To the editor,
Below is a copy of an email sent to all members of council Sept. 1. The email itself is self explanatory, what’s interesting is that there was even a need for it. For several years, myself and others have been offering input and suggestions to senior staff and council regarding inefficiencies and serious deficiencies in services (which should be apparent anyway). Several years later, the inefficiencies and issues with services have not only not improved, but have grown. The typical excuse for this is that these concerns are being passed on to the CAO, and will surely be addressed. In my case, that was four CAOs ago. Maybe that point, and the fact that only three council members responded to this email should clarify just how much emphasis senior staff and the majority of council (all paid by our tax dollars) place on the valid concerns of the taxpayers.
To Meaford council,
As you’re aware, it’s been four years since I first approached council, later staff, with significant concerns regarding shortfalls in efficiency or sensible productivity, despite higher than necessary taxation and a staff of such out of proportion size. Four years of denials, defences of undefendable actions, or in most cases, no responses at all. Most responses from staff were not so much responses as weak excuses (requiring considerable staff time to create, I suspect) which apparently too many people accept as fact.
Our municipal website requests taxpayer input. A third party service is utilized for surveys at budget time, input which is rarely even acknowledged much less discussed. It would seem that any suggestions regarding potential improvements in service and/or decreases in costs should at the least be worth discussion.
I can’t speak for most other taxpayers, but I’ll admit not all my input would pass the test of practicality, but when it doesn’t even seem to merit discussion, there’s potential for a lot of efficiencies being ignored.
I’ve suggested a change in the way our mobility transit is conducted which would enhance service, at a potential lower cost. No response. I questioned the increase in the already substantial library budget in 2023. That increase was made even larger.
I’ve questioned the tremendous size of our management-heavy staff, and almost unanimously, council’s response was that a reduction of staff by any number would reduce the quality of service. What has gone wrong in our hiring when a staff that is more than double comparatively with our neighbouring municipalities can’t be trimmed in the slightest without issue?
I’ve broken down the financial figures of the vehicle leasing program (numbers provided by staff) and proven that there are no savings, rather, it’s a substantial cost increase over ownership. Some of you have agreed, yet we’re not only still involved, the number of vehicles has increased.
Myself and many others have questioned the actions of our building department, that whose actions placed us in a huge lawsuit. Many contractors won’t touch any project in Meaford that requires dealing with this department. Many of those who will, charge a substantial extra fee.
The extra cost, aggravation and delays this department has cost the residents by their glacial rate of movement and constantly changing fees and guidelines is staggering. These points have been made, publicly, frequently, yet there’s been no changes.
My biggest concern has been roads, partly because it’s such a visible issue that affects all of us, partly because I have many years of involvement in that line of work, and can accurately comment on the action and inaction that occurs. Judging by the Meaford social media sites lately, I’m far from alone in my frustrations. Council has been made aware of numerous pieces of equipment we own which are either completely unnecessary, or far more costly than sub-contracting. You’ve heard, at length, of the glaring neglect of our roads and infrastructure. Despite the largest outside work force in the area, roads aren’t patched until serious damage has been done which has shortened the life of the road. Grading is sporadic, as well as incomplete and rarely to proper grade (I’ve mentioned frequently that roads graded without proper crown, instead sloping one direction or the other encourages washout problems and loss of gravel into the ditch. We apparently combat that problem by adding special washout funding to the budget).
Has anyone on council bothered to inspect the disastrous and destructive ditching on concession four that I alerted you to, a job so extreme that it’s predictably caused severe erosion (which will continue, and escalate), which has toppled several trees, undermined hydro poles, and dumped road gravel into a waterway, as the groundwater found its own path, since the ditches that were widened at an absurd slope are now completely blocked with eroded material? If not, why not?
We didn’t elect a staff, we elected a council, a group of people that, by definition, are tasked with being our representatives in the municipality. The periodic responses trying to deflect responsibility for all these issues to the CAO are misguided, at best. It’s unfair to degrade the position of staff administrator to that of scapegoat for issues that were created and encouraged long before he/she arrived. When efficiency suffers, when certain staffers shirk their duties, or worse, create negative results, our council should be willing and eager to deal with it when nobody on staff is willing. When can we expect this to happen? If the current efforts expended to defend or ignore obvious inefficiencies were instead directed to solutions, Meaford would be a shining example of productivity and efficiency.
Usually, my emails receive a response from one council member, occasionally two. If there was ever a time that all remaining council members felt concerned enough about long-standing problems to answer, this is it.
Bill Cameron, Bognor
