Zero discussion, Zero input – Wasaga council budget

So, the meeting of Council yesterday was filled with gems. I will get into a few of the specifics later. But I want to make sure everyone understands what a “consent agenda” item is.

When Council has several pieces of business they want to pass, without the need for discussion or debate, they add it to the “consent agenda”.

The very first document that is produced to assist Council with our budget was introduced this week. It was included as part of the consent agenda.

They found time to discuss the disposition of leftover sandwiches they don’t want at the end of a meeting. However, they had zero discussion about what I suspect is the first step in a 35 Million Dollar Budget process.

Now it’s possible they had no questions because they ALL clearly understand the items listed in the 11 Pages included in the “2025 Budget Assumptions and schedule”. However, I found it astounding that not one question was asked, not one comment was made regarding probably the most important document on Thursdays Agenda.

No, this agenda item was simply a number on a list to them m, and was passed 7-0.

If I have time tomorrow, I hope to have a more detailed discussion prepared regarding the new Party Planner Corporation they have passed.

In the mean time, I wish Mayor Smith safe travels. It’s a shame he couldn’t be here for the meeting in person. I wonder if the story of him being on a cruise ship in Alaska is true? Perhaps the retroactive part of his 40% pay raise was burning a hole in his pocket.

I wonder if he sits at the pool deck working on approving the April May and June Cheque register reports.

Those documents are integral in understanding tomorrow’s discussion.