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More wasted tax dollars
01 April 2010
Back in December, Councillors Jeffrey and McNabb took offence at the mayor ruling in a procedural matter in the patio discussion. I wrote about it in a blog piece back then, noting:
The legal opinion we received basically said the mayor was right. That didn't sit well with Councillor Jeffrey who later tried to impose a change in the procedural bylaw that would have made it more difficult for the chair to make such rulings in the future. That change was not passed by council, however.
Last week, I learned the cost of that legal opinion: $10,457.00. Plus the town - you, the taxpayer - spend another $955.50 on legal fees for "research undertaken by their Law Clerk to review numerous municipal procedural by-laws to determine if other municipalities require anything more than a simple majority to sustain the Mayor’s Ruling."
That's $11,412 of your tax dollars spent on what seemed to me a futile gesture. Keep in mind that when community groups were asking for money at budget time, many council members turned down smaller requests than what we gave to the lawyers.
So which would you rather spend YOUR tax dollars on: $600-an-hour lawyers or a local community group that is trying to make this a better place to live? No, don't answer that now. Save your answer for the election.
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The discussion spun its wheels in the procedural sand for more than an hour. The mayor determined that, since I had brought up the issue Sept. 14, and asked for the staff report on the liability issues (to which council had agreed), and it had been discussed again, Sept. 21, that the issue was already under reconsideration and did not require the usual procedural kerfuffle to bring an issue back to the table. This didn't sit well with two of the change's proponents - Councillors Jeffrey and McNabb. Both argued at length against the mayor's decision (arrived at after 20 minuted closeted with the clerk and CAO).
McNabb also requested a legal opinion about whether it was legal for the mayor to do so - another waste of your tax dollars. And on top of that, he deferred the discussion and demanded ANOTHER staff report about the patios. What more the CAO can provide, I don't know.
McNabb also requested a legal opinion about whether it was legal for the mayor to do so - another waste of your tax dollars. And on top of that, he deferred the discussion and demanded ANOTHER staff report about the patios. What more the CAO can provide, I don't know.
The legal opinion we received basically said the mayor was right. That didn't sit well with Councillor Jeffrey who later tried to impose a change in the procedural bylaw that would have made it more difficult for the chair to make such rulings in the future. That change was not passed by council, however.
Last week, I learned the cost of that legal opinion: $10,457.00. Plus the town - you, the taxpayer - spend another $955.50 on legal fees for "research undertaken by their Law Clerk to review numerous municipal procedural by-laws to determine if other municipalities require anything more than a simple majority to sustain the Mayor’s Ruling."
That's $11,412 of your tax dollars spent on what seemed to me a futile gesture. Keep in mind that when community groups were asking for money at budget time, many council members turned down smaller requests than what we gave to the lawyers.
So which would you rather spend YOUR tax dollars on: $600-an-hour lawyers or a local community group that is trying to make this a better place to live? No, don't answer that now. Save your answer for the election.
