It seams the strategy of our Mayor is to simply not respond to emails that enquire about wrong-doing. I mentioned the attached email the other day. Mayor Smiths continued lack of response should indicate to everyone that he knows this was 100% wrong.

The original arena budget did not include the purchase of the temporary floor they use for concerts and other events. So, there had to be discussions and approval of this expenditure.

During my tour of the TPAL prior to it opening, it was shared with us that this floor would be rented from Barrie. This was also confirmed in the Council Meeting of Feb. 29, 2024.

So… WHO discussed and approved this expenditure? How much is it in total? When and where did this discussion take place? How did a vendor get selected for this quarter million dollar expenditure?

For me, even more importantly I wonder if they do not care about fiduciary responsibilities with an item this big, how many smaller purchases and expenses are getting pushed through without proper consideration for process?

Remember in my post the other day, I pointed out that not one member of Council questioned this after Deputy CAO Marshall disclosed to Councilor Belanger that the floor was purchased. Councilor Belanger was curious about it, but seemed OK that it was simply a purchase. He didn’t care that Deputy CAO Marshall avoided answering his question on cost. Why ask a question if you’re not actually interested in the answer?

The previous Council actually published change orders on the Town Website. This practice stopped after the election. The question is… WHY?

Well, despite Councilor Ego’s public protests about costs, despite every member of Council claiming that the TPAL project was being poorly managed and would go way over budget, the soon discovered that was not true! When the previous Council was replaced, the entire project was coming in substantially UNDER the $59,000,000.00 budget. A seldom talked about aspect of that budget is a portion built into it known as a contingency fund. I don’t think the amount of this fund was ever shared as it was ONLY to be used for unexpected costs that were unavoidable.

So, I know Mayor Smith and Councilor Belanger loose their mind when they are called irresponsible. However, this out of control spending is TOTALLY IRRISPONSIBLE and has to stop.

Several weeks prior to the issue of the $250,000.00 floor came up I wrote to the Mayor asking for details of all change orders. I was told I would have to file a Freedom of Information request to get such information.

How far under budget were we when they took over? How much of that has been re-allocated to expenses not in the original contract? Just because money is budgeted for a building, you CANNOT simply add anything you want to that project, just because there is money lying around.

Will this behaviour change? I doubt it. It seems all members of Council don’t mind asking the occasional question to make it appear that they are doing what is right, but they vote in line with expectations and they keep on spending.

Soon, some of this may unravel, but citizens shouldn’t have to fight for transparency and honesty in government. Pick a Councilor, any one…. Ask them who approved the purchase of our TPAL temporary floor. Ask how much it was. Ask how they selected a vendor.

Consider asking the Ombudsman or the Integrity Commisioner to look into this.