Another part of the deal not mentioned!

When the Firefighters' contract was ratified on Monday DM Brocanier pronounced the deal to cost 7.5% more than the last one. However what he didn't say was that this increase was only to bring them to parity with the Police - 1st class cop = 1st class smokie. There is another cost that was not mentioned and that is the "service" increments - bonuses tacked onto the base rate for being in the service 3yrs, 6yrs and 9yrs. These bonuses originated in the Toronto police as a way to justify higher wages and the rationale being was that bonuses were necessary to stop cops from fleeing the crime-ridden streets of Toronto to the idyllic plains of suburbia. Eventually all police services have implemented the bonuses, now the smokies have decided to push for them. The cost of the bonuses has not been revealed to the BR yet but we estimate that the total package in this round was 10% increase over two years. Another nail in the coffin for support for the public services. This wage-envy is virulent in the small-business/private sector and it wants to eliminate all the goodies that the public service has. So if Council expects accolades for this contract they are mistaken in this day of forced retirements and layoffs. BTW as told to me yesterday by a member of Council the justification for not voting against it was the fact that province wide nobody has been able to stop this pattern bargaining. If you vote against the local contract you will lose at Arbitration so vote yes now and save court costs later.

County Council this morning, where the upper tier is governed in one day (per month). Highlights will be a report about the Growth Study: presumably the rubes will bitch about the small number of jobs allocated to the rurals, and the urbans will gloat that they have them all. But overall it will be a whinefest against the Province.

How much to take the pause that refreshes?Trent Hills in this story has had it with the Ferris Provincial Park. This park/conservation area has been managed by the Municipality for many years but as the province still owns it they place restrictions on the managers. The straw that broke the camel's back was a demand to help pay for a better outhouse - and it's a beaut' "It's their cookie-cutter comfort station, so the project was in excess of $300,000; we heard last it could be $500,000," Mayor Macmillan said. "This year, we're told $850,000."