Council at the trough

Wow…. The internet is lighting up today. It seems Council is preparing to go to the trough for their fill. Apparently they voted to turn down a routine wage increase earlier in their term because they wanted a “review” of their wages.

Well that review is done. So here we go…. Check out the massive increases they are proposing. This is not just for Council but MASSIVE increases for some senior positions.

All I can say is “Shame”. I truly hope they listen to the backlash on this and vote down their increases.

Let’s put some of this financial stuff into perspective. Since taking office, they have given themselves $35,000 a year in personal expense accounts but do not disclose what each member actually claims. Big secret… which you can obtain through an FOI. But really, let’s have some transparency.

Then there was Councillor Belanger asking for and receiving retroactive expenses he claimed to have forgotten to file going back years. Funny, the amount matched the money he was asking Council for in his notice of Motion to review his penalties recommended by the integrity Commisioner during his last term. But hey… that’s probably just a coincidence. THAT notice of motion was never dealt with.

Please note: Both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor also get significant remuneration for their attending County council.

Also note: Mayor Smith is also paid to be on the WDI Board of Directors.

*The Cost of Living Allowance in Canada for 2024 is 3.8%.

I don’t need to remind people the struggles our community is facing financially, but this group is BLIND to the needs of others.

The Municipal portion of our taxes have gone up 17+% since this Council has taken office.

They reduced all staff work weeks from 40 hour to 32 and still adjusted pays up.

PLEASE READ THE AGENDA. (Open the PDF version to get the entire 541 page version). Look at the massive spending increases being thrown around like candy. Then, I want you all to remember…. These are the same 7 people that voted to eliminate $16,000.00 from the budget by removing a safety harness that would have been used by our children learning figure skating. (They have to do fund raising and buy it themselves) THAT decision was made, DESPITE the last Council doing such a great job of staying under budget in building the TPAL, that THIS council was able to buy a $220,000.00 arena floor to host their parties on.

I notice they pay mileage at $0.68 per Kilometer. I wonder if Mayor Smith is eligible to claim this for his commute from his home to Wasaga Beach when he is in Country?

I’m sure they think this is long enough before the next election, that everyone will forget. I won’t!