"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Friday 7 January 2011

Sleepless In Aurora

I was awake at 3.20.am. My mind was churning. A job for Manager of Customer Services has been posted on the town's web site, in the Municipal World, in a local newspaper and probably in the Globe and Mail.

I recall a figure of $8 thousand for the recruiting process A couple of years ago, cost was cited as a reason not to recruit for the position of Chief Financial Officer. Despite provincial regulations requiring a competition.

The Manager of Customer Services job is new. Support staff will likely be added later.

Council has not even started on a budget for 2011 let alone approved it.

No funds are available for the position.

Yet wheels are in motion. Funds for recruitment are already spent.

We are a new council ,committed to change from unacceptable practices of the past, when the authority of Council was not respected,

I put that down to the former Mayor having consistent support from councillors who never understood nor chose to exercise the independent judgment expected from them.

No matter what events transpired, the group could be counted upon to ratify either before or after.

It may be, more was lost than realized in Aurora Town Hall with the massive changeover in staff.

It was obvious most of the institutional memory within the administration went out the door with long-serving employees.

It may not be all we lost.

It may be, the understanding that Council is the body that gives direction, may have to be re-established.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe the critisms of staff by our previous council are not without merit? Maybe they do not understand who their masters really are?

Surely they understand that they cannot spend money without authorization. Or perhaps they have received authroization but the current council has not been informed?

I think we need to be sure of all of the facts before accusations of inpropriety are leveled.

This, I am sure, has information attached to it that is not public as yet. Until we know for sure, this is speculative at best.

Anonymous said...

Evelyn ,at what point will your cohorts begin to see what is going on in this fair Town? When will this Council become engaged in the affairs of the corporation and get an understanding of the limits and depth of the public purse. We need to bring things into perspective. This new Council is leaps and bounds ahead of that last regime on the intelligence scale so let’s hope that your input is heeded and Council regains control, sooner rather than later

Anonymous said...

I think I am not quite fully understanding this post. Are you saying that this position was approved during the last term without council's approval? Are you saying that staff are going ahead with a recruitment without the correct authority to do so?
Are you saying that this recruitment should not be going ahead without this council's approval?
I would appreciate some clarification.
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Now that the election's over, I see you're back to attacking staff.

The more things change....

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 104 wrote " Now that the election's over, I see you're back to attacking staff."

Can you tell me what part of Ms. Buck's posting attacks staff.Don't see it

Anonymous said...

I think this is more about someone who has only learned the job the Morris way and yes things do need to change!!! For the better.