If there was one word that came out of the public budget meeting and used by one taxpayer to sum up the position of most of the people in the room, and as it turned out, some members of council it was
SURVIVING!
This meeting was a prime example of almost everything that is wrong with this council and previously identified on the only1taxpayer web site .
From the zero leadership of the Mayor (“its coming and we must be ready”) to the “lectures” delivered by Councilors Davidson and Preston and “planner” Michael Wynia (do they really have more life experience, experience and intelligence than most of us in that room?) to the tearful exhibition of Councilor Bronee (an indication that, for her own health, she might wish to retire) this was a prime example of almost everything that is wrong and needs to be corrected in, and by, this council.
Out of a total time allocation (What happened to – “We’ll be here until you’re finished”?) of just a little over 2-1/2 hours ONLY a little over 40 minutes was provided for the taxpayers to START asking questions. NO offers to extend the meeting, accept questions by Email or (in light of the interest shown by the public) any offer from the Mayor to allow an extra meeting devoted solely to the answering of questions from taxpayers without the doodling on the extravagantly expensive electronic whiteboard that the IT staff seems to feel they need to replace far less costly paper for their scribbles! (IT is one budget that needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb to eliminate these kinds of unnecessary frills, purchased, it would appear, for the ego gratification of staff)
“Tell us what you want?” is a total cop-out!
It’s the responsibility of each councilor to determine from COMMUNICATION with the broader constituency using surveys and town hall meetings to find out what the taxpayer wants and IS ABLE TO FUND BEFORE even starting the budget process. That cannot take place just by attending hockey games at the arena or from listening to special interest groups who have the ear of elected officials.
Ward 4 is VERY lucky! Thank you Thom Paterson for holding the ONLY town hall meeting covering this budget and getting the REAL input from taxpayers concerned enough to attend; you seem to understand your responsibilities to the taxpayer and value their input!
This budget will be passed REGARDLESS of anything that was said by anyone at the meeting, the 7.24% increase in salaries and benefits for “administration” will go through (funny how Councilor Davidson missed quoting that departments number), the CAO’s salary and benefits can rise to slightly under $125,000 and the good life will go on at Gideon Street for another year!
The water/sewer costs have ALREADY BEEN PASSED and are not in the budget process so you’re up for the 61% increase in that cost regardless. That decision was made quietly long before the required public input to the budget and is what will cause me and others like me to move out of Clearview leaving everyone else to pick up the tab for the increased costs of services that eventually they will not be able to afford.
It’s what I call the “Clearview death spiral” and it could be stopped IF ONLY we had a Mayor with the ability to lead, prepared to communicate equally with everyone and open to having his councils errors in judgment (the full costs for the “HUB” for example) made public, supported by a majority of councilors prepared to make the really hard decisions on cutting CORE costs that remain un-analyzed and untouched by council each and every budget.
Each of the councilors that spoke and the Mayor (who did not) seem to have “hit the wall” when it comes to representing their constituencies. Maybe its time for them to step aside and let in some new blood that’s prepared to perform the analysis and make those hard decisions that would allow the current residents of Clearview to remain in their homes. If that occurs, let’s also go away from the ward system to an open form of council with two or more less councilors to bring representation levels and costs more in line with other municipalities.
Thanks to everyone who sent me their impressions of the budget meeting. The Mayor refused to answer my request for a “public table” to be manned by volunteers on fixed incomes that this budget will probably cause to leave Clearview so I deliberately stayed out of the room and let everyone “attempt” to get their questions answered. Most of these comments come from concerned citizens who were in the room and subjected to the attitudes of the various participants from the Township of Clearview.
The Mayor has a “discretionary expense fund” that can be used for functions benefiting the community, maybe it would be possible to tap that fund to pay back the almost $500 spent by taxpayers (many on fixed incomes) for printing and mailing that resulted in getting the huge numbers in attendance!
Peter Lomath
