the need to maintain public confidence and respect for public intelligence. 

Therein perhaps lies the clue for a lowly Niagara Region employee's failure to understand a basic

principle  of employment. 

DO NO HARM 

The  Simcoe Health Centre Board has certainly created a mess . From which there can be no escape.

Nothing more can be said that justifies the order to the Foundation Board to terminate their top official without further invading that individual's privacy and damaging her reputation .

Labour Laws take a dim view of it . Civil Law is equally unforgiving. 

A story in the Toronto Star quotes a Foundation spokesperson that the  truth must emerge before 

reconciliation is possible.

Truth is exactly what can't be spoken. 

The only remedy is for the Health Centre  Board to be replaced. 

The brace of Mayors from Newmarket and Aurora are the only two board members accountable to the 

Region and the public. 

It makes for an interesting dichotomy  ...a pretty kettle of fish....a couple  of deer iin the headlights.

WHO 'S RUNNING THE SHOW? WHY?

The When Heather was a student at St Joseph's, a small group of mothers volunteered to teach 

things like knitting,crocheting and sewing.  Things that used to be a teacher's function. 

Heather always participated and still has kind memories of the mothers.

As a mother with four children ,including Adam ,in school at the same time, she made herself  available wherever and whenever she was needed. 

Heather and Andy both participated in fund-raising for the things the school board did not provide.

They acquired substantial skills. 

In the early years of personal computers, funds had to be raised to acquire them...one at a time.

A new school principal was appointed . It was her position since they were raised for school purposes , authority to decide how the funds would be used was hers and hers alone. 

Something was lost; the feeling that everyone was working together for the same objective. 

Ensuing tension soon ended . Fund-raising took a back seat. 

A Women's Auxilliary was active in York County Hospital. They operated a gift shop ,organized volunteers and made daily rounds with items patients might like or need.

It was an important service in a trying situation. 

A  fund-raising garden party tea was organized once a year. 

The Auxilliary was allowed to have a member on the  Hospital Board. Permission had to be obtained  

from the Board to allow the Auxilliary to hold the tea.

I  thought that was odd . 

Whenever opportunity presents to ask participants  in walks and runs for various health causes, how they feel about how funds are disseminated, I ask. 

 I have found considerable concern that millions raised seem to make little difference in outcomes and there's little accountability to the people who actually work to raise the funds. In fact separate organizations have sprung up out of the resultant dissatisfaction. All under the radar of course.

I know nothing at all about management of the Hospital Foundation. 

I am inclined  however support an argument the Foundation should not be subject to the authority the Hospital Board. The two should be able to work together without issue. 

Considering phenomal coss,I've  always wondered why so little public interest in hospital management. I could stay in the Royal suite in the  Royal York and enjoy room service for less than it costs for a night's stay in a hospital. 

Who are these people on the  board?  Who are the members who elect them?

And who is it that deserves a pay cheque of nigh on half a million dollars a year with an expense account of a quarter of a million and a  pedestal perch from which to gaze down on lesser mortals?

NOTE TO SELF

A comment notes nothing could  be said to persuade Magna to stay in Aurora  because of the value of land. 

That's true but we could chat about the spurned offer to build a church on donated acreage.

And  refer to a generous giift of an ecology park for town lbenefit.

The  Environmental  Advisory Committee recommended  before the gift be approved,the plan be brought back to the committee for approval of the trail alignment. 

The utterly nonsensical recommendation was accepted by  equally ridiculous Mayor and Council. 

No hint of concern was expressed by the  Division of Retention and Expansion. 

The proponent did not respond. In fact, the ecology park seems to have faded into the distance.

We might consider what on earth a municipal bureaucrat could have to say that would convince Magna they should not maximize the value of their property. 

The long succession of opened and closed business during the tenure of the former CAO is hardly testament to effectiveness of a Division  of Retention and Expansion within the Economic Development Department.

But all of that is beside the point.

Value of development lands in urban Aurora far surpasses value In agricultural King. 

Despite the Ontario Premier's aim to protect agricultural land and prevent urban sprawl, Intervention is unlikely from that quarter and yet another golf course wont likely exist either in the not too distant future. 

But we have all the fol-de-rols and fur-belows and corresponding operating costs with little 

to show for it. 

When town business is run efficiently perhaps we can charge a fee and offer advice to others. 

SILLY BILLIES

The  Mayor and several members of last term's economic development  advisory committee were quite excited when the current hospital CAO was appointed.  He had ideas for all kind of possibilities for development of research facilities and medical manufacturers in towns in the halo of Southlake Health Facility. 

A university would have  been icing on the cake. Remember that kefaffle.They planned to gift $11 million to York University. 

I am not sure CAO credentials as manager of a large hospital qualified him to speak  about economic development but it certainly got the minions all fired up.

The last attempt to get a decision on the redundant municipal buildings on Victoria Street was set aside once againon a motion by Councillor Thompson who was always quick on the draw to defer.

Three hundred thousand  had already been spent fixing the old library up to accommodate 

staff for transition while a multi million dollar renovation was done on the town hall.

Construction in the old library was done without Council knowledge or authority. Can't say what the Mayor knew. 

After the CAO  obtained authority on his own recommendation to spend  $ 200,000. without council or the public knowing what he was doing. He actually recommended $300,000 but that didn't fly. Councillor Thompson moved it be reduced.  

The incubator thingy  in the old library the  committee was so keen on never came to be and $300,000 was spent on the old library  before the town hall renovation project  was cancelled. 

It seems the CAO was still learning on the job and not doing too well. 

Estimates for Designs under authority of the Chief Building Official exceeded the budget approved by Council. The contract was cancelled  before the report reached  Council.

I inquired a few times which business had been persuaded to stay or grow In the town since we had a two person department (a manager on the sunshine list) bearing the title of Retention And Expansion. 

The name was changed after the second enquiry when the Mayor would not direct the question to the director responsible. 

A story in The  Auroran last week touched on the question again. 

Don Constable asked at a meeting of the committee   "what did the town do to persuade Magna to stay?"

It seems the question generated a bit of a flurry but no answer. 

The Mayor made feeble reference to a conversation a while ago. The facility was no longer adequate for Magna's purposes and the lease they had with themselves was up for renewal. 

According to the press report The Manager of Economic Development had nothing useful to contribute to the discussion.  

An application for residential development  can be expected as soon as they can whip one up. 

They won't build it. They'll sell it.

SUPREME BEINGS

Thank you for your  comments of support for my legal cause. 

The experience will not soon be forgotten. Pending the decision I am  advised it would not be wise to speak of the proceedings. 

I anticipate the constraint to be lifted once the ruling is made. 

But nothing  that has happened so far has been what might  be reasonably expected.   

One step at a time I suppose and hope to see it through to the end. 

Chris Watts has a  post  touching on aspects of Simcoe Health Centre finances. In particular,salary paid to the current CAO.and relationship to services rendered. 

I did not know about mass resignation of hospital foundation board members. The Foundation  and Hospital Board are separate entities. 

I guess the media didn't think it was worth reporting. Or disgruntled members  didn't want media attention. Chairman of the foundation claims not to have any idea why his members resigned

was apparently also kept in the dark 

I can think of a likely reason.  The foundation board manages funds raised by volunteers.

Any hint of scandal could jeapordise fund-raising . Board members merely unhappy with some aspect of management of funds would be caught between a rock and a hard place. 

Publicising  their discontent would  be contra-indicated.

Salary paid to the  Hospital CAO has never been a secret. The Province requires all hospitals 

to publish the figures.

The salary is only part of the compensation package. The  person who had  the job previously claimed  quarter of a million dollars for expenses the year before he departed with great fan-fare bestowed upon him by local dignitaries. 

Hospitals are another one of those sacred institutions. To criticise is a sacrilege. 

Just last week I heard of a young graduate of orthopedic surgery who can't find employment. 

Her parents never heard of the Medical Advisory Committee that recommends to  hospital boards who should  have access to facilities. " hospital privileges" 

An Olympic rower, It's surprising she even got into medical school. The Mediaeval Guild that governs the profession has  a pretty tight grip on all who enter those portals  as well. 

If there's a shortage of doctors,the government doesn't have to look far for the reason.  

If a doctor or specialist can't get access to hospital facilities ,they can't make a living in the profession.

Yet public money builds the facilities. They are there to service public need. You would think. 

My goodness, if the public ever start asking how hospitals are governed ,what a turn-up for the books that would be. 

THE QUESTION IS WHEN

Enough of commenting on rules of engagement.  It reminds me of family life and of children at home. 

******************

"When you  come home at night and close the door behind you,your home is your refuge. 

Here is where you need to know you will not be sandbagged, way-laid, back-stabbed or betrayed. 

The family is your greatest asset." 

That little lecture would be adapted to age of the listener but the meaning was always the same.

Repetition over years illustrated the continued need to remind.Seven siblings require a variety of rules and pleadings but they are all still friends and never part without expressing mutual affection. Spouses have joined the circle. And cousins. They all do the same. It's a family tradition. Something must have percolated from me to them. 

Be that as it may, I do enjoy clean and bloodless thrust and parry of a battle of wits. Politics is my bag. 

I'm pleased to have lived long enough to become my own publisher, however small my readership. 

Speaking of which, in a half century of involvement In town affairs, I never needed help in a fight, legal or otherwise. I held my own. 

A local lawyer once filed a notice of intent to complain. I  counter-filed with notice of intent to defend. 

He had been informed that I said his services should not have been retained. 

I had told a group, a lawyer was not needed to bring a concern forward and that Council was their advocate. 

Mayor John  West was there.  He asked that I go with him to the lawyer and state the fact of the matter. I did. That was was the end of it. 

Litigation against Morris et al is a different matter. 

Public trust and resources were used to retain a lawyer to write a complaint under the Code of Conduct . 

Legislation does not permit a Council to file a complaint. Lawyer John Mascarain so advised,after he accepted the retainer. 

Subsequently Councillor Wilson signed a statement of complaint written by the lawyer.

On July 29th , staff  were directed by the six who endorsed the complaint, to publish the statement in two local newspapers and on the town web site. Councillor Gaertner read the statement as part of a resolution at a council meeting.  It was entered into the public record where it still resides. It was broadcast on Cable T.V. 

Two  local lawyers notified me  publication of the statement  was defamatory. 

I did not visit a doctor nor a phsychaitrist or any other kind of therapist.

Legal services were used to destroy my reputation. Legal services had to be used to respond. There was no other remedy. 

I consulted a lawyer, accepted his advice and notice of  intent to litigate was filed. Notice of litigation followed.

A year later, three residents were sued by the Town's Mayor for defamation using town resources to 

process the litigation.,

When a new council was elected, a full- page advertisement was purchased in the media containing an apology from the town to the three residents. Two had defended themselves successfully. 

 

Early In December 2013, a jury trial of my action commenced. It was a long trial. Days before Christmas, all that remained was for the Judge to instruct the jury. 

Instead ,the jury was dismissed .To that point the trial was public. 

Subsequently ,by written communication, permission was granted to the defendants to submit a new defence.

Nineteen months after the jury was dismissed, the ruling is still pending. 

For six years, I have followed legal  advice not to comment . 

As a Council member, I did not participate in 2014 ,when insurance premium increases were presented. 

I declared  a Conflict of Interest when defence costs of  $850,000  were disclosed by a Vice President of the insurance company attending  Council by invitation .

The Mayor and Councillor Abel declared  the cause of the expenditure was my pursuit of  a multi-million dollar jackpot.   In other words, I was motivated by greed. 

 July 29- 2009 defamation was legislated against me in a council meeting.

Immediately prior to the 2014 election campaign Mayor Dawe and Councilor Abel did much the same thing. 

July 2015 . it is still my story to tell. The end is in sight.  

ALL ABOUT SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS AND THE FUN STUFF

Ever-righteous Toronto Mayor Tory lectures that Councillor  Ford should "set an example" 

The Councillor acknowledged driving in HOV lanes when he needed to get somewhere in a hurry. 

A news video showed a highway with two packed lanes inching forward and not a single car in the HOV Lane.

Toronto Police says  the Councillor could be charged. 

Right.... If they catch him. 

The media are  in an ever-so- temporary tizzy with this bad boy. 

Councillor Ford  may have a better understanding of how people think  than either John Tory or the media. 

Last week  Toronto Council  passed a bylaw to reduce speed limits on residential streets. 

Little will change. 

Police will not issue tickets for speeds less than that understood by drivers as the urban standard.

Drivers will continue to drive at  speed learned from the  provincial driving manual.

Councillors can posture to heart's content.

The police will assess what it takes to keep streets safe and proceed accordingly. 

If the Police Chief is asked ,his answer will be discreet. "We will do what needs to be done to keep the city safe" 

Because  in fact  that is the authority of the police department. 

Th city's only obligation is to pay 100% of the cost.  

The bylaw will be all it can be. Window dressing. 

In the meantime giant sink holes open up on busy routes  because  the city doesn't maintain infrastructure properly..

Property taxes are less than ours but that's not the point of this post. 

Thousands of gallons of water were lost in a cavity big enough to swallow a car recently. It happens regularly. Iron pipes are a hundred years old and corroded. 

A few years ago,Aurora Treasurer and Director of I&E  informed Council water rate increases were due in part to water loss which had increased 12% in a year. I asked for a list of the water breaks to show 

how water loss had increased. I never got that information. 

Now then....York Region is buying water from Toronto . Do the rates we pay for that water include the cost of  their water loss because they do not maintain infrastructure properly .

Our Mayor informed us, when he was still like a deer in the headlights,water is the best bargain we get.

 

Really. 

Why are we taking only 25%  from aquifers under our feet and buying 75% from Toronto and the Region of Peel. The cost must recover the cost of water loss caused by failure to maintain infrastructure.

We pay  higher taxes to maintain our infrastructure and then pay higher water rates because our water supplier does not maintain theirs. They have lower property taxes. 

We cannot deny residential development as long as we can provide hard services.

 Water is a hard service. 

If we didn't buy water from Toronto and Peel, would we have enough for new development?

Could  we say NO ?

I think maybe so. 

WHERE YOU'VE BEEN HELPS DECIDE WHERE YOU'RE GOING

P"The current out-going CAO, in contrast to his predecessor, made all things possible for she who hired him." This is the crux of your latest series of posts. Your perception of him and his former mayoral association colours your view. Your antipathy is personal; plain and simple, you're biased. You can't separate him from her. on KEEP THE FACTS STRAIGHT AND IN ORDER.

*************************************

Another lofty comment this morning notes having  "moved on from the issue a long time ago because it's not healthy to dwell on it for so long."  It continued " For some it's just a reason to get up in the morning" 

This type of comment gives me pause. They illustrate a level of engagement. 

With anonymity, certainty of degree cannot be established. 

This week a couple of comments came through  about the Highlands Development.  

I did not post on the issue . It's too tedious. Over the years, the arguments have been repeated time  and time again.  I could recite them with eyes closed.

One or two residents claim expertise and fire up the crowd and everybody is off to the races.

Several meetings have been scheduled to be sure all will be heard. 

The same few will try to simulate the whole.  

The  dance is familiar. Developers will pirrouette and bow to politicians  and residents alike, knowing by the level of determination,unshakability and audience flush with financial resources,the matter will assuredly be decided by the O.M.B

The only uncertainty is how much the current flock  are prepared to shovel from town coffers into a futile endeavor. 

A blog is nothing without exchange. I often ponder the merits of  anonymity. 

Chris Watts requires I.D.   Anna does too.  Newspapers insist letter-writers identify themselves. 

I think maybe that's a good  thing.

An inordinate amount of piffle comes from unidentified sources. 

People squabble amongst themselves ....call each other names...they don't even know each other.

Sometimes It seems a waste to be posting background and details on town hall shenanigans 

for such a miniscule response. 

Last week, I outlined  how $15,000. was spent on a Schulich School of Business Management 
Certficate for the outgoing CAO.

Another item of $8,000 was listed with the same institution. Neither identified the recipient. 

The Town Treasurer's clumsy attempt to withhold information from Council by misrepresenting time and effort to produce the figures was noted. It was seen on T.V. Reported in the media. 

The Town's Mayor supported the Treasurer's initial efforts at concealment by voting against 

a Council motion to disclose. 

Funds  were not reimbursed by the  departing CAO.,and certainly were  used without benefit to the municipality. Reason being, there is no policy for return. 

What rot. 

By all known standards, the  municipal interest has been exploited  by the very people appointed and elected to  serve and protect.

Some might describe that in harsher terms. 

What is the reaction?

*************

Ho Hum . 

No more than one might expect. 

My perception is biased.

It's not healthy to dwell upon unpleasantness. 

No integrity anywhere. 

******************

We know ours is a small circle.

Smaller still , if the trolls would take the hint. 

But really,when facts are as plain as the nose on one's face , what more  does it take for scandal to be  recognized? 

Anna says I should keep writing the blog.

I am happy to do so as long as the story is mine to tell. 

I think of the new Councilors, at least two I believe intending to do what people expect of them.

No worthwhile guidance emanates from this Mayor or Deputy. 

Professional advice, as we have seen, is sporadic at best and at worst .

They need all the help they can get. 

Whether welcome or not....is a decision for them to make .

For my part, well...I can at least share my thoughts.