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Letter to Dwight Duncan November 8, 2002 Dwight Duncan MPP Dear Dwight, On behalf of the signatories to the attached petition, please accept our thanks for your invaluable assistance in this matter. We in Windsor have experienced a lengthy period of spectacular prosperity. However, during the same period, we have seen an uncontrolled escalation of debt. The latest plan issued by the administration, confirms that the City’s finances will show a debt of $225,000,000 by the year 2005. Unfortunately, this forecast is probably under-stated. City Council is in disarray. Every day another bombshell is adding to the astronomical outpouring of unproductive tax dollars. The latest scandal involves the expenditure of $350,000 on a failed bid to persuade Daimler-Chrysler to open a new manufacturing facility in Windsor. It wasn’t the failure, which shocked the taxpayers. It was the admission that it was the Mayor and a department head who signed the contract for outside consultants without the knowledge of City Councillors. This pattern of conduct has been the hallmark of this city’s governance. Even as I write, yet another example of unnecessary waste has been exposed. An estimated figure of $1,370,000 will be the subsidy to try and mitigate the Candarel fiasco. This state of affairs is intolerable. Taxpayers are outraged, and desperately need senior governmental intervention. City Council has just embarked on yet another risky commercial enterprise, which involves the construction of a totally unnecessary five-story edifice for which they are in direct competition with their own taxpayers. The initial cost of this project is slated to be $27,000,000. Now, city officials are acting as realtors, scouring the market for tenants. There are so many instances of mis-management of the city’s affairs which have led us to this juncture, that I am not exaggerating when I say that a full governmental enquiry is required. As a footnote, the attached petition was just one taxpayer’s personal effort. In the course of collecting signatures I came to the conclusion that with the help of a good organization, 10,000 signatures would have been a probable result. The City of Windsor’s taxpayers are entitled to good governance, and to that end, we look to you to draw the Legislature’s attention the parlous state of affairs engulfing this city. Respectfully, Al Nelman |
