Letters

Reader Takes Editor to Task About Fairness

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 11:32 Letter to the Editor Letters - Letters

Editor,

As I too have a strong sense of fairness, I felt compelled to respond to Stephen Vance's latest editorial regarding police area rating and the topic of fairness.

When I learned that tax dollars in a reserve fund were being used to build a new and very nice fire station that would not serve all of our municipality I thought..."well ,that's not fair"...but I said nothing.

When I learned that my tax dollars were paying for a full time Fire Chief and a full time Deputy Fire Chief who do not serve all of the municipality, I thought..."well, that's not fair"...but I said nothing.

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Reader Responds to Council Decision on Police Service Area Ratings

Tuesday, 21 May 2013 11:30 Letter to the Editor Letters - Letters

Editor,

We have sent the following letter to the Municipality of Meaford Council on the subject of policing and ever increasing taxes.

Your readers will, we are sure, be interested.

Mayor, Deputy-mayor and Councillors,

We are extremely displeased with this Council’s decision to remove the area rating for police services over 5 years, beginning this year. We ask that you hold off a decision until you have considered the full implications of the proposal before you.

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Reader: Community Consultation Important

Tuesday, 14 May 2013 09:02 Letter to the Editor Letters - Letters

Editor,

Thanks for a strong editorial, and a good rebuttal to those that might want to shut down everything in Meaford.

But - and a very important sort of 'but' - kindly reread this part of the argument: "The fact is that ... you can't put a dollar value on providing a quality of life that is beneficial to your residents".

Well, if we don't put a dollar value on the benefits, then, very simply, the time wasn't taken to analyze the spending decisions adequately.

Do the benefits outweigh the costs ? Is there better value available for those same funds ? Are smart decisions being made for the limited funds available ? And, just as important, are follow-up reviews made to ensure that the benefits were as expected and the costs in line ? Without a detailed statement of the expectations, we can't know if the money was well spent.

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