Reading between the lines
Two letters to the Brighton Independent question the motives, process and price to be borne by taxpayers in the railroad crossing debate in Brighton. In this letter Councillor Craig Kerr wonders how the CAO of the County managed to insert himself, and the County, into the debate without any direction from anyone in Brighton. This topic may not even have been on the agenda at the County, so what's he doing butting in? In this letter well known fiscal conservative and one-time reformer and former County Councillor Bonnie Browne asked just who will be paying for this massive expenditure when other needed County projects are on the books.
Reading between the lines anything that the County can do to undermine the autonomy of the lower tier it will do. If only to justify its own existence. For years the lower tier and the County have been locking horns about the efficacy of "County Roads". These are roads that begin in one Twp and finish in another. The County has been trying to download some of them particularly the ones that today seem to have no rationale. County Rd 33 going North from Hwy 45 at Fenella and leading to nowhere comes to mind. But Alnwick-Haldimand cries poor whenever the subject of transfer is raised.
In this case there are valid questions about Mr Pyatt's presence: who authorised it and who gave him the mandate to tell Brightoners "Brighton needs to finalize this quickly" (The Independent, July 2).
Councillor Kerr raises two more fundamental questions: "Two questions arise immediately. What inspired an employee of an upper tier administration to flagrantly interfere with, and attempt to override, the decision process of your elected council? How and why was the CAO's visit arranged without notice, and how did the report of it conveniently find its way into the local papers when no reporters were present at the meeting?"
Obviously more to come.
Reading between the lines anything that the County can do to undermine the autonomy of the lower tier it will do. If only to justify its own existence. For years the lower tier and the County have been locking horns about the efficacy of "County Roads". These are roads that begin in one Twp and finish in another. The County has been trying to download some of them particularly the ones that today seem to have no rationale. County Rd 33 going North from Hwy 45 at Fenella and leading to nowhere comes to mind. But Alnwick-Haldimand cries poor whenever the subject of transfer is raised.
In this case there are valid questions about Mr Pyatt's presence: who authorised it and who gave him the mandate to tell Brightoners "Brighton needs to finalize this quickly" (The Independent, July 2).
Councillor Kerr raises two more fundamental questions: "Two questions arise immediately. What inspired an employee of an upper tier administration to flagrantly interfere with, and attempt to override, the decision process of your elected council? How and why was the CAO's visit arranged without notice, and how did the report of it conveniently find its way into the local papers when no reporters were present at the meeting?"
Obviously more to come.
3 comments:
Kerr moved to have this folly stopped, once and for all, several months ago. He was pushed aside when Councilor Dave Cutler ... appointed when another sitting rep resigned ... said it would be "premature" to just kill the idea of a bridge/tunnel to the south end of Brighton. He got the necessary votes to keep it alive. Last known price tag for a bridge on Prince Edward St was in the $40 million range; and both railways have stated categorically that they will not contribute. Kerr was right; the 10-year debate needs to end now. It's stupidity, and expensive stupidity at that. Do the math. $40 million divided by about 12,000 citizens.
Pyatt has surrounded himself with fools, and that strengthens his position. He is rapidly developing a God complex. His HR manager, Joan Doucette, has no formal qualifications for the position; and his manager of roads and waste is the same guy who devised the plan to ship Toronto's garbage to Michigan. Again, Kerr is right; Pyatt needs to explain his actions.
The comment that Bill Pyatt "has surrounded himself with fools" really rings true. Don't know his HR manager, but I hear that the current Housing manager was just a lower tier minion not too long ago. What are her qualifications to run hundreds of housing units?
While we're wondering about that, we can also wonder what's going at the Golden Plough with Bill Lonegan gone. Who's looking after that institution and its vulnerable elderly residents?
Since the well respected Carol Shaw left in disgust some years ago over funding cuts, the Plough seems to go through administrators pretty fast; why is that?
All questions for Mr. Pyatt to answer, if only someone (hint hint) would ask him.
When I think about the County Councillors we've had over the years, and some of their antics, it doesn't surprise me that the County itself might like to put the boots to the lower tiers, who keep sending these rubes along to make decisions that are clearly beyond the capabilities of some of them.
Let me be clear also that I am not just talking about the reps. from the rural townships and villages, we've had our share of rubes from the self important western end of the County too.
I know it's heresy, but sometimes I think we need more, not less regional government. Of course we would also need more knowledgeable political reps. to go along with it, and that's the hardest part.
Post a Comment