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July 6, 2004 The Road Ahead There is an old saying. “A stitch in time saves nine”. With this in mind I have been thinking about the future of this city. In November 2003 we elected a new mayor and council. We all breathed a sigh of relief, sat back and looked forward to a drastic change for the better. At first, it appeared that we had chosen well and a great deal of self-congratulation was heard in the coffee shops, restaurants and homes of hopeful taxpayers. However, we are faced with the inevitable “But”, resulting in a slow but steady regression back to the bad old days. It appears that the question of “In-Camera” meetings has not been resolved. Once again, very important city business is labeled as top secret and the taxpayers are being left on the outside looking in. Not only looking in, but seeing nothing because of an iron curtain that blankets the inside of the windows. It has also become obvious that certain members of council are unable to recognize that the city is in a financial crisis. Basic services are not receiving the highest priority. Administrative musical chairs continue unabated, while contracts granted to top officials appear to lack sufficient protection for those of us paying the bills. Hundreds of thousands of tax dollars wasted on displaced senior officials and a Windsor Library with virtually two CEO’s. Candarel remains a colossal drain on our financial resources. Access to final documentation of that scandalous deal has been refused. This denies taxpayers an opportunity to learn who made the final secret agreement with Candarel. A deal that reduced the building from an agreed 23 stories to the present 17, (or less?), with no apparent reduction in cost. Who agreed to increase the amount of space to be leased by this city? Who agreed to the city bearing all of the expropriation costs after taxpayers were told that Candarel would be responsible for the first $15 million? Why are taxpayers being charged for occupation overhead without occupying any space? What costly changes were made with or without the knowledge of city council? It is about time to give taxpayers the facts and for names to be named and if necessary, penalties imposed. Additionally, all details of the MFP scandal have been hidden from public view, although the legal fees continue to skyrocket! One is compelled to ask if there is a costly settlement being hatched behind closed doors? The red ink dominating this city’s finances continues to flow. Nothing seems to change the mind-set of people who think that being elected is a green flag to squander tax dollars. No concerted efforts have been initiated to tackle the high cost of basic services. New overpriced buildings draining the public purse are being constructed to house individual city hall departments. This while reasonably priced commercial space is readily available. The Roman Empire has long gone but we have our own right here in Windsor. The result is that most taxpayers have been saddled with an unwarranted sharp increase in property taxes. Below is a small sample of questionable expenses: (1) 65,000 Busker Funding $ 412,000 TOTAL Is this responsible financial crisis management or the same old PANDERING? Just in case my words are construed to be a blanket condemnation of all members of council I must correct any such interpretation. The Mayor and several members of council are doing their best to truly represent the best interests of taxpayers. If you want to know where your councillor stands, contact him or her with your concerns. You should also ask how they voted on the items listed above. REMEMBER! THE PRICE OF PEACE IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE Al Nelman
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