Township and County Missed Opportunities

I was pleased that a few more people were out for the January 24th Springwater Council meeting. You can see that the councilors are beginning to build their confidence and taking charge of their responsibilities. I have great hopes for this council and I think they may take our township to a much more successful level over the next 45 months.
At Monday’s meeting the only thing that I thought was shortsighted or not fully explored was the response to a simple request for a donation to the Annual Simcoe County Plowing Match that is being held in Beeton in August. There was a request for a $300 donation as the previous council had made in the past. I appreciate the focus on controlling costs but I can guarantee there is an easy $300 to save in administrative costs that could be better utilized supporting the core part of Springwater’s economy, farming. Mayor Collins was the only person to speak against the motion to turn down the request. I am surprised that councillors, Ritchie, Webster and McConkey did not support the request as many of their constituents are farmers. I should also chastise the author of the request as it was addressed “To Whom it may Concern”. If the Plowmen’s Association hasn’t taken the time to know the new council members, then maybe they don’t deserve the support. Common courtesy would have the letter and request addressed to mayor by name and the council as a whole. One good piece of news is that there is now an open session at the end of each council meeting for the public to ask questions. This is your chance to bring issues to the floor for future consideration. I hope our two County Representatives, the mayor and deputy mayor suggest a similar procedure at the County Meetings.
The other matter that concerns me, both at the township and county level, is the focus on the percentage increase in spending rather than the actual expenditures. Springwater Councillors have been doing a good job at questioning the line items which I find refreshing, but there is still too much focus on making the decision based on percentage. I agree that most people will be pleased with a 1.5% increase in their overall taxes, but in business we always strived for lower costs year over year. There are continually new technologies that assist in improving efficiencies, better ways of doing things such as a continuous improvement programs that can ultimately deliver the same quality of services at a much lower prices therefore reducing the overall operation of the township. I don’t think there is a lot to find in savings for those people that actually do the work like plowing our roads, keeping our recreation facilities in order, or protecting our safety, but as business has discovered in the last ten years, bureaucracy needs to be the focus and reduced. Council may feel they have done their job by holding taxes to a 1.5% increase, but did they really do the complete job? They can be excused this year as a budget has to be finalized and time is of the essence. I just hope next year they really look into all aspects of the cost of running this corporation. There are many capable minds on this council that have the business background and experience to do so.
I attended the Simcoe County Council Meeting on January 25th and it was also a refreshing change with a new attitude. There was little condescension, negative comment or people simply pushing their agendas. Many good questions and comments were forthcoming and I was pleased to see Mayor Collins and Deputy Mayor McLean engaged which is no easy task as they are new on this 32 person council. The previous council definitely lost the respect of the general populace because of the arrogance and high pressure tactics of both the head of council and a few bureaucrats during the Site 41 fiasco. The quarter million dollar public relations campaign did very little to fix it. One thing that would have went a long way to heal some of the ill feelings was missed at the meeting. Ray Millar the Tiny Mayor tabled a motion to add Gord McKay the Midland Mayor to the Waste Management Committee. The committee positions were appointed when McKay was absent. Gord is one of the most well read and researched person on the council when it comes to understanding the big picture of waste strategy. The motion was defeated as the old guard that supported Site 41 still has a lot of influence which is not conducive to rebuilding trust. This could have been a giant step forward and provided a new voice and perspective on this pressing issue.
It is important that we make ourselves aware of the actions of council. In 2011 over $20,000,000 will be spent by the Township of Springwater and over $400,000,000 by the County. Most of that comes out of our pocket.
We are the shareholders of these operations. If we do not engage, or ask questions then we have no right to complain. Come out to a few Springwater Council and County of Simcoe Council meetings and see how your elected representative is working for you.