Well, here we are. Our “new” council is not so new anymore and has completed one full calendar year of service and meetings. Last year I did not write a year end review, since the old council was finished (quite literally) and the new council had only had one meeting.
I had a few ideas of “highlights” and “lowlights” already in my memory from 2019, but I went back through my notes to be sure I hadn’t forgotten any. I am known for having a really good memory. I found a few topics in my notes of things I had forgotten (or maybe managed to repress? Who knows? But anyway, I took a long walk down memory lane and typed it all out.
A quick election 2018 recap to refresh our memories about the election results:
Mayor DiCarlo was elected with 63% of the vote to a second term as Mayor. Deputy Mayor Meloche was elected by a slim 4 vote lead, but duly elected nonetheless. (The recount debacle happened in 2018, so I won’t go into detail for that in our 2019 review.) We have 5 “brand new” councillors….elected in this order : Donald McArthur, Michael Prue, Patricia Simone, Peter Courtney and Marc Renaud.
There was only a 185 vote difference between the 4th place finisher for council and the 8th place finisher……With 14 people running for 5 seats, the vote really got split all over the place, other than the top 3 finishers. Just a little observation from someone who likes to observe.
As for me, next month will be my 5 year anniversary being an official “council watcher”. I got that title a few years back and it kind of makes me laugh. It’s better to laugh than to cry right? And next month will be my 4 year anniversary of being a “blogger”. The Amherstburg2 blog was born in January 2016, after I had been attending meetings for a year. The blog has taken on a life of its own through the years and I sincerely appreciate all of my readers. Even the ones who only read the blog to pick it apart and hate it are appreciated. A reader is a reader I guess. 🙂
For my fans and followers though a sincere thank you for reading and for your feedback and questions. Last year’s questions to the candidates during the election was a huge success. Many of you shared questions you wanted me to ask of the candidates and many of the candidates answered your questions. Ironically, only one non-participant to the candidates Q&A was elected to a position on council. I think that shows how interested and engaged the readers were in the candidates’ responses. So kudos to all of you readers and followers!
Moving on into 2019, our new council seems to have different strengths, quirks and challenges than the old and I’m going to write up a general overview of the issues and council’s performance on those issues for the 2019 year. This is all from my perspective of course, opinions may vary on some of it, all of it or none of it. If you generally don’t agree with my perspective, it’s probably a good idea to stop reading now. If not, read on at your own risk LOL. So here are some highlights or lowlights depending on perspective, in no particular order.
Rebranding and the new logo
This was an issue that I had initially “forgotten” although probably repressed from my memory LOL. It was an issue that hung like a black cloud for months over our new council. For those who don’t recall, the previous council had decided to engage in an rebranding initiative for the town, which included a new logo, new website, a new brand, new communications plan among other initiatives to promote our town. I still remember the initial presentation to the old council that Amherstburg wasn’t “sexy” LOL. So the plan was put into motion with our old council, then our new council was handed the package with the new logo and tagline………..and oh my! What a mess of meetings, feedback, more feedback, surveys and disagreements.
The public was invited to participate in surveys and two public consultation meetings during the summer of 2018 in preparation for a new logo and tagline. Input was given. Lots of input was given.
The company that was hired, Cinnamon Toast, came before council several times. Some members of council were not exactly respectful to the representatives, which was a real shame. Council was presented with 4 options for the logo and the tagline “Born to make history”. Personally, I liked the logo that was presented and recommended as well as the tagline. I found the new logo was edgy, modern and bold. It wasn’t what I expected but in all honestly I had no idea what to expect. After much debate, it was decided that the logo would be presented to various town committees and to the public at yet another public consultation session. There was also a survey that was offered to the public. Again.
At one point, council debated not choosing any logo at all. Cinnamon Toast repeatedly said they did not recommend that since the logo is the foundational piece to the branding and the website. (But what could the experts possibly know when one councillor does “research” on Google? LOL) Council even took apart the new logo, one symbol at a time. It seemed like the debate would never end and a decision may never be made. In fact, arriving at a a decision ended up taking many, many months. (Writing this year end blog, has me rereading my notes and reliving these moments like they were yesterday……I wonder if I’ll be able to sleep tonight? It won’t be visions of sugar plums dancing in my head, it will be light houses, buoys, stars and lines….. )
After much public consultation, and several more meetings, council ended up taking the original logo and modifying it. They also chose not to go with a tagline of any sort, since, well, they couldn’t agree on one.
In my opinion, we paid the experts for an expert opinion and council set most of it aside. Some of the members of council were even rude about it. Regardless, the new logo can be seen on certain items around town and I think it’s refreshing and attractive. It sure beats the old and tired town crest that can be seen on the town’s official documentation. The new logo is geared towards tourism and branding our town as a destination. Which it absolutely is!
So, our new council’s term started out with the logo issue hanging over their head for months…..they seemed to have a hard time making a decision about this issue and the same challenge showed up a few times during their first year……hard time making a decision…..some on council seem to want to please everyone…..some on council seem to want to please the loud, vocal minority……and some on council seem unsure……it created an overtone of indecisiveness……although that did seem to gradually turn around by the end of 2019.
Audit and Finance Committee
Our old council had created, then abolished an Audit and Finance Committee during their tenure. Our new council decided to reinstate this committee to give them advice regarding the budget. This seemed like a good idea and all seemed to be a go. Administration put forth the terms of reference for the committee (like they do for all of the committees) and then the committee re-wrote their own terms of reference. There was a lot of debate and arguing about their new terms of reference. Ultimately, council did not approve the committee’s new terms right away. The issue went back to the committee and then came back again to council. Ultimately, their new terms of reference were approved, although I believe they were somewhat modified. As well, for the first time that I’ve ever seen, a Councillor (Prue in this case) was named as the chair of this committee. This struck me odd since a layperson was originally the chair, but then stepped down and in went the councillor. I always thought the idea behind the volunteer committees was to provide advice to council and that the council members were there to liaise between the committee and council……seems odd that a member of council would be the chair of the committee.
Ultimately, the Audit and Finance Committee did present to council before the budget and provided recommendations.
The first budget (February 2019)
Since the new council was sworn in in December 2018, they did not debate the 2019 budget until February 2019. In these situations, it’s virtually impossible to have a budget in place for the next year since council would have to be sworn in and immediately debate the budget. That would be impractical. The 2019 budget had a proposed increase of 2.65%.
I attended the public consultation meeting for the first budget of council on February 2nd 2019. There were about 30 people in attendance. There were questions and some discussion but the meeting was generally respectful. (Fast forward to the next budget public consultation and it was the polar opposite……but we’re not there yet in our story of council 2019…..)
As I went through my notes of the 2019 budget deliberations one thing really stood out. At the budget deliberation meeting on February 12th, Lynn Fox had requested a grant (in the form of waiver of fees) for $8,250 to host a large synchronised skating competition at the Libro Arena. The amount ultimately given to Skate Amherstburg was reduced and Councillors Courtney and Prue didn’t seem to see the value in sports tourism for this item.
Ultimately, council whittled the proposed 2.65% down to a 1.82% tax increase for the 2019 year.
The hotel
I don’t generally attend planning meetings. Planning meetings are, well, I’ll just say it, very boring. However, the hotel issue came up at the May 27th meeting since some zoning changes were required for the downtown hotel to be built on Dalhousie Street. Councillor Prue went on and on about parking, how many rooms there would be in the new hotel, how much staff etc. He wanted a further report to do this right. A representative from Amico Properties was present and stressed the importance of their need for the zoning change in order to be able to negotiate with potential operators for the new hotel. Councillor Courtney also went on and on about where people would park. After much debate, an amendment was made about additional parking on a lot on Ramsey Street and then the zoning was amended. The hotel is coming people! It was discussed again at another meeting. I hope that council does everything possible in 2020 to make this hotel a reality quickly. I think if there’s one thing every one in Amherstburg can agree on, it’s that we NEED a hotel. Council, please stop with the gazillion questions and motion amendments. Get ‘er done council. Fast.
The $17,000 unpaid policing bill
The previous council had tried to make a motion and make ONE unpaid bill public news. They were not successful. Councillor Courtney carried their torch into the new term and brought it up again in early 2019. Councillor Courtney had question after question about this one bill and it seems that many things were addressed about it in a private and confidential memo. It seems that the bill was already in the collection phase as per the town’s policy. It also seemed that there was no actual contract that could be located for these services. Councillor Courtney made a motion to have the item brought back to council if it were to be written off.
So, eventually, in the fall, the item did come back before council to be written off. Councillor Courtney had 32 questions regarding this bill. After asking his multitude of questions, the bill was written off. Why was this one bill belaboured?
Later, when over $150,000 in tax bills were written off, Councillor Courtney nor any members of council had any questions. And again, a bit later, when a bill for $35,000 was written off regarding a property on Victoria Street, Councillor Courtney nor any other members of council had any questions. Strange, how so much time and energy was laser focused on that one outstanding receivable, yet others did not merit one single question. Could it be because certain members of council were looking to publicly embarrass and lay blame on two people when the situation involved so many more than two people? But politics in Amherstburg wouldn’t be personal, would they? Could they?
The second budget (2020)
As per usual protocol, the 2020 budget was presented in early November. Initially the budget called for a 4.55% increase. (yikes!) Through line by line deliberations, council whittled it down to 0.56% for the upcoming 2020 year. A big help getting that number down came from the $500,000 savings with the police contract. Council also found some efficiencies from within the budget and the rate became palatable for everyone I think.
However, the problem with the budget did not lie within the budget, administration or council…..once again, as seems to be becoming the norm in 2019, there was a public spectacle at the public consultation meeting. I also attended this meeting, like the last one, however this time there were about 80 people in attendance (versus around 30 in February) and unfortunately, some members of the public were not on their best behaviour. Again, there was yelling, insults, laughing and heckling coming from the crowd. It was extremely disappointing and I feel that it stifled real discussion or questions. So, while the budget increase was a success, the public consultation was far from it. The “mob mentality” behaviour at these public meetings, unfortunately, overshadows council’s hard work and success on this budget.
The Windsor Police contract
January 1, 2019 the Windsor Police took over policing in Amherstburg. A few in town thought it would be Y2K and the sky might fall in. Well, low and behold, here we are. The sky did not fall. The world did not end. The sun still rose on January 1st, 2019. In fact, the new policing system seems to be working out very well. Other than a few of our residents that are C.A.V.E. (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) thinkers, most people seem quite satisfied with the new policing. In fact, they seem to be out doing radar more often than I noticed in the past. As well, I’ve noticed them doing radar in new and odd places, so be careful with your speed! Don’t say you weren’t warned. LOL (If you want to know where I’ve seen them, send me a message…..;) ) And a nice bonus was that the savings seen from this contract helped bring down the 2020 tax rate increase.
There seems to still be some outstanding issues from the old Amherstburg Police Department. I read in the paper today that the former Police Chief, Tim Berthiaume is suing the town for $10,000. We’ll have to wait and see how that plays out in 2020. (I’ll bookmark that for next year’s year in review.)
The lobbyist registry
In September, a new proposed lobbyist registry bylaw was presented to council. It seems the point of the bylaw was to keep track of various groups that may be approaching members of council to lobby for or against certain issues that should come before council. The Integrity Commissioner would have been tasked with keeping track of meetings, dates and items discussed and with whom. It sounds pretty boring and uninteresting. It probably would have been had it not been for the public behaviour of a few individuals at the meeting. Again, we were faced with yelling, dissension, insults, laughing and rude remarks being made from some members of the public. In fact, one member of the public behaved so disrespectfully that he was removed from the building during a brief recess. This particular meeting dragged on and was extremely heated and even more uncomfortable. It was explained repeatedly that the lobbyist registry would only apply to private meetings, not public, but the lobbyists were so upset that I don’t think anybody was listening. (Just rereading the dozens of pages of notes that I took during this portion of the meeting is like an awful walk down memory lane…..I’ll have to work on repressing these memories I guess LOL…..)
Ultimately, the report was simply received at another meeting and the bylaw was never created.
Boblo Island is the new Texas Road
For those who have been following my blog since its inception in 2016, you will know that Texas Road was discussed a lot during the previous council’s term. In fact, Texas Road was mentioned at almost every single meeting during the previous council’s term. This term, with our new council, it seems to be Boblo Island that is mentioned at almost every single meeting. I don’t understand why when a person gets elected to council, the road or area where they live is at the forefront of discussion at meetings. It struck me odd during the last term and it strikes me odd this term. Here’s to hoping that Boblo Island won’t be brought up continuously in 2020. Does anyone want to wager a cup of coffee on that one?
The Mayor’s absence and illness
As most of my readers are aware, Mayor DiCarlo missed many meetings through the spring and summer months. It was publicly announced that he was under a doctor’s care. During his absence, I feel it’s important to note that Deputy Mayor Meloche really stepped up to the plate and chaired the meetings very well. The Deputy Mayor also attended a plethora of events to represent our town during the Mayor’s absence. It seems that Mayor DiCarlo is on the mend and seems to be back at it and doing much better. I saw the pictures from the Breakfast with Santa and the Mayor event and noticed that he looked good. I am glad to see him back at the council meetings and happy that he seems to be getting back into the swing of things.
During his absence, I feel it’s also important to commend administration who seemed to be under constant criticism from a select few residents. During the meeting where council extended the Mayor’s leave of absence, somebody from the crowd yelled “Who’s running the town?”. Councillor McArthur pointed out that all of council is out representing the town and that the Deputy Mayor has stepped in and filled the role. Councillor McArthur felt that the Mayor had earned his grace period and pointed out that the Mayor was still answering emails and was still active on Facebook and Twitter.
I also feel that Councillor McArthur should be commended since he has written regular blog entries during his first year in office and it has helped to keep the public informed, especially during the Mayor’s absence. (I guess one could say that I have a certain affinity for bloggers. 😉 )
When council initially had to approve a leave of absence for the Mayor, it became pretty clear which members of council supported him and which ones did not. It was wonderful to see the outpouring of support for our Mayor on social media from the residents. He won the election with 63% of the vote and I think that most people are very happy with his leadership and for the positive direction in which he is leading our town.
Attendance (or lack thereof) at community events
Speaking of attendance at public functions, let’s call a spade a spade. Some members of council have made a far bigger effort to attend a variety of public functions than others. I attend many events myself and I make a point of following the councillor’s social media pages (if they have one) and our local newspaper. It seems that Deputy Mayor Meloche, Councillor McArthur and Councillor Simone are at almost every single public function. It seems that Councillor Renaud is at many and that Councillor Prue is at some. I will continue to keep an eye on that in 2020. On a personal note, I often run into Councillor Simone downtown on the weekends. And I have run into Deputy Mayor Meloche, Councillor Renaud and Councillor McArthur on occasion downtown too.
Since the Mayor was ill for a good portion of 2019, he obviously missed many public functions. However, considering he attended them ALL during his first 4 year term, I’ll give him a pass on missing part of this year due to illness. However, I think a few members of council need to step it up and attend a wider variety of public functions in order to hear from more residents, not just their circle of supporters. After all, they were elected to represent us all, not just their friends and family.
Breach of Confidentiality
At a meeting in June, there was an item on the agenda regarding a breach of confidentiality. It seems that council received a private and confidential memo about some type of breach of confidentiality. The details are unknown. However, when this item came up on the agenda, Councillor Simone quickly made a motion that no further action be taken. Councillor Prue immediately seconded it and bada bing, bada boom, it passed. No discussion.
Walk down memory lane time again……Fall 2018, before the election…….there was a breach of confidentiality and the integrity commissioner was called in to investigate. That investigation cost us, I believe, around $12,000, most probably because of a lack of cooperation of the parties involved. The Integrity Commissioner found that former Councillor Lavigne was involved in leaking information to the chair of the former Amherstburg Police Services Board, Bob Rozankovic. That was a doozy of a meeting! Some yelling, arguing and drama was in abundance.
It still concerns me that our new council was so quick to dismiss this issue. Breaches of confidentiality are serious and have devastating consequences on public trust.
Administration investigation
Speaking of breaches of confidentiality, the report about administration came back at the same June 2019 meeting. An independent investigator was tasked with investigating administration regarding the Fall 2018 breach. The results came in and cleared and exonerated all members of administration of any wrongdoing. This was wonderful news for our town administration and the members of the public. The flip side? Council simply received the report and said nothing. They allowed administration to be put under the microscope, be questioned and falsely accused yet said nothing to show their support after this long drawn out sordid affair. And, we would find out later in 2019 that this needless investigation cost us $9,000 and put the Mayor’s department over budget to boot. Wow.
Wendy’s
There was a development for a new Wendy’s restaurant that was ready to go and presented to the old council in August 2018. BUT the old council made a motion to defer the development…………and boom! It was off the table. Many people were angry and upset that we lost out on this development. Some say that former Councillor Lavigne lost his 2018 re-election bid since he was the one who made the motion to defer this development. Former Councillor Pouget seconded it and she also lost her bid for Deputy Mayor. Does people’s love of the Baconater run so deep that it will affect who they vote for? I don’t know……anything is possible I guess. Especially in Amherstburg LOL.
Well, at the April 8th meeting of 2019, with our new council, the proposed development was back. Mr Mikhail, the developer addressed council and made it very clear that Mayor DiCarlo and CAO Miceli were behind getting this deal back and that he had walked away. He felt that it was the persistence of the Mayor and administration and they were the only reason he was back. And, the rest, as they say, is history……Wendy’s opened officially just over a week ago. I haven’t been there yet, but I’ve seen it’s a very busy place! Woo hoo!
So there it is. A recap of our council’s first year in office. There were highs, there were lows, there were in-betweens. It’s time to close the chapter of 2019 and council’s first year. I would guess that this was a year of learning for many of our new members of council. It was a year of learning for myself as well. It was interesting to watch the dynamics of a new group of people.
So, with that, I’m going to enjoy the holidays with my family and friends. I’m going to try not to think about politics until the new year! Ha! (Is that even possible?) Happy New Year Amherstburg! Here’s to hoping that 2020 brings great things for Amherstburg!
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