Letter to the Editor
Editor,
Recently, there was an event held at Meaford Hall which is a Municipality owned facility, sponsored by a local hardware company who were showcasing their summer barbecue models. Tickets were sold and a cash bar was serviced by part time municipal employees.
The bartender, whom I do not know, and is employed part time at a minimum wage informed the sponsor that ‘tipping’ was not permitted as she was a Municipal employee. I have unsubstantiated reports that patrons at the event were so annoyed that coins were thrown into the sink.
The act of ‘tipping’ is commonly used not only to show appreciation for good service but also to subsidize in some small degree, an employee’s income. The legitimate rules governing gifts to Municipal employees are very clear and are in place for obvious reasons. However, the potential danger for lining pockets and receiving ‘gifts’ in return for influencing major decisions cannot realistically be applied to part time bartenders. We therefore have a dilemma, Municipal regulations versus common practice and custom. I personally have a problem with the fact that when Municipal employees receive their automatic COLA of 2%, the person in charge of enforcing the rules receives an extra $2000 to add to a salary of $100,000 whereas the part time municipal bartender making minimum wage and no tips, receives and pardon the pun, only peanuts in comparison.
The opportunity for groups such as service clubs (e.g. the Kinsmen etc.) and private functions (weddings etc.) for raising funds from bar sales on municipal properties is also restricted as it is the municipality that receives the profits. I am also bothered by the fact that MOM ( Municipality of Meaford) even has part time bartenders on staff. Why should taxpayers have to pay for a service far better handled by the private sector? I would argue that a group of trained, knowledgeable bartenders receiving seed money support from our own Dragon’s Den could create their own successful bar tending business, make more money for themselves and their sponsoring clients and save money for MOM by reducing the overall number of employees on staff.
Rules and regulations are usually made for good reason. However, when they are deemed to be unfair, when they become unpopular and when they are ignored and openly disobeyed, as demonstrated by the coin throwing incident mentioned earlier, it is time that problems such as this are solved by revisiting and restructuring the rules, not by strictly adhering to the arbitrary decisions of certain senior staff.
David Long, Meaford
