Today is the day to start the campaign - again
Today the Police Services Board will meet, as usual. However today they will be the masters of their own destinies. With the County Policing report in the public domain the Cobourg PSB is mandated, by its presence, to respond in a forceful manner. A precedent has been set: the Kenora PSB has issued a statement to the citizenry, that although the Kenora City Council has voted to go to the OPP the KPSB has said they will not disband. A state of civil anarchy prevails and now OCCOPS has to decide.
The supporters of the local tradition and service are waiting for a strong statement that refutes the actuals costs of OPP policing and a fuzzy report. Just because Bill Pyatt and OPP consultant Jack Watkins write a report, that report may not be factual. Their last reports have not been! Actual savings must be laid out including the revenues from screening that the County report ignores. Costs per household must be calculated so that homeowners will know, on paper, just how much they will save.
But remember we have seen this before. When the sewer costs moved from the tax rolls to user pay we were promised a tax cut - it never came! We need costs and we need to make judgments, that can only happen if we have the facts before us, the County report does not give us them.
The supporters of the local tradition and service are waiting for a strong statement that refutes the actuals costs of OPP policing and a fuzzy report. Just because Bill Pyatt and OPP consultant Jack Watkins write a report, that report may not be factual. Their last reports have not been! Actual savings must be laid out including the revenues from screening that the County report ignores. Costs per household must be calculated so that homeowners will know, on paper, just how much they will save.
But remember we have seen this before. When the sewer costs moved from the tax rolls to user pay we were promised a tax cut - it never came! We need costs and we need to make judgments, that can only happen if we have the facts before us, the County report does not give us them.
3 comments:
Maybe its time we give up the battle and resign ourselves to the inevitability of regional government.
Our energies might be better spent figuring out how to overcome the stranglehold the rural municipalities have on us poor urban centres, so that when regional government begins we actually have a voice too.
Such a great comment. As you know, if you are a regular reader, we are only a couple of years away from regional government> Regional control of water and a master planning document will put paid to the parochial desires of the municipalities.
The great thing about regional government is that it transcend existing boundaries and allow us to define our own communities.
This particular Anonymous has the right attitude. It's been a long time coming. The issue of regionalism goes back to 1972:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2398/2049006290_e3982f4b2a_b.jpg
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