Schizophrenic Conduct

'Response to 'Old Guard Regional Councilor'

Sir, are you saying that we wasted our votes predicated on your concept that these new Regional Councilors including Councilor Kormos ‘won’t go along to get along’?

Sir, we expect our councilors to aggressively raise questions on any matter. The voters sent these councilors to help clean up Niagara Regional Government and stand up for their constituents; not to please the ‘OLD GUARD COUNCILORS’ or the unelected commissars!

Sir, yes Councilor Petrowski says the Region has a ‘Culture of Secrecy’, which is quite self-evident and very many people believe, including many councilors, that his opinion that the ‘Region is Broken’ is accurate. http://newsalertniagara.blogspot.ca/  

How about that secret ‘CORK’ committee, which was formed to permanently ban the public from ever presenting their views and/or opinions in ‘THE CITIZENS PUBLIC FORUM’ commonly known as Regional Council.

Sir, you said, “As published, I do not know two better councillors than Brian Baty and Bill Hodgson to sit on the hiring committee. They are very sincere and methodical individuals”. They do not in my experience “hide anything.”  

Really Sir!  

Both Councilor Baty and You Sir sat on the secret Cork committee! Still I will take your word for it that Baty and Hodgson are suitable for the vetting of a new clerk, but why then did they hide the fact, even from their fellow councilors, that they had been chosen for this obviously secret committee? http://newsalertniagara.blogspot.ca/2012/09/malignant-secrecy.html  

I’m sorry Sir, but I respectfully disagree with your dismal assessment of Councilor Volpatti asking if there is an “A” team and “B” team? You answered her query with a blunt ‘Staff and Council’. However, Councilor Volpatti was observing the antics and disparity between what is becoming evident as to ‘The old guard councilors’ and the fresh new faces that are valiantly trying to move Niagara forward. 

Sir, according to you it is the antics of council that are a big reason Niagara cannot attract new business. How about our Regional bureaucrats who refuse to respond to correspondence on very important matters or even refuse to inform our Councilors that correspondence has been received on very import matters. They repeatedly display their character by refusing to even acknowledge receiving correspondence from citizens or even groups of citizens and even more egregious, not to recognize receiving correspondence from Industry and Commerce! So much for the full-council governance meeting’s resolution of ‘Communication & Co-ordination’!  

Sir, much of the Regional Government’s visible conduct flies in the face of Chairman Burroughs’ 2012 State of the Region Address. http://www.niagararegion.ca/chair/state-of-the-region-2012.aspx#comm

Fees of Deception

Please note Sir that in the Regional Government’s attempt to attract new commerce and jobs to our beautiful Region they have agreed to spend (Invest) nearly $1million for our new EDO to TRY to attract new Commerce and Industry with their inherit JOBS while all the while they have decided to jack-up development FEES a whopping ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR PERCENT or from $2.20 to $5.16 per square foot.

Could this type of schizophrenic conduct be one of the BIG reasons that we have difficulty attracting commerce, expansion of commerce and jobs? Or is this another effort to hide their failures, their spending activities, or just to be able to brag about how they are keeping the property tax down? It appears that our local governments raise fees wherever and however they can to save their own backsides so they don’t have to face the electorate with unpopular and in many cases unnecessary property tax increases!

Sir, perhaps there should be a series of public debates on the conduct of the regime currently governing Niagara. We could ask if increased secrecy might lead to fascism or if the Regional Government’s so called ‘Partners’ are more closely matched to an ‘Oligarchy’ of self-interested and self-serving groups?

The Niagara Winners Circle asked the fatal question of the failed Niagara Economic Development Corporation, which was allowed to waste over thirty million dollars! Predicated on its history the Niagara Regional Government should also justify its own existence!

As much as I respect you Sir, it is my opinion that the greatest success this Niagara Regional Government and its partners has achieved in its forty year history, is to expand its regime and multiply costs on the backs of the Niagara Taxpayer!

 Click No Comments to Comment