So Sad

Yeaterday was a sad day. The  picture of a beautiful smiling little three year  old was posted  early on facebook. He was missing. On the  most dangerously cold day in decades. he was out there in. a T shirt and diaper.

People travelled for miles to join the search. His little frozen body was found after nine hours in the cold. He had walked half a kilometer.

We are told  he was staying overnight with siblings at his grandmother's apartment

  At four o'clock in the morning he got out of bed put on his  winter boots and left the building.

Every mother whose toddler has climbed into bed beside her, in the dark , to snuggle in the safety and warmth  of her arms knows where Elijah was going yesterday morning when he left his grandma's house.

Lines Drawn...Swords crossed

Our Mayor and the CAO, Newmarket's Mayor, Regional  Councillor  and CAO  and who  knows who
at the Region and the Town's Economic Development  Advisory Committee have all had their discussion and determined how best to separate the two municipalities from double digit millions
of dollars to  entice the Province to locate a satellite York University Campus at the border of our two towns.

The money hasn't actually been spent. The intention is to commit to spend if the price is right.

Their decision had been made before it was presented to Council.

It's  a  sample of regional mindset that permeates our local Council.

There is no place for Councillors to have input let alone the community.

Unless Council takes hold of its own authority on Tuesday night , the decision gto proceed will go
forward.

Several studies  conducted by various universities are presented in camera
to convince Council to make the decision.

Waterloo.  Toronto, Vancouver Island University  have all assembled studies to indicate how many millions are contributed to the local economy with the establishment of a university.

Options for funding options  will also  be presented to Council behind closed doors.

They range from community fund-raising .use of reserve funds,sale of town assets, borrowing ,
some level of tax assessments or any combination  of the above.

Council will receive all of this information in secret.

The community  is to know nothing of the where's and wherefores of the  multi-million dollar roll -of -the -dice  until after the decision has been made.

No reference is made in the latest report to Provincially-owned- land  being  a location for  a satellite campus for York University. 

Oh My Goodness ,that would be all too simple. 

The  Mayor asked me once  what I meant by " the regional mindset"

I responded the Region is a level of government where without accountability.

The administration runs the show. 

Neither debate nor challenge is  ever recorded.

I have found  the same in Aurora  this term. Only the big boys get to play.

But the term is almost over. 

Council's decision on this issue  and how it was made  is a good start for the campaign. 

Do we have a Council ?  

Or do we have a bunch of stooges for the back room boys?

The lines are drawn....the swords are crossed.

A Secret not for telling

The Honourable Doug Holyday had a go at the Minister of Transportation in the Provincial Assembly yesterday.

He went up one side of the Minister and down the other.

The issue; the length of the  planned new subway. The  Province intends to cut it short.

As former  Deputy- Mayor of  Toronto, Mr. Holyday is of  course very familiar with what has gone before.

I'm not so sure about Glen Murray, the Provincial Minister  of Transportation.

It's not that long since he was Mayor of the City of Winnipeg in the Province of Manitoba.

According to the media, Mr Murray resigned   that position and came to Ontario
in time for the last Provincial election.

He promptly won a Toronto nomination and  a city riding. He may even have taken George Smitherman's former riding.

M.Smitherman resigned  his cabinet post and position of Deputy Minister to Dalton McGuinty to  be a candidate for the office of Mayor of Toronto

Te question that comes  automatically to mind is why Ontario Liberals had to reach out to the Mayor of Winnipeg to be  their candidate in  a Toronto Riding.

Was there no  qualified Liberal living in the Riding.?

Then being elected, was there no  better qualified Liberal on the government bench better qualified to be Minister of Transportation , in charge   when the hot issue of the Toronto subway to Scarborough had to be decided.

The Honorable Tim Hudak is quoted this week  that the Government wants  an election because they  have no plans to provide jobs.

Mr. Hudak appears to have forgotten , we have still not received the final tally for the cancellation of the  two gas-fired  generation plants. Expected o be in excess of a billion dollars.

An election call would save the Liberals  from having to disclose those figures.

Yet they are surely sitting in a folder on the Premier's desk even as we speak.

The Premier is out there this morning campaigning at a Polish Festival in the city.

The lady is not telling them the secret either.

What We Know Can't Hurt Us

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Supreme Court Can Quash a Municipal Bylaw.":

Won't work. You cannot legislate against stupidity or cupidity.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Supreme Court Can Quash a Municipal Bylaw.":

The operative word here is " can ". The Supremes can just decline such a case as it has not national interest. They need to give no response at all. This is strictly small potatoes, a local issue. The OMB might work. And the crucial word there is ' might '.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Supreme Court Can Quash a Municipal Bylaw.":
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Supreme Court Can Quash a Municipal Bylaw.": OMG !
Give us some time to catch up !
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If nothing else, it's an interesting topic of conversation. 
I am told anyone an make an application to quash a bylaw. 
By-laws are municipal. If there's an  opportunity to make application ,there must surely be an opportunity to be heard. 
I may have misunderstood which level of Supreme.
There's no cost to make  an application  if one is willing to  go it alone.
Given the history, I think I can make an argument.
The report recommending a schedule of workshops over twelve months for public input into a decision that does not  involve  a  legal commitment of  financial support  beyond this Council''s mandate, would be a good start. 
Obviously, homework  needs to be done  and  questions answered. 
When Reeve Jim Murray filed his appeal with the O.M.B against the railway museum in 1967,Council opted not to argue.  .
Would this Council proceed on  a course that didn't provide    opportunity for public input ? 
Did they listen only to the  clamour for public funds  to satisfy  cultural aspirations of a few?
Would they direct a solicitor, at public cost,  to defend their decision?
Or would they allow a court to rule on whether or not  Council  acted in good faith and the Bylaw be allowed to stand? 
Council's  decision is yet to be made but we know what's  intended. 
 I believe the administration exercised  influence beyond  their authority  for this decision  to come down as it has. 
Even if the option to file an application to quash the bylaw is not  ours to access,  I think the subject needs to be explored and precise and factual information  needs to be obtained.
Information is key.     

I Was There, Mr/Ms. Mole in the Hole.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "It's Not The Deal":

"With a view to replacing them with a new and dramatic centre..."
No, I think that was your personal view. Your 'pie in the sky' proposal didn't seem to gain any traction around the council table.

I'm glad that the Town's centenary project building won't be demolished. We're losing too much of our built heritage, as it is. The town council shouldn't contribute to that deficit.
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I was there. I wrote the resolution. I spoke in  its support. I heard what others had to say. 
I don't think. 
I know 
Two thirds of the old library building is not the Town's centennial project.It's a building abandoned in favour of a  beautiful new modern facility with pride of place on Yonge Street.
It should have been demolished at the time the new one was occupied.
That it wasn't has long  since been acknowledged  a mistake. 
Get your head up into the light and try to keep your facts straight.
Even if you're not willing to give  your name.    

Contradictions Abound

A copy of the draft agreement  was on the agenda of last week's general committee. It was recommended the draft be finalised for Council's consideration
Last night's  meeting contained a couple of  interesting contradictions. 
For years  the Association of Municipalities has been  quietly urging the Province to repair the broken arbitration system for Police,Fire and Emergency Services.It's quiet because nobody wants to be seen to be critical of the compensation packets for the local heroes.
From a management  perspective,  months ,drifting into years, of staff time and professional resources are spent in  endless  "negotiations" that always end up in lop-sided contracts. 
While police and firefighting services swallow up ever more  of municipal budgets, social  programs like housing and social service are decimated.
Ontario is not the Province it once was. 
Last night the Mayor surrendered the gavel  once more,to move  a resolution to urge the Provincial government to fix  a broken system.  . 
The Mayor does that a lot. Being  head of Council seems not to be  sufficiently satisfying. He needs to be the  mover of motions as well.
But this  was truly  ironic.
Municipalities, with good reason,complain about  home owners having to shoulder financial responsibilities of the Province for social problems and health services.
Yetthe same night we sent off  an urgent  resolution about the unbearable burden  for police and fire protection, we re-affirmed a new and needless burden created by the last Council  to pay for arts and culture. Through taxation with a budget similarly structured to the Library Board. 
There are  home owners  in Aurora who do not believe library services should be financed from taxes. They feel people should pay for their own books.There is a valid argument. 
Every year, two or four Councillors looks for ways to cut the library budget.It's a favourite target.
Yet there is no recognition of the contradiction of introducing a new budget to provide access to arts and culture  while objecting to  the cost of library services. . 
No acknowledgement that  people have a right to have  a say. 
Then there was that  hokey scheme to spend millions of  dollars on   something called a Heritage Park. 
Who ever heard of such a thing? Everywhere I go I check out the heritage facilities. have yet to visit a Heritage Park Unless one counts Disneyland in Orlando. 
By the way, we won't be hearing of it again  in Aurora. 
On  last night's agenda, a report dealing with the matter was received. Who knows how much staff time was spent on that.
It means no further time will be spent. .
We do some things right.              

WHAT WAS SAID

By Heidi Riedner

Sep 24, 2012 - 3:40 PM

Georgina's closed meeting breaches Municipal Act

But procedure, outcome of lawsuit meetings legal

TOWN OF GEORGINA.

Investigators determined the town breached the Municipal Act at a Nov. 21 committee of the whole meeting with “a substantive decision in closed session”; one that was “couched in a direction to staff”, according to a report being presented to council Monday night.
In addition, it states that councils, when in committee of the whole, should be wary of providing direction that is more properly within the purview of council to provide in open or in closed session.

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Despite the fact the town breached the Municipal Act at one of its closed meetings regarding a dropped defamation lawsuit, the overall procedure it followed was legal, according to results of a now concluded four-month investigation.
Investigators determined the town breached the Municipal Act at a Nov. 21 committee of the whole meeting with “a substantive decision in closed session”; one that was “couched in a direction to staff”, according to a report being presented to council tonight.
“That was a breach of the Municipal Act, in our opinion,” according to investigators.
The report contains the results of an investigation into closed sessions of town council and committee of the whole meetings launched by Keswick resident Kristina Toomey, who felt proper procedure was not followed over a defamation lawsuit against a former leisure services director with the town.
Ms Toomey, town CAO Winanne Grant and the town clerk were consulted during the course of the investigation conducted by Amberley Gavel Ltd., which began in May and included a review of agendas and minutes of meetings of council, procedural bylaw and applicable legislation.
During the closed meeting in November, staff provided a letter containing legal advice from the town’s solicitor, including but not limited to, a conclusion that litigation would be commenced, for review by the committee.
Staff were directed to “follow legal advice” to initiate legal proceedings, which effectively were decisions that “exceeded a mere direction” even though the committee did not take a formal vote of the matter.
While there is no clear direction or definition under the act regarding “directions” to staff, investigators concluded the intention of the act is not that a substantive decision be “couched” in a direction to staff.
The report goes on to say council, a committee or a local board are merely permitted to vote on a procedural matter or to give directions to staff, but not allowed to make substantive decisions “behind closed doors”.
In addition, it states that councils, when in committee of the whole, should be wary of providing direction that is more properly within the purview of council to provide in open or in closed session. The primary function of a discretionary committee of council is to provide advice to council, not to act on its behalf.
While no sanctions were outlined by Amberley Gavel, it recommended council and committees should be very diligent in ensuring the way a matter is handled in closed session and does not breach the Municipal Act.
“More specifically, a council cannot make substantive decisions (even if they don’t vote on them) and then characterize the decision as a mere direction to staff or others when, indeed, it is not merely directional in nature,” the report states. “Committees have even less authority to direct staff in either open or closed session.”
In addition, the town could have followed proper municipal procedure more accurately when citing the reasons for closed sessions on meeting agendas, but those “procedural inaccuracies” would not render any decisions made at those meetings illegal, the report concludes.
“We do not think there was any intention of the town or of council to shield the overall matter from openness and transparency by assigning the broader, more ambiguous Municipal Act exception dealing with “personal matters”, even if it was not the more relevant or accurate exception,” the report states.
For example, by the time discussions were continuing regarding the matter at a Dec. 12 meeting, a more accurate exception under the Municipal Act should have been applied rather than a “personal matter involving an identifiable individual” on meeting agendas.
While the matter started off as a ‘personal matter about an identifiable individual’, there were times when more information should have been provided to the public rather than just carrying over the “personal matter” from each agenda to the next until the final meeting in February 2012, the report states.
Since a statement of claim had already been issued in the matter by the Dec. 12 meeting of council, the issue was now in the public domain and, therefore, could have been listed on the agenda as “Litigation; Section 239(2)(e); John McLean” to conform to the Municipal Act, according to the report.
Although they were continuing to discuss a “personal matter” involving an identifiable individual, they were discussing the progress of litigation, according to investigators.
There was also “no apparent reason why this item had to be discussed in closed session” at a Jan. 23 council meeting since a statement of claim had already been issued in the matter and the litigation process was in the public domain.
Furthermore, instead of citing client/solicitor privilege as a reason for the closed special council meeting Feb. 2, it would have been more accurate to continue using the litigation privilege exception under section 239(2)(e) of the act.
This would lead to openness and transparency of the “general nature of the matter to be considered” during the closed session, while “preserving confidentiality over the substance of council’s deliberations”.
But investigators concluded “the personal matter” was properly before the closed meetings of council and committee of the whole in accordance with the Municipal Act.
In addition, the breach of the Municipal Act was “either a procedural irregularity or did not affect the legality of council’s ultimate decisions”.

Mais Non ,Mon Ami

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Rid...":
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"A policy is not cast in stone." ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!

You say: "the policy was adopted to have sidewalks on both sides of streets during the last term."

What "streets" does this policy apply to?

Why does Kennedy Street West not have sidewalks on both sides? It is a residential street. This street is used by hundreds every day who walk, who walk their dogs or their baby carriages, who jog, who ride their bicycles. It is a major walking route for kids going to and coming back from school. It would be far more appropriate to apply the "policy" to this street than to Industrial Parkway.

You say that "Council has been reluctant to exercise personal judgement. It seems easier just to do as they are told."

Told what and by whom?

Are members of Council lacking in grey matter? They sought public office so that they COULD and WOULD exercise personal judgement. Did they all, instead, seek to serve the public by not having to think, to simply act as RUBBER STAMPS for staff?
This is potentially a gross outrage!
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No it's not. Kennedy Street West allows me to illustrate.
Policy applies to decision-making.Not road building.
Before  the Region, the western end of Kennedy Street was not urban. It was in King  Township.
 There were few homes. It was a dead-end.  It was  a truly rural right of way. No pavement, sewers, water lines or street lighting.Certainly no sidewalks.I'm not even sure it had culverts for drainage. 
It was one of the first in the town proposed  for reconstruction in the seventies.
Residents fought furiously not to have the character of  their street changed.
I agreed with them but not for their reasons. I didn't see why I should help pay for amenities I didn't have.
I  believed  if they were to get all those  expensive improvements, they should  pay for them with a local improvement tax.
I  saw no virtue in foisting  expensive amenities  on people who didn't want them.
Of course there was a rational argument. I just didn't choose it as mine.
Dick Illingworth was  Mayor at the time. I heard someone had his photograph on a dart board that neighbours enjoyed  piercing with darts.
It was a bitter battle. The residents got what they wanted. 
It happens a lot.
Policies be damned.
In those days, the town didn't have an administration to speak of. We had a consultant engineer on retainer.
Decisions on road design  rested on engineering principles,  the judgment of  the elected and a public keenly aware of how taxes were being spent.
If I remember correctly, the province shared  costs of road-building at the time and provincial standards had to be met. 
But even some of those were twisted and turned to avoid running afoul of residents on a particular street.
People do have an influence on how Councillors vote. .
Nowadays, it's safer just to accept professional advice.Lots of people think that's how it should be.
Councillors  are continually  reminded  how little they know. How dependent they are on experts.
Our society is chock- a- block  with experts. Graduates with degrees that may or may not stand for something.
Public servants made redundant from successive amalgamations. 
They write books and articles, get  nominated for awards from associations they created  and offer workshops to teach the unwary newbie politician for fees paid  for by  municipalities.
There's always more money where that comes from.
Off the newly elected  go with due diligence and back they come full of wisdom and knowledge and "innovative' ideas.  
Fifty years ago, York County's solicitor,Doug Lucas was on retainer. One of the few in Canada, who specialized in municipal law.
There wasn't a living to be made in municipal law so few municipalities had the resources.
Not like today. 
When, Oh My God, expertise spills over  in abundance like Niagara Falls. 
It's  common sense that's in short supply.
 
   
    

Journey of Discovery

I am pleased to copy the message below. I think this program would be a great opportunity for families to  take a trip to the lake to the south of us and the one to the north.

 It wouldn't just be a visit to someplace different  It would be a trip to another time and another place when families didn't have  vehicles and a trip like that might be an annual event.

Toronto has many places to see and experience. Not least of them Harborfront and The Island, Kew Beach and Music Festivals galore. St Lawrence Market is a sight to behold.

Barrie has a great waterfront and many attractions. 

But the train ride alone is an adventure. Stopping as it does at various destinations would allow visits to places one might never visit except by  a day on the train.

It could be a summer of discovery.

August  5th , when the trips are free,would be the best day to discover what there is  to discover.

Dear Councillor Buck,

As you are likely aware, this summer GO Transit has been offering GO Train service along the Barrie line on a pilot basis. This is an effort to move GO further in the direction of serving a larger, non-commuter market, and offers new travel options to communities along the line that will support regional tourism and recreational travel.

Until September 3, GO will offer six return train trips every Saturday, Sunday and holiday Mondays along the Barrie line. All six return trips make all stops between Union Station and East Gwillimbury, and two of the six also serve Bradford, Barrie South and Allandale Waterfront stations. The remaining four trips include GO Bus connections between East Gwillimbury and points north to Barrie.

To promote this summer weekend service pilot, we will be offering free GO Train rides on the Barrie line on August 5. We would greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide in spreading the word to your constituents about the free day of service using whatever channels you feel are appropriate. A news release has been issued and can be found at: http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1013993/free-go-train-rides-on-the-barrie-line-on-august-5. Further information for the public can be also found online at http://www.gotransit.com, specifically http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/updates/schedulechanges.aspx.

Metrolinx's Stakeholder Relations office is available as a first contact point for elected officials should you have any questions about Metrolinx (including GO Transit, PRESTO, the Air Rail Link, and its other projects and programs). Please don't hesitate to contact me about this or other matters in the future.

Cyril Buck ..Febuary 29th 1924- July 20th 2012

.Cyril was born in Paddington ,London,U.K. on February 29th 1924 and died a long way from his birthplace, in Newmarket, Ontario, on Friday at 3. o'clock in the afternoon.
He lived eighty-eight years ,was married to Evelyn sixty-two years , had seven children, two daughters, five sons, seventeen grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and two more on the way at the time he took his leave. 
Art, Music and Theatre were the  passions of his life. He trod the boards in amateur theatre  in London,England before leaving  for Canada and soon after  arrival discovered  new opportunity with  Theatre Aurora.
Twenty  years of his retirement were happily and completely  engaged filling every conceivable role needed  to make the magic come alive/.
Sons, daughters, and grandchildren were recruited  to fill roles, places in the chorus or silently change sets before there were curtains for the stage. 
He introduced English Variety Theatre.
Christmas found him at Newmarket Town Hall Theatre, with the Queensville Players, staging  Pantomine, with a bunch of  Limeys like himself who could never let go their joy and love of slapstick comedy.
If he wasn't on stage playing an Ugly Sister, he was in the orchestra pit providing clicks, clacks, thumps  and rattity- tatts on drums, his secondary means of  augmenting  a living over the years.
Dozens of  full house audiences and hundreds of Canadian children,
including his  grandchildren, might never have had the opportunity to enjoy the entertainment the unique brand of British farce offers.
He worked with Terry Hallett, a talented Aurora Producer and Director, in Dinner Theatre in Toronto during the eighties. 
 

The tide recedes but leaves behind 
Bright seashells in the sand
The sun goes down but gentle warmth 
Still lingers on the land
The music stops and yet
It echoes on in sweet refrain,
For every joy that passes
Something beautiful remains.

      

The :Last Of The Mohicans

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "New Information": 
Back to basics. This all began when Evelyn asked about construction in her neighbourhood. The mayor said the new system would provide the answer if she asked the top guy. I assume she asked the question. Was it answered and, if not, what does the Mayor have to say about it ? If the system answered the question, we are wasting time here. Cut all the tech stuff. Back to basics. Was the construction explained?
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I posed the possibility the new system might provide details of
the work order  which would  allow me to explain the nature of the problem and  the number of workers engaged, man hours employed,  separate pieces of equipment, cost per hour exactly to the penny how much the job cost to my observant neighbor.
The Mayor agreed  the system would provide the information. 
Indicating  he had the same understanding of implementation as myself. 
We were both mistaken it seems. .The software is not yet implemented.
I did not receive details of  cost of the  work order on my neighbour's property.
The situation led to inquiries in two  new directions. 
One, to determine from my neighbor, what  experience  led to the call to the works department.
Last Fall a subsidence was noticed in the vicinity of the water shut-off valve on the front lawn.
It was checked by the works dept and went  on a list of things to do
In  Spring, after several more calls, the works department came to attend to the problem in accordance with its place on the list 
A strip of lawn  about a meter wide and two long was carefully cut and rolled back.
An excavation  followed. A water  pipe was inadvertently ruptured and  had to be repaired. The excavation was filled,sod replaced . and a fresh crew brought in to water the grass. 
Information I received from the Director  revealed  the  project involved several crews with different expertise.It did not reveal the source  of the initial problem of lawn subsidence.
Lay person that I am, it has always been my understanding  if the ground subsides, whether it is  in a road or  a lawn in the vicinity of water infrastructure, the likely cause is a water break.
The unanswered question  is whether  a water break caused the lawn to subside in the Fall, which meant  a continuing water loss in that location over a period of months?
Or, less likely,  was the pipe broken at the time of the excavation  immediately  repaired and no water lost to speak of or record in
maintenance of assets and how the matter was handled.
My second question was  the status of the software program to record asset inventory and track maintenance.
At this  point I had still not caught on to the name, Maximo.
My first query was by e-mail  to the manager of the IT department. I received a response from the Director of FInance with  admonition not to ask questions of staff under the level of Director.  Attached was the e-mail from the IT Manager, accompanied by  my query and assurance to  the Chief Financial Officer  the manager had provided  no information. 
The  Director of Finance informed me of the  associated  Director in charge of  the program. He  added it  is not yet implemented. It is complex and  is to be done in two phases.
The Director in charge noted  a delay in the schedule caused by a production problem in Asia. 
I received a table.  I posted  it a couple of days ago, outlining 
the program, total  cost and the timetable. Total anticipated cost is $788,611. Software package approved for purchase in November 2011.   $38,000  was overlooked and added on in February.2012.
I received information from a source that the Region had purchased the same software.in 2004, eight years ago. and  after add ons and adpatations and staff changes were still  not receiving the benefits
expected.  
From two regional staff I received two perspectives. One 
stated  the prorgam was finally  beginning to show some benefits.
Another, the manager dealing with the program was  more positive  but acknowledged there had to be  adaptations in nodules and staff  and licences required to use the system had gone from $56,000. to $100,000  a year because more employees were using the program.
That means,  additional staff, additonal adaptation costing more money, and additional cost of annual licencing , operating costs are, at least, a quarter of a million dollars more than anticipated.
After eight years, adaptations are unlikely to be reflected in the capital cost of the program. More likely to be hidden in annual cost of operation. 
I suspect, since the Mayor's expectation of  timetable was no different to my own, news about  time taken at  the region to get this  program under way  may not be a welcome surprise.
Nor  indeed should it have been a surprise at all. The Region's experience should certainly have been reflected in the advice received by Council. It was not. 
If  the program ever becomes  useful  at the local level, there will have been an election in town before it can be proven. 
That's the political reality. .   

A Moving Target

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "So I asked And GOt The Answer":

7:27 PM You say that Morris is going to be back in court on Tuesday. I don't understand why. Didn't the Judge throw her case out as being without foundations or something like that? Surely Aurora is not still paying her bills - have we ever been told categorically that the town is off the hook? Nasty feeling about all that stuff. An apology would not cut it this far along.

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Ms,Morris is being sued for defendants' costs of that particular court action precipitated by herself at town expense while she held the Office of Mayor.
The town is not currently paying those bills. 
It remains to  be seen if the town is off the hook.
The town agreed to pay bills incurred until the new Council had the opportunity to cancel the legal agreement with the lawyer retained by Ms Morris.
At the moment ,the defendants are attempting to recover legal expense of having to defend themselves against spurious charges. 
I didn't hear what happened on Tuesday.
The complainant has proven to be a moving target. 

It Will Get Better

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Accountability...The Theme Of This Post.":

Have you ever considered your knowledge and experience to be a disadvantage because quite clearly you are seriously challenged to get your fellow members on side, Last term there was no hope at all with all the personal attacks, animosity and jealousy that your knowledge garnered, This term the air around your circles is smelling of sweet congeniality and willingness to do what’s right for the tax payers yet still you are faced with resistance to cut the fat, the frills, the 0 value added initiatives and get back to basic government over a mere 50 + thousand minions
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It is not a new experience.  Fighting for common sense to prevail has,surprisingly, never been easy.

The best years were when I was Mayor. 

Obviously  knowledge and experience would have to be seen as an asset. It's  another one of those things that never change. 

The anomaly we have had in two recent elections was  a huge turnover in council membership.

The norm is for most incumbents to be re-elected.  One or two newbies  have the benefit of  obscurity while learnig the process.They have  an opportunity to  acquire  skills without drawing attention to the lack thereof.

They still  have to exercise judgment and vote.  Experienced Councillors would still have differences in the past. But background to issues would rarely be challenged.

Municipal staff  generally represent continuity. Institutional history resides with long experience. We do not currently  have  that advantage. Upheaval and disruption have been the operative terms.

Current  Councillors spend an inordinate amount of time in discussion with staff. I can't fault them. They dont have experience and they are trying to acquire it fast

Time is of the essence.  So for now, influence of the administration is out of whack.

Council's  role is authority and control. How is that exercised if constantly seeking advice from the people under council's authority.A council collectively light on knowledge and experience is a definite disadvantage.

Normally even that might not  be too severe a problem.

In the last term we lost experienced staff.  We lost continuity.  We lost our institutional history.

At the same time we picked up  a reputation for a being a bad place of employment.

Ontario has four hundred and forty-four  municipalities.It's a family of sorts. Bad news travels fast.

We are in the process of rebuilding a reputation. Rebuilding is harder than building.

I  do at times despair of ever returning to our traditional political character. Aurora has always been feisty But perish the thought of not even trying.

We do have a council that means to do a good job.

I am nothing if not persistent.

And I have you.

You must tell your Mayor and Councillors, regularly, what you expect. Call them. E-mail them. Greet them in the street and in the supermarket.

Wherever you see them, engage them.  Remind them why they were elected.

Off To A Budget Meeting

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Lively Exchange":

It looks as though the bulk of Aurora taxpayers don't have a word of protest. Was nothing learned over the past few years ? Guess not. Ignorance can be bliss.

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I don't agree that the bulk of Aurora taxpayers don't have a word of protest That's why they gave me the job again despite all that was done to  destroy my reputation.

Certainly a great deal was learned over the past few years from the blogs which would not have been known otherwise.

But there is  truth in the last sentence.

When people don't believe they have any control over events,they make a conscious choice not to pay attention. That would be the fifty per cent who regularly do not participate in municipal elections.

I find myself irritated by the amount of  time and space given to events in foreign lands over which I have no control, at the expense of events happening right here in our own neck of the woods.

We had a fantastic turn-out to the Santa Claus  parade on Saturday evening.Thousands of people lined the route. I can hardly believe the number of small children we have in our community once again.

I'm off to a day long budget session ,starting at nine o'clock,finishing at four.Hopefully. Seven hours of hammering and chiselling at figures is a tedious task.Not so tedious, if a difference is being made.

Catch you later