Its no secret that things at Orangeville Town Hall have been less than pleasant over the last 2 years of this Council’s 4-year term. In just the last couple of weeks, us residents have seen a criminal investigation, the beginnings of a lawsuit aimed at the Town (and possibly the Mayor), and now an investigation by the newly hired Integrity Commissioner.
In my humble opinions, enough is enough. I am fed up with Town Council’s blatant disregard for their duties to us as taxpayers. It’s time to #TakeBackOrangeville. In municipal government, there is unfortunately no official ‘Vote of Non-Confidence’ as there is in parliament…however, I have drafted a petition entitled ‘Take Back Orangeville – A Vote of Non-Confidence in Our Town Council’ that I would like to present at Council at the next meeting on Monday, September 26th, 2016. If you are fed up with the shenanigans at Town Hall, click HERE to sign the petition! I have sent the following open letter to all members of Council:
Dear Mayor Williams and Members of Council,
Thank you for your service to the Town of Orangeville. These last two years have been entertaining but it is time to bring this circus to a close. Two years ago, each one of you ran on platforms that included making Orangeville a better place, and you have broken that promise to the electorate. Your own personal agendas and desires to fuel animosity and infighting have clouded your vision. Two years ago, the electorate voted you into office to be our representatives, to be the voice of the taxpayer and to serve with our best interests in mind. You are not fulfilling the duties you were elected to.
As a taxpayer, I want someone in your seats that is a proven leader, who has a clear plan to make Orangeville better and who has the means, the intent and the skills to execute that plan. Instead, your decorum inside Council chambers has been deplorable and as a result, Orangeville has been reduced to being the ‘laughing-stock of Ontario’. The childish political games have made waves across the media, both in the papers and on social media and clearly show that there are no leaders among you. There is no means or intentions to execute a plan in fact currently no plan exists.
There has been little effort to improve our financial situation, little effort to bring new industry to Town as was promised and no relief to residents with our ever-growing property tax situation. Instead, we have received half-truths, at best. We have seen self-serving ‘well-timed’ politics, aimed solely for individual political standing and a clear disrespect for the seats you were elected to be in. The seats you sit it are seats that should be shown respect. They are not seats to be sat in by those who wish to abuse the power that the electorate has bestowed upon you.
Orangeville has had the misfortune of seeing scandals, investigations, childish schoolyard tactics, an alarming abuse of taxpayer’s money, and a clear violation of public trust. We all watched two years ago as a new Council was formed and with that always comes some rocky times. The fact remains that the issues you had on your inaugural day have not improved, instead the situation at Town Hall continues to decline, to the detriment of the residents. While I recognize and acknowledge that each of you have made contributions to the Town, collectively the divisiveness of Council has been and will continue to be a detriment to our community.
The 7 of you clearly have irreconcilable differences and this leaves the residents of Orangeville in limbo. If the next 2 years are left unchanged, I fear that the Town and its residents will suffer. Unfortunately, the Municipal Act, unlike parliament, does not have a vote of non-confidence, however, I have included a petition that has the names and signatures of ____________ residents who have lost confidence in your abilities to represent us. With all due respect and for the betterment of the Town, I am asking each of you to tender your resignations and call for a new election immediately.
Sincerely
Lisa Post
Your Support is Needed
If you are as frustrated as me, please click the link to the survey https://www.change.org/p/town-of-orangeville-council-take-back-orangeville-a-vote-of-non-confidence-in-our-town-council and sign your name! Make sure to share the survey to your friends on Facebook and Twitter and use the hashtag #TakeBackOrangeville .My goal is to collect 5,000 signatures before Monday’s meeting. Let’s let them know how we, the electorate are feeling!
I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments!