It seems to me that the Chatham-Kent council has been raising taxes each year as a means to provide the necessary funds for investments on behalf of the Municipality.
Does anyone actually know how big this pool of money is or what other investments have been made on our behalf? Should it possibly have been used on bridges or studies of issues affecting residents?
C-K council spends approximately $2 million each year on consultants and these are the results that we have seen. Maybe we need less consultants and more common sense!
Let’s see how their record has been:
– They invested a few million in the Capitol Theatre plus several more millions of provincial monies that could have been invested in much more worthwhile projects. The total project was in excess of $20 million. The folly does not stop there because after not being able to give it to St. Claire College, they re-assumed operations with an annual budgeted cost to the rate payers of Chatham Kent of in excess of $500,000.
– They invested in total cost of building the John D. Bradley Convention Centre, which had to be upgraded as soon as construction was completed, because of a sub-standard kitchen design, and operate the facility at an annual cost to the rate payers of Chatham Kent of at least $500,000. Another half million dollars.
– They built boat launching ramps at a price of around $200,000 and one of them filled with silt and is essentially not useable
– Renovations at Kingston Park that over-ran some $400,000 because there were unexpected soil stability issues. Apparently, they did no testing beforehand then either, and stumbled blindly forward with rate payers picking up the tab.
– In the next step of brilliance, they invested around $4,5 million in a railroad that has likely cost $200,000 per year to maintain brush cutting and weed control and never have a train run on it. How could we possibly survive without a railroad? If we plan to upgrade it to run trains, it would likely take millions of dollars to replace ties and fix crossings that already have pavement over the tracks.
– Now the Council has decided to invest $8,000,000, yes eight million dollars in the North Kent Wind Farm even though there have been complaints from resident rate payers that the construction and operation of turbines have affected several wells. Not only did they ignore the complains of these residents and not bother to run any tests, but slapped them in the face by siding with and believing everything the wind companies have told them.
Chatham-Kent council were elected into a position of trust to look after the residents and welfare of our Municipality. I feel that their actions to the rate payers of Chatham Kent is the same as that of a policeman, firefighter, teacher, preacher or any other person of trust and authority who takes advantage of people who cannot defend themselves.
If we can elect a council that just runs the Municipality, rather than hair brained get rich quick schemes, perhaps our Municipal taxes will go down not continually spiral upward.
Peter J Hensel
Dover Centre
– Photo credit: John Tomecek
Great comments. About time someone spoke up about wasteful spending.