"How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? The answer is four because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." Abe Lincoln
It is time to reveal the Meaford five year plan. It is a fiction. It's not a plan. It's a spreadsheet (click here to see attached) and it indicates a minimum 10% tax increase per year in Municipal taxation.
And please note that it does not show us paying off the deficit this year. And this spreadsheet "five-year plan" wouldn't be approved by the Ontario Municipal Board. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs strongly advised us to revamp the entire 2010 Budget and reject the "five year plan".
The 5 year plan doesn’t exist. It’s just a catch-phrase.
When the 5 year plan was originally proposed, there were 2 members of Council - I was one of them - who repeatedly asked the present Mayor “Do you have Ministry approval?” Mayor Richardson assured councillors that we had Ministry approval in spite of the fact the Municipal Government Act forbids carrying forward operating deficits. Municipalities like Meaford must pay their deficits in the very next year. Instead, while we were in deficits Richardson supported increased staff, increased wages and increased spending.
So for 3 years running, 2007, 2008 and 2009 we never paid our deficits. And they accumulated to around 3 million dollars. And yet our taxes increased during these years. Municipal taxation increased by 4 million dollars over this time, from 4.8 million annually to 8.8 million an 80% increase in taxation.
Over the last 7 years the present Mayor has been very involved with our Public Funds in one capacity or another. Richardson was on the Municipal audit committee and he chaired the Finance & Administration Committee whose duty it is to oversee the public purse, and yet he appears surprised at each yearly deficit. This current Mayor worked with present senior financial staff in planning, accepting, & executing this "five year spreadsheet".
This year we suddenly had an emergency meeting called and we were told we did not have Ministry approval for the 5 year plan and that we were at risk of losing the ability to govern the Municipality.
So the process of governing here has not been very open. We are being misled.
We need a fresh start.
There are three main issues in this Election, fiscal management, risk management and process.
I will not put this municipality at risk and I will not tell you there is a plan approved when there is not. If we had done what is required we would not have these deficits, and yes we would have raised taxes, but we would have tackled spending.
Richardson says " Please consult the experts, not the politicians, when you are looking for the facts." I promise I will be a Mayor you can look to for the facts.
What needs to change here is leadership.
Jim McPherson, your candidate for Mayor
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