In preparation for Monday February 1st Amherstburg Town Council Meeting

This week’s council meeting is a policy meeting, that means they are reviewing and updating the policies and procedures that define how the town is run. Our current council has been reviewing the policies and procedures that are already in place as many of them are old and outdated. I think this is a great idea. Also,I believe this was a recommendation from the Deloitte report.

The agenda is only 53 pages long and there are seven policies being reviewed, all to do with finances. I would think (and I sure hope) that it will be a relatively quick meeting, since the reports seem pretty cut and dry. However, I have seen lengthy discussions on non-issues and almost no discussion at all on big issues, so there is an element of randomness that seems to rear it’s head regularly. But, I’m hoping for the best :  short, concise and to the point.

The policies under review are:

• Electronic Funds Transfer
• Revenue Recognition
• Bank Accounts
• Investment
• Loans & Borrowing
• Reserve & Restricted Funds
• Tax Stabilization Fund

I read through the reports. Nothing really stood out of interest. As I said, seems pretty cut and dry. The only thing that popped out as I read the reports was that it jogged my memory a bit. Seems to me I witnessed other policy review meetings and one item for review was the Council members Code of Conduct. I believe it was even late last spring, perhaps early in the summer. I also don’t think that policy ever got finalized and passed…..hmmm. Mental note, will have to check on that. Doesn’t make much sense to be reviewing more policies if the previously reviewed policies haven’t been passed yet, does it?

Monday January 25th Amherstburg Town Council Meeting

Tonight’s meeting was strange, sort of Twilight Zone strange. There was a tone, an undercurrent that I just could not quite put my finger on in tonight’s council meeting. At times, council was very divided. On two different occasions, I saw notes being secretly passed (behind the backs of certain councillors), being read under the desk and then hidden. Yes, I am serious. I’d like to say it’s a joke, but it happened. Before the meeting it was Courtney to Pouget, during the meeting it was Lavigne to Courtney, reminded me of grade school. Would have died laughing if the Mayor had said ” Mr. Lavigne, would you like to share that with the class?” So anyway, here we go. Buckle up. It was strange and at times very hard to follow.

Accounts Payable

Usually, this goes through with nary a question, a simple list of all the bills to be paid by the town, but not tonight. Councillor Pouget put Councillor Meloche on the hot seat regarding an expense he claimed for attending a charity golf tournament. The treasurer explained this is quite common, the clerk re-read the motions regarding expenses, Councillor Meloche explained it and yet each time Councillor Pouget continued to push the issue. I’m not sure if she was trying to embarrass him or humiliate him, but it came across as extremely “nit picky”, especially considering it was proven over and over again that Councillor Meloche was well within his allowable expenses. He was representing the town at a charity event! This was the first thing up on the agenda and shone a spotlight on the division that seems to be only getting worse with this group. After persistently trying every angle, the accounts payable passed.

Delegation – Scott Deslippe – regarding street closure times

The Clerk had to ask council for a permission to allow the last minute addition of Scott Deslippe to speak before council regarding street closures for events, since Mr. Deslippe didn’t get his request in by noon on Friday. Mr. Deslippe submitted the paperwork this morning. There was a pause. A long-ish pause. Nobody seemed to want to allow him to speak. (????) Finally Deputy Mayor DiPasquale, said he had no problem with allowing him to speak since some people come in 30 minutes before the meeting and council allows them to speak. (Well, if you put it that way….) So, low and behold, they allowed him to speak.

Mr. Deslippe made some comments regarding the proposed 5PM road closure times. He said that as an event planner it is difficult, if not impossible to host a successful event as it often takes 2 or 3 hours to set up, an inspection is required and then there is an 11PM curfew for the event to finish. (Yep, I can see time would be tight, very tight.) There was much back and forth discussion (no popcorn for the spectators though) and it was said that each individual event can come before council for an amendment if they need the street closed sooner. (That should’t bog things down any more.) Then, Councillor Fryer said that he agrees with Mr. Deslippe but that he is going to amend the motion to have no drinking at all in the down-town core (GASP!!!!! I’m assuming on the streets?) and states that there should not be any events held in the down-town core. (I wonder how this will affect outdoor patios for our local bars? I wonder how this will affect being able to have fun down-town? I wonder how this will affect businesses? I wonder how this will affect me?) Councillor Fryer is told he will have to make a notice of motion later about this. (Yes, please, we would like some notice before you kill our down-town.)

Heritage Pamphlets

The Heritage committee is requesting funds to produce pamphlets regarding our heritage sites. They feel it will help with tourism. There seems to be money in the budget. Yay! Pamphlets for everyone! But seriously, they are beautifully done. The only discussion about this seemed to be everyone tripping over themselves and each other to fawn over the committee and their efforts. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the committee works diligently and the pamphlets are truly beautiful, but let’s just say some laid it on thick. Very thick. )

I zoned out for a while

It got a little boring for a while. I stopped taking notes. The sewer by-law revisions got a little technical and bordered on gross. 

Strategic Plan

It is finally time to start looking forward in Amherstburg and Administration is looking to award a contract for the development for a Strategic Plan. True to form, Councillor Pouget’s hand was in the air immediately and asked if this plan had gone before the Economic Development Committee for their advice and thoughts. The CAO patiently explained to her that RFP’s (Requests for Proposal) are an administrative function and are not part of a volunteer committee’s responsibilities. (phew!) He said that no, they had not been consulted, this is very early and it is in the preliminary stages. As the process moves forward, the Ec Dev Committee will be consulted, as well as all stakeholders, residents etc. (Why are these volunteer committees given so much power by council or at least by some on council?) The motion carries. (We are heading somewhere. We just don’t know where yet. )

Laymember Drainage Board

Speaking of committees…..we’re getting another one but it’s called a board. It seems they will make decisions about the different drains and drainage issues. It also appears that their decisions are binding and that council is delegating their powers to this board. Everyone seems gung-ho about this. It carries. (One wonders if this is a way to keep town council from having to make the hard, sometimes unpopular decisions they were elected to make. Or maybe they’re like me and are grossed out by discussions about sewers.)

Citizen Engagement

In my prior blog, I wrote about the town asking citizen’s for their view on events in our Down town core. Well the report is in. It is recommended to receive the report and to not permit road closures prior to 5PM without council consent. The motion is on the floor. Councillor Courtney then makes a motion for an amendment to 4PM. It is pointed out there is already a motion on the floor. (Ok, then, carry on…).  It is again pointed out that all organizations who need an amendment will need to come before council to plead their case (ex. Santa Clause Parade, Fun Runs, Legion Parade on Remembrance day, etc.). (To me, this seems cumbersome and time-consuming, but nobody asked me. I can’t even get them to serve popcorn.) This doesn’t get much discussion. Councillor Pouget mentions alcohol use but it is pointed out that this motion has nothing to do with alcohol use, simply street closures for special events. It carries.

Economic Advisory Committee- Chamber vacancy

It seems that the Chamber of Commerce representative on the Economic Advisory Committee has resigned and needs to be replaced. Councillor Pouget wants a current committee member who was appointed last year as a member of the public to take over as Chamber Representative. This person became a member of the Chamber of Commerce a few months ago. If this were to happen, then council could appoint a different member of the public to replace this person. (I wonder if they want to call Eddie Francis, apologize and ask him to apply again?) Regardless, it is pointed out to Councillor Pouget that it just doesn’t work that way. The Chamber of Commerce will be notified of the vacancy and have to deal with it.

Unfinished business

Usually this is dull, boring and somewhat redundant. Tonight, it got pretty darn exciting. (Again, that strange tone of the evening?) Councillor Courtney is concerned with the number of outstanding motions and reports. The CAO explains that he takes ownership but that he wears many different hats and has various responsibilities throughout the organization of the town of Amherstburg. Councillor Pouget jumps in with her laundry list of of outstanding motions too. The CAO again takes ownership, explains he has a large amount of responsibilities, he is in union negotiations and is doing the best he can with the time he has. Here’s where it got really weird. Councillor Pouget says they are still waiting on a report on fire stations 1 and 2 and the costs as well as another report. She says the public are asking questions and getting upset that this report has not come out. Councillor Courtney says it’s public knowledge that there were 100 citations against the Fire Department and she wants to know what to do to so that she can see them. The Mayor asks when this was made public knowledge. Councillor Pouget says there was an article on the Amherstburg Election Project site with an article about deficiencies and the Chief was quoted. (I will be going to check that out soon. I will post the link below. If anyone finds it, please comment and let me know.)

https://www.facebook.com/EPPAmherstburg/

The back and forth continues at rapid speed. There is mention of the Labour Board. (I will admit I had a hard time following because I’m not really certain what they’re talking about.) The CAO finally jumps in and explains that the recommendations are management responsibility and not necessarily public knowledge and that these issues are typically left in the hands of administration and not for raising concerns and making more of this than it needs to be. (Again, I think it’s a quick lesson in council’s role and administration’s role in the organization of the town of Amherstburg. I don’t think some of them get it.)

There is some more back and forth about unfinished motions and reports.

Finally, Councillor Meloche has had enough! He takes the floor and says, he understands the councillor’s frustrations in not getting their reports back quickly enough but the CAO just put out a budget where he basically begged that they needed additional resources and staff to get things done. Councillor Meloche goes on to point out that some on council (we all know who) were opposed to every single position that was recommended. Councilor Meloche points out that if the CAO and town staff’s plates are full and council will not give him any additional help, then council will have to be more patient, they can’t have it both ways. (Kudos to you Councillor Meloche! So true!)

New Business

(So, what do we do when administration is over-worked and understaffed and we’ve just complained that we aren’t getting reports back quickly enough? We ask for another one!!!!).

Councillor Pouget makes a motion regarding the old Boblo dock. She wants a full report regarding, who owns it? what’s going on with it? why is it still there? what are the owner’s intentions? the roof’s falling off in the river, how is this affecting the environment? it’s an eye sore, why is it falling apart? etc. etc. etc.

(I have an idea, perhaps it could be used to bootleg booze when Councillor Fryer dries up downtown. Then, Amherstburg will have truly come full circle. Sigh. )

 

 

 

In preparation for Monday January 25th Amherstburg Town Council Meeting

Another week has passed….here we go again! I read (skimmed some parts honestly) the 289 page agenda. Here are the highlights I found that I will keep an eye on at tomorrow night’s meeting.

Community Based Strategic Plan – Consultation, Selection and Award of Contract

I read this and got very excited!!! I saw some beautiful words like “structure, goals, objectives, purpose, balance, action plans”. Could it be? Will Amherstburg move out of the dark ages and into the new age? Will we get a strategic plan? Will we have structure, goals, objectives, purpose, balance and action plans???? I sure hope so! Will Council see the benefit and the importance of this? Will let you know after tomorrow night….

Results of the Citizen Engagement

Now, this was interesting reading. (Unfortunately, it can be hard to find the interesting stuff buried in the vast pages of blah blah.) This citizen engagement meeting and survey was the result of a November meeting about Mardi Gras. Council did not want to make a decision for Mardi Gras 2016 (shocking, I know), so they directed administration to have a meeting and figure out what the people want in regards to use of the down-town core and events and festivals. So, administration hosted a well-advertised meeting in December. Approximately 52 residents and stakeholders showed up. (This is all according to the report I read). The on-line survey was well-advertised and available. There were 331 people that participated in the on-line survey. What does this tell me in a town with a population of over 21,000 people? This tells me that approximately 20,500 either aren’t interested, don’t really care, are apathetic, indifferent or are neutral regarding use of the down-town core and local events. Which, to me, says go for it! Organize events, bring people to our town! The results of the survey show overwhelming support for festival events in the downtown core as long as they operate within the parameters set forth. The only recommendation being brought to council is that there should be no road closures prior to 5PM. This was a compromise reached that neither left the event holders nor the few opposing businesses completely satisfied. So, will council be able to listen to the overwhelming majority who want and support events? Or will they continue to cater to a very small but vocal minority who seem intent on keeping Amherstburg in the dark ages? Stay tuned. I’ll be watching this very closely.

Heritage Advisory Committee

They will be requesting some pamphlets in regards to historical designation of homes and also touring local historic sites. Was there money in the budget set aside for this? Don’t know. Will watch and see.

Accounts payable

Every two weeks, council goes over the accounts payable line by line and then approves the payments. I skimmed it over it. Two things worth noting. One, we paid out not one single dime in legal fees on this report! This has to be a first! Unbelievable and exciting all at once. Two, we seem to have paid out a lot of money (I didn’t total it all up) for pest control. I guess we must have a mouse or rat problem somewhere. I wonder if Councillor Fryer has a mouse in his mouse? haha! Or maybe there’s a rat or two or more somewhere?

Lay Member Drainage Board

Seems council is looking to create yet another advisory committee, this one in regards to drainage. We sure seem to have a lot of volunteer committees in town. I wonder why? I’ll keep my ears open.

Overall, it looks like a fair-sized agenda for tomorrow night. The rate of speed to get through it will depend on how much discussion goes on for each item. I’m hoping they’ll be done by 9:00, but they say I’m a dreamer.

Monday January 18th Amherstburg Town Council meeting

Well, I just got home from tonight’s town council meeting. I’m blogging early so that I can put this night behind me. The quicker the better.

The meeting started a bit late (around 6:10) because they were waiting to have a quorum, they need at least 4 members of council present. The meeting started with Mayor DiCarlo and Councillors Courtney, Meloche and Pouget in attendance. Deputy Mayor DiPasquale was absent as well as Councillors Fryer and Lavigne. (Councillor Lavigne did roll in a little later around 6:20)

The only thing on tonight’s agenda was a presentation from the Ontario Clean Water Agency. It was very difficult to stay focused as I zoned in and out of consciousness all evening long. Don’t get me wrong, safe drinking water is extremely important, but the material was very dry. Sorry for the pun.

Mr. Turnball from the Ontario Clean Water Agency did a presentation. He explained how the decision-makers (Councillors) will be held accountable for their decisions regarding our drinking water. He also spoke of how the upper-level, senior managers can and would be held accountable as well. He also pointed out that council can not be held accountable if they rely on professional reports (engineer, lawyers, etc.) since their accreditation holds them accountable for their reports. (I wonder if he knows how some councillors have argued with engineers and disregarded legal advice they didn’t like? I wonder if he realizes some councillors hold volunteer committee reports to the highest standard known to man? Probably not.)

Mr. Turnball also spoke of the importance that staff needs to be trained. He says there should be a data-base to create checks and balances. (Uh-oh…..does he know some on council only endorse the bare minimum training required to keep licenses? Does he realize training is not high-priority because it, gulp, costs money?????)

There was some discussion about how we had scored 100% several years in a row, but now scored 93% this past year. This became a focus for some councillors. (At this point, I was trying not to throw my hands in the air and leave early, so I went to my happy place. Sorry, don’t have much in my notes here.) 

After Mr. Turnbull’s presentation, somebody named Dwayne took over. He works for the town, Manager of Environmental Services I think. (He may possibly be the most efficient man on earth. He got us through a massive binder with index’s at least to G (again, in and out of consciousness) in about 10 minutes. Thank goodness.) 

Interesting point worth noting  Dwayne said that we have spent a lot of money on infrastructure in the past and we are in really good shape compared to other municipalities. (So, for all those that cry about our debt, we have something to show for it! Aside from the new state-of-the-art arena, we have quality, reliable infrastructure. In my opinion, this gives kudos to previous council(s) who had the foresight to see the importance of this and to get it done, even if it meant some debt.)

The meeting finished around 7:30, so all-in-all it lasted close to an hour and a half. I guess I was dreaming that it may be over in half an hour. Can’t say it wasn’t painful. I couldn’t help but note there was only me and one other member of the public present for this meeting. My tenacity won’t allow me to stay home. I wonder what I need to do to get myself banned from town hall?

In preparation for Monday January 18th Amherstburg town council meeting

Well, as usual, I checked the agenda for the upcoming Amherstburg town council meeting scheduled for this Monday. I have to be honest here, the agenda looks boring, boring, boring. The only thing on it is a presentation of Ontario Clean Water Agency. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think that clean drinking water is extremely important, but I just can’t see how this presentation will be interesting or entertaining.

So, I read the presentation (or at least the highlights that are being presented) and there were a few interesting points. First, the agency extends legal responsibility to every person who exercises decision-making authority over the water system (including members of council). Hmmm…..talk about needing to be prepared! Brings this whole decision-making/responsibility thing to a whole new level when you can be held directly  responsible for the safe operation of our water system.

The agency also dictates a level of awareness by council and says they need to rely in good faith on the reports of engineers, lawyers etc….This may be problematic. Some on our town council think they ARE engineers, lawyers, etc. I sat through a couple of drainage meetings where some of our town councillors challenged and argued with the engineers who were presenting. In some cases, it was embarrassing, the lack of basic respect that was even shown to the engineers.  As for the lawyers, well, we all have seen how council behaves when they receive legal advice they don’t agree with.

The report also says that they need to become aware, ask questions and make informed decisions. This may be problematic too. First, it doesn’t specify “pertinent questions”, just “questions”. Second, “making informed decisions” is going to be tough too, since deferrals or requesting more reports from administration seems to be the first options available before making decisions, but I digress and we will just have to wait and see.

I do like the management standard. It is a full circle of “check, improve, plan, do”. Perhaps council could adopt this standard for all decisions, not just for the Ontario Clean Water Agency.

Overall, Monday looks to be a bit of a snoozer, but hey, I may just get out of there early!

 

Monday January 11th Council meeting

Important note: Councillor Courtney and Deputy Mayor DiPasquale were both not present for tonight’s meeting. There was no reason given. Seeing that four months worth of work on Amherstburg’s budget was the main topic of tonight’s meeting, I was surprised to see two councillors absent.

Also another side note, nobody stormed out and nobody had a mysterious hacker attack on their computer….

Delegation – Jon Parks – Amended Dog bylaw

Mr. Parks was seeking an amendment to the recent tethering by-law. In this new by-law it is now illegal to have a dog loose in the back of a pick up truck.  Mr. Parks felt that farm-plated pick up trucks should be exempt from this new by-law. He stated farm/work dogs are the most intelligent and are a tool for the farmer.  Councillor Meloche supports him as he is from the county and thinks the farm licence plate would allow monitoring. Councillor Pouget had some concerns (and in my opinion, some very valid concerns), yet Mr. Parks repeatedly kept cutting her off. She was concerned for the safety of the dogs and of the people, she sited the Highway Traffic Act regarding unsecured loads and that the dog could be crated and the crate would be secured to the truck. Councillor Pouget had statistics (American ones, unable to find Canadian ones) that approximately 100,000 dogs are killed in a year because they’re in a truck bed when an accident or other incident occurs. Many are injured as well. Mr. Parks feels that farm dogs are smarter than regular dogs. (Can’t say I agree with that.) It is pointed out to Mr. Parks that the Humane Society had a delegation and requested Council to create the by-law, which they agreed to and did. There was some discussion about the speed the vehicle is travelling and how this may or may not affect the dog in the bed of the pick up truck. (I thought for a moment, a physics book would get cracked open….how far would the dog be flung if the truck is travelling 50km/h, how about 80 km/h? What if the dog is super smart, would he be projected from the truck bed at all?)All of a sudden, the tides turned and the conversation became a negotiation. I guess safety of the dog and the people matters less now.  Next thing I knew, Councillor Fryer was asking for a report from administration for direction regarding any exemption for farm plates, report on the Highway Traffic Act in order to make an informed decision and give Mr. Parks due diligence. Looks like they may change their minds after all, but are looking for cover from town administration before they make a decision. Shocker.

Delegation – Eleanor Renaud – Gone Car Crazy Car Show 

Mrs. Renaud is responding to a report that the town of Amherstburg will no longer sponsor the annual car show and will no longer allow it to be a town event. Mrs. Renaud, representing the car show, would like to keep things as they are. She talked about the Gone Car Crazy show and how it brings tourism to the downtown core. She points out that the town spends thousands on the Communities in Bloom program,  in both money and man-hours, yet wants to cut off sponsorship and support of the car show. Mrs. Renaud says we’ve already lost the Wine Fest, and that the Mardi Gras is “pretty iffy. ” Mrs Renaud points out that the car show is not funded by or part of any umbrella organization. After her presentation, the finger-pointing began. Councillors wanted to know why the funding was being cut off. The CAO points out that administration received direction from Council to look into why the town was funding this event because of a payment to Blackburn on the accounts payable. The organizers for the event explained that they can provide financials dating back to the car show’s inception and are more than willing to work with the town. Everyone seems to recognize the merits of this event and the good things it does for this town. Mr. Parks speaks from the floor and says the biggest benefit is probably reaped by the ice cream parlour not only during this event but also because they have proximity to the Navy Yard Park too, a publicly funded park and they make a killing. Well, long story short (they really should serve popcorn during these intense back and forths), council votes to continue to fund this event and everybody is happy. (for now)

The Budget 

Councillor Pouget has concerns. She feels that if the increases were less, then she would support the budget. She feels she lost votes (support for her motions) because procedure was not followed for recorded votes. Apparently, the chair is supposed to vote last, not in alphabetical order and the clerk is supposed to announce the results once the voting is complete. She feels anything that was done that was not recommended by the audit and finance committee, should not have happened. Councillor Meloche takes exception to her lines of thinking and wonders why it’s a concern now as council has been voting like this all year. She feels administration or somebody should have said something before they broke procedure 8 or 9 times that night. (Didn’t Councillor Pouget serve on council before? Why didn’t she notice this problem before? Why was it such a big deal tonight at the final budget meeting?) The Mayor explains that he felt his vote is the same as everyone else’s and that’s why they went alphabetically, but going forward, they would change things. He also wonders why this is a big deal now. Councillor Pouget believes that it affected how people voted. (Weren’t they mostly 4-3 anyway? How did that change?) Councillor Meloche takes offence to this too and said each councillor should stand on their own two feet and not be affected by other’s votes and he’s concerned with the insinuation of her comment. Councillor Fryer is concerned about the Ombudsman, that it would be an improper meeting, but the Clerk points out that the Ombudsman can provide recommendations but can not overturn council’s decisions. Councillor Meloche points out that Councillor Pouget is opening a can of worms and what’s to stop anybody going back one year ago and disputing votes. Councillor Fryer then brings up the levies AGAIN!!!!! I try to not throw my hands in the air and storm out LOL. Everything is explained to him over and over again and again. Councillor Pouget says the public sees it as 2.3%+2%+2%=6.3%. I beg to differ. No, we don’t see it that way. We can read the reports and understand them. I see it as a 2.3% increase in the overall rate. The other 2 levies (2% each) remain in place. Seems uncomplicated to me, but I guess not for others. BTW, I do not have any accounting back ground. 

Motion to Accept the budget :

Support: Lavigne, Meloche, DiCarlo,

Oppose : Fryer, Pouget

Thank goodness the budget went through!!!!!! Can you imagine what a laughing stock we would be if we still did not have a budget in place when the process was initiated 4 MONTHS AGO!!!! I suspect this is a scheme by Councillors Fryer and Pouget, they know the budget will pass, but by voting against it they can claim they were against the increases.  

Canada 150 Fund

Mrs. Anne Rota presents. (Not sure of her exact title, but she is a town employee in charge of tourism I believe). Explains she wants to request grant money for celebrating Canada’s 150 anniversary of Confederation. Would be mostly in the Navy Yard Park, with heritage activities. Councillor Fryer questions what type of commerce would be taking place. Councillor Pouget wonders if alcohol will be served. Funny, I’m wondering the same thing, right now. Anyway, it finally gets passed, life is good again.

The rest of the meeting I zone in and out. Traffic report, Economic Development Committee, planning, roads etc….dull.  It finishes around 8:00 and Council goes in-camera about union negotiations.

So, highlight of the night? We passed a budget. But just barely. And the Fryer/Pouget team gets to tell everybody they were against it from the start to the finish.

 

In preparation for Monday January 11th meeting

So, I usually like to read the agenda on the weekend in order to be able to better follow the goings-on of the actual meeting. The agendas are often very lengthy to read, so I usually will try to skim over it and see what stands out. Here are a few highlights I will watch for on Monday night.

Accounts Payable

Every two weeks, council reviews every single item that gets paid for by the town. This is a pretty boring document. It ranges from $4.86 for a light bulb into items for thousands of dollars. Point of interest: we are paying approximately $51,000 in legal fees in Monday’s payables. Seems a bit much, don’t you think? I can only wonder why?

Budget

Administration is asking Council to approve the budget with a 2.3% increase. The initial consultation started on September 14th 2015. That means if Council approves it, it will only have taken just under 4 months from start to finish!

It clearly states on the report, there will be a continuation of levies. The levies will not be blended with the proposed tax rate and they will be shown as separate line items on tax bills. I, as a regular citizen, can understand these levies are not increased for this year, but simply a continuation of what was set up last year…..I hope some of our councillors can understand that too….

Amherstburg Gone Car Crazy Show

Seems they want to discontinue classifying this event as a Town organized event. Apparently this will save us $2500. Yes, you read that right, $2500.00. That is two thousand, five hundred dollars. The organizers will now have to jump through hoops of fire and beg council for approval of their event, just like all events that want to take place in our town. Then, we will wonder, what happened to all the events we used to have?

Dog by-law

A resident is asking council to amend the new by-law to exclude working farm dogs from the criteria. Therefore, working farm dogs could ride in the back of pick up trucks with farm plates. Apparently, working farm dogs are magical dogs and would not be injured if an accident occurred while they ride in the back of a pickup. The by-law allows for them to be crated, I think. Can’t wait to see if council will make a change that affects the majority based on the complaint of one resident. Don’t laugh. It’s happened. Or will they leave the by-law in place as is? Or perhaps a deferral? Can’t forget deferrals are always a viable option when unsure what to do…..

Canada 150 fund

Administration wants to apply for a grant so that we can participate in special celebrations in 2017 to celebrate Canada’s 150 years. This should be a no-brainer, but I take nothing for granted. Will let you know what happens.

Saved the best for last….

Tucked in towards the very end of the agenda, as boredom was setting in, were the minutes for the Economic Development Committee. Seems they want to get some guest speakers to come and speak about economic development in a public forum. Guess who their first choice is???? Wait for it……………………………………..Eddie Francis!   Yes, THE Eddie Francis. Do you remember? The one who applied to VOLUNTEER on our Economic Development Committee, but was refused by town council? Yes, it’s the one and the same Eddie Francis.  Well, now the committee would like to see if he can come and speak. Oh, but wait, there’s more…..the committee wonders if the town can assist with the costs………………..Are you kidding me???? I re-read this 4 times thinking it must be a joke. A really bad joke. Unfortunately, it’s there in black and white, so, no joke.

Well, folks, I look forward to giving you all the run-down of Monday night’s meeting after it happens. That is, of course, as long as my computer doesn’t get hacked or I don’t throw my hands in the air and leave the meeting early.

 

 

 

January 4th meeting continued, part 3, budget deliberations and the mysterious computer “hacker”

Here we go…..so the long meeting is getting longer and longer. The report from the Audit and Finance committee has been accepted and the Mayor says back to the budget.

Immediately, Councillor Fryer’s hand is up. Makes a motion that the by-law enforcement budget be reduced by $100,000 and the CAO to find savings. Pouget (of course) seconds the motion. (Hmmm…..why the by-law department? Does somebody have a target on their back?)

Recorded vote : In favour : Fryer, Pouget, Lavigne, Courtney

Opposed : DiCarlo, DiPasquale, Meloche

So, off we go on a 4-3 vote split right out of the gate. Yes, it was foreshadowing for the rest of the evening.

First position to debate : Health and Safety Officer (why would anybody need that?)

Councillor Meloche is concerned with number of issues this year, legal problems and wonders why this position isn’t being supported. (Yes, we all wonder about this….)

Councillor Fryer quotes the beloved committee’s recommendation not to support this position and to bring in outside contract work as needed. The Mayor reminds him that the committee members are individuals and voted as individuals.

Deputy Mayor DiPasquale believes we need this position and cites the fire department in particular.

Councillor Lavigne says he supports the fire chief and would never put someone at risk for a part-time position.

CAO Miceli reminds council that Amherstburg needs to become self-sustaining and all of the departments need health and safety, not just the fire department. The town has other issues far greater than the fire department. (This falls on deaf ears. CAO opinion, less important than unelected volunteers on a committee.)

Councillor Pouget announces she will be voting against this. (Surprise!)

Councillor Lavigne did some Google research during this time and says all towns are directing him to HR, not health and safety person.

CAO says LaSalle has one and this position is for the best of Amherstburg. (If he were an unelected volunteer committee member, perhaps his opinion would hold more weight, but who knows?)

Councillor Courtney points out that Amherstburg has been voted safest community. She seems not to understand that has nothing to do with work place safety. Insert eye roll here. 

Motion : To NOT support the hiring of a Health and Safety Officer.

Support : Courtney, Fryer, Lavigne, Pouget

(Two of these people work in automotive plants where they enjoy very strong health and safety representation. I guess they don’t think our town employees deserve health and safety representation.)

oppose : DiCarlo, DiPasquale, Meloche

(Anyone see a trend starting here?)

Next position: Financial Analyst

Councillor Meloche says the Deloitte report recognized the necessity of this position and it would be a benefit to the town.

Councillor Lavigne asks the treasurer how stable we are and it behooves him to drop $100,000 on a position when we have a qualified committee.

Treasurer Rousseau talks about how we could do so much more with this position in terms of asset management, operations etc.

Councillor Lavigne again talks about the good people on the committee. (what, what, what….we’re leaving our multi-million dollar organization in the hands of a few volunteers….)

CAO and Treasurer both speak of having strong financial backgrounds, but need this position now, they need the support, the ressources. (Just think, if you were 2 volunteers, they would listen.)

There is much back and forth repetitive arguing for a few minutes.

Mayor DiCarlo says all the town’s staff is great, the committee is qualified, administration is even more qualified. He’s fine with not hiring but have to give leeway to administration for reports. ( They’re being stretched thin.) Councillor Fryer tries  speak. The Mayor reminds him of the rules of order and that the chair is last to speak. (This was a great moment in an otherwise, mind-boggling meeting.)

Motion to NOT hire a financial auditor. I will save myself a few key strokes. It was the usual 4-3.

Next position: By-law officer

This was barely debated. It was unanimously supported NOT to hire this position. There was some laughter during this vote. I think the 3 who kept getting defeated just voted with the other 4, just for fun. Maybe not. I don’t know.

Next position : Building inspector (this part got real interesting and complicated!)

Councillor Meloche makes a motion to hire one full time inspector and eliminate one contract, part-time position.

It comes out that the current building inspection chief is injured and not working.

At this time, Councillor Fryer is very agitated and calls for a 5 minute recess. He thinks someone is remotely accessing his computer. Says the mouse is moving and flipping pages. (Is this for real?) The IT guy is there instantly and seems to have the problem fixed within minutes. I think the best explanation is to click the link to the following news story.

http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/amherstburg-budget-meeting-takes-quirky-twists-and-turns

After the brief recess, Councillor Meloche wants to withdraw his motion. Councillor Courtney was the seconder and she agrees.

Councillor Pouget then makes the exact same motion that Councillor Meloche had just withdrawn. (Everyone except her seems to realize what she just did)

Here’s the vote : Support : Courtney, DiPasquale, Fryer, Pouget

Opposed :DiCarlo, Lavigne, Meloche

Then, Councillor Lavigne proposes a motion to hire 2 full time building inspectors.  (Um, Council just voted to hire one. Am I the only one paying attention in this room? geez, I don’t even get paid to be here.)

Long story short, they reconsider the previous motion and table Councillor Lavigne’s motion. Councillors Fryer and Pouget vote to go in-camera, but the motion fails.

A long, heated debate ensues about minutes of previous in-camera meetings. How they affect this whole fiasco, I don’t know. I am not one of the people privy to the in-camera leaks, so I have no clue what is going on.

Motion to hire 2 full time building inspectors :

Support : Courtney, DiCarlo, DiPasquale, Lavigne, Meloche

Opposed : Fryer, Pouget

Position : Manager Departments of Parks and Rec

Unanimous not to hire this position.

Position : Drainage Supervisor

I will admit, I zoned out for much of this debate. I started to wonder why I was torturing myself sitting there. I thought long and hard. Never did come up with an answer. Maybe they’re starting to rub off on me.

This position did get approved.  In support were : Courtney, DiCarlo, DiPasquale, Meloche

Position : Engineering Tech

This was defeated. I didn’t get the vote count. I probably had drifted off to my happy place by now.

The big levy discussion started now. I already wrote about that fiasco. Councillor Fryer couldn’t even get someone to second his motion to do away with the levies. Councillor Lavigne was so frustrated with Councillor Fryer, there were words exchanged and he left the meeting. I have further details of this in a previous blog. I try not to relive it because it just makes me wonder why I didn’t leave early too. Maybe next time I could hitch a ride with Councillor Lavigne. LOL

Oh. And Councillor Courtney wanted to remove one levy. When she was asked which one, she said well let’s just forget about it.

I bet they’re all hoping we forget about this when it comes time for the next election.

 

 

 

January 4th meeting continued, part 2, beginning of meeting and Finance and Audit presentation

As promised, a more detailed account of last night’s Amherstburg town Council meeting. The madness continued….

This blog contains the beginning of the meeting and the points made during the Finance and Audit Advisory Committee. I take notes during the meeting, so I apologize if at times it is choppy to read, but I try to stay true to what I was able to write. Obviously, I am not able to write exactly word for word, however, I try to keep things as accurate as possible.

Council had been in-camera prior to the regularly scheduled 6PM meeting. The doors opened to the public at approximately 6PM. The meeting started shortly thereafter. There was a delegate representing the Special Olympics (Mr. Campbell, I believe) who spoke about raising a ceremonial flag in the Navy Yard Park in support of the Special Olympics.  He was seeking permission to hold the ceremony and to invite the Mayor, Council and the public to attend. The motion carries unanimously to approve the ceremony. (Good job Council!)

In-camera report-out for December 21st meeting about status report on hiring, nothing further to report. They met again today for the same (hiring) and again, nothing further to report.

The special meeting adjourned so that the Mayor and Council could sign the flag for the Special Olympics ceremony. Said they would resume for budget deliberations.

Resumed at 6:30ish for budget deliberations.

First up, report from the Finance and Audit Advisory Committee (here on out referred to as “the committee”). Councillor Pouget asks if she needs to make a motion to go out of order from the agenda (budget was first, committee was second), she wanted to hear from committee first. Mayor says they can go out of order because they didn’t officially adopt the agenda.

Mr. Purdie presents on behalf of the committee.

For those of you who are interested in the full report, here is the link :

Click to access 2016%2001%2004%20-%20Special%20Council%20Meeting%20Agenda%20Packet%20-%202016%20Budget%20-%20Day%20%205.pdf

 

Highlights of the report are :

• we have to keep costs as low as possible to remain competitive for development
• committee recommends all discretionary spending be halted for this year
• committee recommends no training for town employees unless it is deemed “essential”
• they recommend an analysis of the wage structure in town hall
• reviewing how the Libro centre operates
• committee supports a 0% increase for water and waste-water
• they only support a tax increase if the extra money is used towards capital projects
• committee only supports the hiring of one full time building inspector

***thoughts and feelings…..for such an important presentation, after I heard it and read it, it was almost unreadable and very hard to understand……then the real games began. ***.

Mr. Purdie offers to answer questions.

As usual, Councillor Pouget has her hand up in the air first. She proceeds to fawn all over the committee, thanking them and pointing out that they were carefully chosen members. She points out that their concerns are almost word for word her concerns. (Interesting how she always seems to fawn over presenters that she agrees with and is often hostile to those she doesn’t agree with.)

Councillor Pouget begins a somewhat lengthy discussion about the difference between unfunded liability and debt. She seems to think they are the same thing. The treasurer, Mr Rousseau and the CAO have to interject several times to explain the unfunded liability is not debt. Councillor Pouget seems to get offended (as mentioned above), claims she does understand, she has been trained and says that unless we start reducing costs, we have to pay unfunded liabilities. Mr Rousseau explains (again) that unfunded liability exists in every single level of government, school boards, hospitals etc. and is certainly not unique to Amherstburg. Everyone else seems to get this, I’m not sure Councillor Pouget did.  As we all know, Coucillor Pouget’s track record on compromise, is not strong.

Councillor Fryer is up next, as usual. He feels that the committee was not provided with the budget until the last minute and wants to know how it can be done more efficiently next time. (What? They had it for 2 months. At the last meeting , Councillor Fryer felt we were way ahead of schedule, now he’s searching for efficiencies??) Councillor Fryer says the committee has qualifications (his words, no idea, could be anything) and he’s behind the committee. He thinks residents can see we have professionals giving an opinion on this committee. (Funny, I have seen our CAO and Treasurer giving opinions on many occasions, but those didn’t seem as important as this hand-picked committee???) Councillor Fryer apologizes to Mr Purdie for not getting them the budget earlier……hmmmm……how much sooner than 2 months ago did they need it?

As usual, Councillor Pouget says she concurs with Councillor Fryer. A lengthy and confusing discussion ensues about providing reports to the public. She seems to want the public to have the reports before council?

Councillor Meloche tells her that the mandate of the committee is to advise council, why would the public be entertained with reports before council? (good question!)

Councillor Lavigne feels that essentially they are making this committee too important, they should come, report and go separate ways until next year. He then asks some clear, pertinent questions regarding their recommendations. (Small breath of fresh air here. Phew.)

Mr. Purdie says they only support hiring 2 positions.

Councillor Fryer then asks why a 2.1% increase is being presented when it’s really 6.1% in his opinion. It is explained (over and over again) by the mayor, the CAO, the Treasurer  that the 2%+2% of reserves was put in place last term and simply remains in place. It is not increasing.

Councillor Pouget makes a motion that administration provide budget to committee and council and the public prior to 2017  deliberations. Courtney seconds it. It passes with all in favour, except Councillor Lavigne.

All-in-all, this was a crazy back and forth and council still hadn’t even gotten to budget deliberations.

To be continued…… next post, the debate about each position as well as the mysterious “computer hacker”….

 

Monday January 4th budget meeting

This blog will be short and provide an overview of tonight’s meeting. It lasted almost 4 hours and I just don’t have the energy left to go into the meeting in detail. I promise, however, to make an entry tomorrow night providing details and votes etc of tonight’s meeting.

Overall, the audit and finance committee made their presentation with their recommendations to council. The large majority of their recommendations went against town administration’s recommendations. Some on Council doted over and praised this volunteer committee and felt that their recommendations were the ultimate be-all, end-all. I found this sad. While I agree that this committee has dedicated volunteers who hold various accounting-type qualifications, our CAO is probably the most qualified CAO we’ve ever had or will ever have. Add to that our treasurer, who is extremely qualified, and it was disappointing to see such weight given to this volunteer committee, yet have administrations opinions treated as valueless.

Most of the meeting bordered on madness. Some councillors still don’t understand the difference between an unfunded liability and debt. So frustrating. One councillor still does not understand about the levies either. I found most of the meeting almost embarrassing in that a few people that were elected to represent us, quite simply, do not know what they’re doing. I also feel that they’re trying to look for someone to blame if anything goes wrong. They’re not ready to make decisions and be responsible for them. They went through each of the new proposed positions one by one. It was painful. Most positions came down to the 4-3 block voting (in opposition) however, a couple managed to get approved. More details tomorrow.

There was also a motion made by Councillor Fryer to have the by-law enforcement department budget cut by $100,000. It was seconded by Councillor Pouget. It passed 4-3 (Fryer, Pouget, Courtney and Lavigne in support). Hmmmmm…..Something tells me that there’s more to this than meets the eye. Does this mean we have another senior employee with a target on their back? Last time our council went after a department, it was the fire department. Coincidence?

Just to give everyone perspective on the feeling of frustration in the room tonight…..There was a great of discussion about the levies in the budget. Certain Councillors could not understand that these are not an increase in taxes, they are simply a continuation of what we’ve already been paying. After many explanations for those that could not understand, Councillor Lavigne got up to leave the meeting early out of, what I would assume is frustration. He was then was cajoled back by Councillor Pouget and the Mayor. I heard him make a comment in passing about continuing to play “Ring around the rosy”, which seems to have been the game of the night. Councillor Fryer was again trying to say that the levies were an increase. A frustrated Councillor Lavigne then addressed Council and stated that if anyone is opposed to the levies, to put a motion forward and vote. So, Councillor Fryer did just that, but was unable to get someone to second his motion, so it was, again, a dead issue. At this point, Councillor Lavigne, threw his hands up and left at approximately 9:40PM. Can’t say that I blame him. I wonder if he knows that after he left, Councillor Courtney made a motion to get rid of one of the two levies. When she was asked which one, she said, “Ah, let’s forget about it.”….. I probably should have left early too. LOL

More detail tomorrow if I don’t end up throwing up my hands out of frustration. 🙂