Letter to the Editor
Editor,
Wow, talk about a let down! Based on TMI’s article and the Meaford web site I was actually looking forward to the special 3:00 pm budget review meeting at council chambers on Monday February 2nd.
I arrived in good time to a full house, lots of citizens spurred on by the call to civic duty. But wait, council wasn’t talking budget, they were entertaining three presentations from Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce which lasted until 4:15. Worthwhile presentations but not exactly as advertised by TMI or the Meaford web site. Once done with these presentations, the gallery emptied and maybe half a dozen non media remained.
So how would the new councillors perform, would council grill staff on the the elephant in the room or get side tracked on minutia? Well , the answer is minutia. The discussions were on bag tags as predicted, arena upgrades and repairs, Zamboni’s and staff raises based on the CPI. The elephant in the room which escaped notice, the fact that almost half of our $13,000,000 budget goes towards staff wages and benefits and there was no mention from any councillor that this unsustainable situation needs addressing!
Oh, and the council questions of staff lasted one hour. Not exactly as advertised.
So the next budget review meeting is February 9 at Meaford Hall at 7:00 pm. according to TMI and the Meaford web site. Perhaps we’ll get some interesting opinions regarding Zamboni replacement. You know in 1945 they would have cleaned and resurfaced the ice manually. No carbon footprint there!
Ray McHugh, Meaford
