"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

Monday 13 January 2014

Transparency...I think not.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Noe so blind as those who will not see....":


Section 228 on the Municipal Act (1) states that "A municipality shall appoint a clerk whose duty it is,"........... and (2) "A municipality may appoint deputy clerks."............and (3) A clerk or deputy clerk is not required to be an employee of the municipality."

One should also read sections (a) - (e) of Section 228 (1) to see just what a clerk's duties are.

Now we have no clerk - I assume 
who was terminated - so what steps has the town taken to replace him as without such a person no minutes of the proceedings of council can be recorded. Is this all going to be on streaming?

The actions that seem to have occurred in the past few months have demonstrated a Council completely lacking in any capacity to think clearly and thus its decisions are not only suspect but downright stupid and over the top expensive. And I don't want to hear any more dribble from the Treasurer about all our contingency funds and our ability to borrow unlimited amounts of money at bargain basement interest rates. Who in their right mind is going to buy a Town of Aurora debt instrument? Certainly not I.

If an election were to be held next week, following the publication of this Council's recent activities, I doubt if very many would be re-elected.

"His Honour" should more aptly be referred to as "Gold-fingers." 


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The   comment  is relevant.

 A clerk  has many responsibilities under the law. 

A deputy clerk  is certified and  may be Acting -Clerk. It means the function of  Town  Clerk is  still  essential. 

The Town clerk is also Elections Officer. 

This is an election year. In September Council becomes a lame duck. 

Already  candidates are registering. Preparations for an election takes months.

If the clerk is mandator the election officer , how can there be an elections officer without a clerk.

Employment separation do not come without a price .

Severance packages are normal and fair,

Twenty- six years of  public service commitment certainly merits a substantial package. How could elimination of  that employment possibly represent financial efficiency.

In the last several years ,severances  must have amounted to  substantial expenditure .

Never have I seen a line item identified in any budget document .

I attended the last two meetings  of the year held before Christmas. I  sought deferral of the CAO's confidential  memorandum to Council. It was deferred.

I missed the  last Council meeting in 2013 .

The minutes of the last  Council meeting have not  yet been distributed.

The Service Level  Consultant Study was scheduled to be presented in December.  I will not know  how Council decided  which, if any, Director position should be eliminated.

I saw nothing in the media.

I was not asked for comment.

I will not know how....when .... or why Council made the  decision until I receive the minutes.

Perhaps not even then.





5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where is that letter Mayor Dawe said he would be glad to write ? The one in which he was going to outline how councillors could deal with any concerns they had about staff without being accused of micro-managing.

Anonymous said...


Indeed, on first cut the referenced terminations may appear as a saving but you can be sure long standing employees deserve and will receive a substantial termination package. Certainly, they would likely be immediately eligible for perhaps six months of salary in lieu of notice and then it goes from there. At least two years for the Clerk seems likely.

So the Mayor thinks councillors are best left in the dark. This Mayor seems to like what he gets from consultants (retained by the Town). Taxpayers and now councillors are yesterday's news.

And as for this ongoing debate about finding new and innovative funding sources, would someone please yell in the Mayor's ear that there is only one taxpayer. Money does not fall from the heavens it comes only from the taxpayers' pockets. I know the Deputy mayor (aka Barney Fife)will not conprehend this.

Anonymous said...

If the Clerk is indeed gone, I believe that whatever individuals [ for this was orchestrated deliberately not be the man himself ] managed the deed, did him an enormous favour. The relief as he pulled out of that parking lot one last time would be have been awesome. And he has some marvellous tales to tell,

Anonymous said...

@14:30
Maybe you are giving Cllr Abel all the blame when a closer look indicates that Cllr Thompson has moved onside with Mayor Dawe. The two of them move in tandem now.

Anonymous said...

The band and their roadie.