Next year we must do things differently

This year we have a Town tax increase above the rate of inflation. Add the education and County levies and we will have a tax increase of at least 5%. Way too much.

Next year we must aim for a Town increase of 0% or less. How can we do that you ask? "Zero-based budgeting" that's how. Each coordinator must instruct the staff to deliver a budget that cuts items out in order to deliver a budget of 0% (less that than the rate of inflation). If there are projects or programmes that need to be funded (in the opinion of the staff and coordinator) then those projects go on a list that the Council as a whole will consider at the first consolidated meeting.

So when Council sits down to discuss the budget they will be faced with a budget that requires no tax increase to fund and a list of projects to be considered for funding. If a programme is deemed worthy of funding then Council will have to justify to the public why we should have a tax increase to fund it.

That's my idea and I'm sticking with it! I'll bet nobody else will support such a radical suggestion

Is the Cobourg Council meeting on Monday or Tuesday?

We finally have an answer - it's on Monday. Never mind that Town Hall is shut down all day for a designated holiday, the powers to be will open up the doors on Monday at 7pm for a couple of planning meetings and a regular Council Meeting. Now the question is - will the people needed to staff the meetings, below the rank of Director, get double time and a half for attendance. After all they will be working on a designated holiday! If that's the case this will be a bloody expensive night, and Council will try to preach frugality to the rest of us!

PS, I will be speaking as a delegation about the problems of public communication. Look for me on channel 10

Wot's that old song Hitler has only got one ball!

Shades of a bawdy song but for the man involved it would be a terrible blow.Surgeon takes wrong testicle

Now wait for the deluge

"Never mind that, what about the news that the police chief makes moe money than the Premier? I suspect lots of people will be simply purple with rage about this, I know I am. Is that guy all that $175,00 will buy? Even if he was brilliant that's alot of money, and let's face it: he ain't!"

This comment appeared almost minutes after the story, in today's CDS, about Police Chief Clement's salary. And I'll bet that this isn't the last one to come in.

But let's be fair in a police department with admitted morale problems and a chief that was on "Administrative leave" for some time don't you think that some people, including the chief, would have to work a wad of overtime to cover for the others? How else do you think a constable whose base pay is around $70,000 can pull in $101,000.

The question here is who has caused the department to suffer from such low morale that sick leave is horrendous and the others are working overtime to take up the slack. My bet is on a Council that can hardly wait to poop on the Chief at every opportunity and to ask the OPP to come in and take over.

Another internet attack

Read how Jim Flaherty was given the bird by those who answered his internet poll click on the The Turner Report

This post will be buried in the further posts by Turner if you look at it after Monday evening. Look for it down in his blog.

But basically what happened was that JF the Finance Minister put a poll on his web site asking for a Yes or No about the budget. When the results indicated that 90% of the respondents were against it he took it down. Power to the internet!!

TV & radio: American Idol falls victim to bloggers

Who says the internet is just a waste of time? Look at this and then contrast it to the points made in the comments below and you have interaction of the highest order and that may be news in itself! American Idol falls victim to bloggers

Bad news for setting Sun

Now this is interesting speculationTheStar.com - columnists - Bad news for setting Sun. What will the blue collar people do for a newspaper when the Sun hits the skids?

No more Lorrie Goldstein and his ravings against the left and the lopsided world. What will Christina Blizzard do with her opinions and where will they end up. Perhaps that's why she has been beating on McGuinty so much, thinking that there is a place for a Toronto Star column in the future. And, more quizzically, where in heck would Sue Ann Levy find a place to vent about her hatred of David Miller.

Oh if they read history correctly all they have to do is resurrect Paul Rimstead and Doug Crichton and start over again. The little paper that could

Somebody sure has screwed up the outfit in the last ten years!!

McGuinty's a burner

Mr McGuinty has told everybody he thinks incineration of garbage is a good idea and we should be doing some.

This topic - incineration, is what I call a gut issue. A gut issue is one where rational discussion and clean debate doesn't exist because everybody has a closed mind. Other gut issues are: capital punishment, welfare issues, toll roads, gun control, the Young Offenders' Act ad nauseum. I don't know where people get the information to come to a conclusion on all these issues because nobody wants to discuss these issues with an open mind - you're either fer 'em or agin 'em.

Back to incineration: I am against it and this is why:

• It is the most expensive way to handle garbage
• It will destroy existing or fledgling recycling and organic waste programs for the voracious appetite of most incinerators need these feeder stocks to provide the BTUs to produce enough heat for combustion and the amount of "garbage" left over after effective recycling programs does not contain enough mass for the burn
• Despite what the supporters say toxins and furins still emit from the stack. When they talk about clean air it is not true - no such thing

So expand the organic collection and composting programmes, here in Northumberland we do not have such a thing and that's a crime, reduce the residue from the MRF and continue to make wise use of limited landfill in engineered sites.

The Town's debt

So now we have it - a number that we can all understand - a whopping $15 million, and the cost to service that debt is $1.5 million. Now debt is good it allows us all to buy the things we may not have been able to get in one deal if we had to save and pay cash for it. But the disturbing report about the report is the comment from the CAO that long term per capita debt is rising because of some extra funding of the debt from non property tax revenue. So folks it comes down to this the big revenue sources (our sources) are being siphoned off before they get to the bottom line, by the Council. Revenue from HOLDCO and the Northam Industrial park is going to get more debt but we don't notice because our taxes don't go up.

The point to be learnt by this Council is simple HOLDCO and Northam Park revenue is not Council's play money - it's our money and must go the bottom line before being fed into pet projects. True accounting demands it. Use the revenue to reduce the taxes and then decide to pay down the debt.

The Quebec election

A classic case of voting for "none of the above". Any serious predictions of the future will never take place unless you understand the sophistication of the average Quebec voter. Given the option of two very bad choices - the Libs and the Seps, who else would they vote for? The other guys of course!