4 Hours later…
Well, another 4 hour meeting that only touched on HALF of the agenda. This seems to be the new “normal” for our current council. I happily watched council on Rogers Cable in my jammies in the comfort of my own home…and I am glad that I did…because my reactions to the meeting caused me to yell at my TV – and I’m confident THAT response would not have been well received in council chambers….but was perfectly acceptable at home
It is frustrating to say the least, to see that 6 weeks into this new council, they still cannot seem to set aside their personal agendas to put the betterment of the Town of Orangeville at the top of their priority lists. The constant bickering and banter has got to stop in order for the needs of the Town to come first – and that does not appear to be anyone’s priority.
In fact, Councillor Kidd actually pulled out his campaign brochure for reference at last nights’ meeting….THE ELECTION IS OVER – MOVE ON!!!
There was absolutely zero reason why this entire agenda couldn’t have been taken care of in 4 hours…it was a jam packed agenda, but do-able. At this point everyone needs to stop discussing each and every point to death (for the sake of hearing their own voices) and if they are bringing a motion to the table, HAVE IT READY!!! Instead, now half of the meetings’ agenda is going to be taken care of next week…TIME WASTED! These are our tax dollars at work…
Committees – Going once, Going twice….
Almost 3 hours of the meeting was spent on committee assignments…and this was one of the more tedious activities I have witnessed. For those of you who missed it, here are the FINALIZED committees that have been assigned to the council.
You may notice that the workload is not at all evenly distributed…Councillor Campbell has 6 huge committees in her portfolio, while Councillor Kidd has a mere 3 (I would even call that 2.5 as the snow clearing committee is just a temporary committee). And when asked to take on additional committees, he refused. Yup, voted in by the people to look out for the people’s best interests and doesn’t have any interest in the Economic Development Committee or any others not already assigned to him….things that make you go hmmmmm.
Arts & Culture – Or a lack thereof…
For those of you who missed the meeting, there was a moment – or an hour – of “trading” committees amongst the councillors. Councillor Bradley had been assigned the Arts & Culture committee as part of her portfolio…which she didn’t want. She put it out there that she would appreciate if another councillor would take it on as part of their portfolio and guess who stepped up to take it on? NO ONE! Not one single councillor deemed Arts & Culture important enough to take on. So, the question was asked to the Clerk as to what the rules are for not having council representation on a committee…according to the rules, that particular committee doesn’t need a councillor on it…so that is what they went with. NO ONE.
So, let me get this straight…is it that council doesn’t believe that Arts & Culture is important?? Because I would LOUDLY disagree. In my humble opinion, we are an Arts & Culture hub….we are fortunate to live in one of the most diverse Arts communities around – our theatre scene, our musical theatre, our Blues & Jazz, our live music, The Alton Mill…and those are just to name a few…along with having an outstanding restaurant community. {Insert Sarcastic Tone} I can completely understand why no councillor would step up to the plate…{End Sarcastic Tone}
So, as you can imagine, I spent a good amount of time at this point yelling loudly at my TV…just willing ONE of them to step up to the plate…all that was heard through council chambers were crickets…~chirp~chirp~chirp~
MYAC – Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee
The Mayors Youth Advisory Committee is one committee that fell to the grave – and that truly is unfortunate. With the right person heading that committee, it would give the Youth in The Town of Orangeville a voice. But, in the past, the work hadn’t been put in to make it the committee that it could have been, so it is gone. With the right person heading it up and actively seeking out Youth to be a part of it, this committee could have been great – my 15 year old son really wanted to be a part of it, and I for one am very disappointed that he won’t have that chance.
Now to be fair, there was discussion that they will open up a youth spot on the other committees…and I am really hoping they do that. But just to have the youth present isn’t enough. I am hoping that they will actually allow and encourage their participation and input. Time will tell.
In My Humble Opinion, Youth and Arts Draw the Short Straw
So after all was said and done, the Youth of Orangeville and the Arts really drew the short straw. They have been completely overlooked while other committees have representation of 2 councillors – do we really NEED 2 council representatives on the Library Board?? (But the library is a discussion for another day). Instead, wouldn’t that resource be better served representing two huge parts of our community in the youth and the arts?
Now you know my humble opinions…I would love to hear yours!