I have to start of this post by giving HUGE KUDOS to a Mr. Alan Toms, a resident of Orangeville for 60 years, for stepping up at the Council Meeting to give his humble opinion of our current Town of Orangeville Council’s shenanigans. During the question and answer period of the council meeting, Mr Toms stepped up with a very eloquently spoken speech addressing the issues that many of us have had as concerns since the inauguration of this newly elected council.”It is never appropriate to make decisions affecting the Town and its residents based on emotions and personal agendas” Mr Toms said and he couldn’t have said it better than that. He identified that ‘failure to plan is a plan to fail’ and pointed out that infrastructure such as roads, water mains, and sewers must remain a priority during this budget process while keeping a tax increase at bay.
Mr. Toms said that Members of this Council need to be reminded that the residents and tax payers voted for them to represent us in a responsible and professional manner and that we were expecting a TEAM EFFORT. He spoke out to the need for all council to share the burden including participation on various committees and stated that “It’s going to be a long and difficult 4 year term if every is not on board with this concept”.
Thank you Mr. Alan Toms…Thank you for your obvious passion towards our Town, thank you for sharing your concerns in such a public setting. Let’s keep hoping that members of Council are listening to our concerns!
Budget Talks Continue….
I am looking for some clarification on the “Budget Meeting” process….It seems to me that this budget is never going to get approved. After hours and hours and hours of deliberation, Council still can’t get together on what are important projects. So far, from what I have seen, virtually every item on this budget has been deferred…so my question is, how long can these items be deferred until Council is forced to make a decision??? And they are still only working on the capital budget….so I am very concerned about what will happen when they get to the operational budget where some real cuts can actually be made.
I feel so bad for the residents of First Avenue in Orangeville (and I am so glad that I don’t live on that street)…there is a need for major work to be done to replace the sewers & Water mains due to an imminent HEALTH & SAFETY issue…Council spent ONE ENTIRE HOUR discussing this….and after numerous motions, this item has again been deferred….because they couldn’t agree. If I were a resident of First Avenue, I would be attending every council meeting demanding to know why the health of safety of my family is being put in jeopardy. Yes this is an expensive project. I don’t dispute that. It is a $1.8 million project…and there is a Grant application in place to pay for it that they won’t hear back on until March 2015. But it is for the safety of the Town residents…who might I remind you are also tax payers. And whether or not the Town receives the grant, it is a project that MUST be done!!
So, let me get this straight….As council, you are comfortable committing to another 4 years keeping Tony Rose Arena open at a loss of $200,000 per year, but you aren’t comfortable reaching a decision to protect the residents on First Ave from water main breaks and possible sewer backups? There are ROOTS growing INTO the sewers….this is NOT a minor issue!!! According to Councillor Campbell (who is very on board with approving the project), some of the water mains date back to 1895…In my humble opinion, it is time for an upgrade!!!
To Mr Jones – Director of Public Works – KUDOS to you…you are a true professional. You were very much put on the hot seat during this meeting, as most of the items pertained to your department. And you were asked the same questions – repeatedly – and you maintained your professional demeanour and kept your answers respectful and honest.
Schedule of Budget Meetings
I am looking for clarity on the schedule of the Budget meetings as well…as of the latest update to the Town of Orangeville’s website, there is a regular council meeting scheduled for tonight, as well as a budget meeting scheduled for after regular council is adjourned. Going by recent history, there hasn’t been a council agenda completed 100% as of yet, so it is my prediction that they won’t get to the budget tonight…and this is the last scheduled meeting until February 9th, 2015. So I ask to all of council who may be reading this…now what? When will this budget actually move forward? Will there be additional meetings scheduled?
Council Meeting Tonight
I will be at tonight’s council meeting with my notepad ready Stay tuned for an update!!!