Aurora Citizen

News & Views from the Citizens of Aurora Ontario

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Unsubstantiated Allegations Will Not Be Published

Posted by auroracitizen on June 2, 2009

Earlier today we received a post that made unsubstantiated allegations against a former member of Council. We have chosen not to publish them for a number of reasons.

  1. The allegations are unsubstantiated and unproven
  2. The allegations are not opinions about known activities
  3. These were not questions about known activities but put forward as fact
  4. The post was filed anonymously, which leaves the accused with no recourse

This blog does not and will not investigate allegations to determine if they are based on fact. This is simply a communications channel to facilitate community dialogue. It is not an investigative facility — we leave that to the news media.

If these allegations were documented (i.e. viewed on video, previously reported by the paper, documents supplied, etc.) and filed by a person willing to accept responsibility for making the allegations we would publish the comments. Until such time, similar allegations will also be rejected.

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Posted in Community Input, Town Council | 11 Comments »

CAO Repeats Request

Posted by auroracitizen on June 2, 2009

The following email was received from Neil Garbe, CAO of the Town of Aurora Monday June 1. It is posted unedited in its entirety. This is the second request — the original was sent May 29.

Please post the following:

I note that as of June 1, 2009 5:00 p.m. the comment of an individual under the pseudonym “New_Man_In_Town” is still posted on this site that alleges criminal wrong-doing on the part of the Corporation of the Town of Aurora. I am reiterating my request that the moderator of the Aurora Citizen immediately remove the comment, apologize for its inclusion on the site and contact “New_Man_in_Town” and solicit a retraction and apology from that individual. I feel it is a reasonable expectation to fulfill this request by 5:00 p.m. on June 2, 2009.

Thank you,

Neil Garbe
Chief Administrative Officer
The Corporation of the Town of Aurora

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Posted in CAO, Town Council | 20 Comments »

Council Refuses to Correct The Minutes

Posted by auroracitizen on May 30, 2009

Thursday’s issue of The Banner reported that Mayor Morris admitted that a mistake was made by allowing five of eight votes to carry a two-thirds majority. She also felt that it was merely a tempest in a teapot. However, she has not commented on why this mistake was stricken from the official record.

If a mistake was made — fine, fix it. But let’s not pretend it didn’t happen. They rammed through a vote and overrode the advice of staff and are now pretending it was no big deal.

Further, when Cllr Collins-Mrakas requested the Minutes be revised to reflect what actually happened, this Council voted against it — effectively breaking the trust Citizens should have in the official record of events that are supposed to be captured in Council Minutes. The Minutes are supposed to be an accurate record of what took place in a meeting.

If these Minutes are wrong — what about previous Minutes? What else have they changed to suit?

Please explain how changing Minutes fits with their much lauded Code of Ethics? Or is this their ethics?

Imagine if a Provincial or Federal government decided to change the official record of the proceeding to appease the ruling party. The media would be all over it.

What of our media? Why do The Banner and The Auroran not make a bigger deal of this mockery of the system?

The Minutes are incorrect and the Council has said that’s okay, we like them better this way. They have decided that the public is only owed the information as they see it and what they see fit.

One of the first rules of leadership is accountability. Pretending a mistake didn’t happen is not accountable, or transparent.

To belittle an issue of this significance to a simple sound bite underlines their opinion of the citizens of Aurora.

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Posted in Code of Ethics, Town Council | 8 Comments »

The Town of Aurora Weights In

Posted by auroracitizen on May 30, 2009

The following email was received from Neil Garbe, CAO of the Town of Aurora at 4:46 pm Friday May 29. It is posted unedited in its entirety.

He was not specific which post by New_Man_in_Town was being referenced, but we have reviewed the 4 posted and cannot find a post that “alleges criminal wrong-doing on the part of The Corporation of the Town of Aurora”. However, we did find a comment on Wed 5/27 under What’s up with the May 12 Council Minutes that referenced the Mayor.

As our readers and contributors are aware, anonymous posts are just that — anonymous — and we are unaware of the identity of these contributors. Similarly they are aware of our Editorial Policy & Legal Notice which is prominently displayed on the right side of the blog.

Please post the following:

To: Aurora Citizen blog

A recent comment was posted to this site using the pseudonym “New_Man_in_Town.” The comment alleges criminal wrong-doing on the part of The Corporation of the Town of Aurora and those for whom it is responsible. These are serious accusations which are completely unfounded and potentially defamatory. I found the comment troubling and, as head of the Town’s administration, I am obligated to protect the names and reputations of the Town, its elected officials and employees

I am requesting that the moderator of the Aurora Citizen immediately remove the comment and apologize for its inclusion on the site. I am also requesting that the moderator contact “New_Man_in_Town” and solicit a retraction and apology from that individual. Please be advised that such statement will not be tolerated and the Town will be taking all actions that may be required to identify the individuals involved in order to protect the Town and those for whom it is responsible.

Neil Garbe
Chief Administrative Officer
Corporation of the Town of Aurora

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Posted in CAO, Town Council | 41 Comments »

You Get the Government You Deserve

Posted by auroracitizen on May 27, 2009

The recent activities of Council have clearly demonstrated their values and ethics.

If you agree with their behaviour — tell a friend and write to the newspaper.

If you disagree with their behaviour — tell a friend and write to the newspaper.

Regardless of your point of view, take action. Writing on this site alone is not enough.

We have the opportunity to vote at specific opportunities — but we have the right and duty to hold them accountable for their actions everyday. The best way to hold them accountable is to speak out, because getting re-elected is often the only accountability they understand.

We will let you know when the meeting is available online for those who didn’t see it live or miss it on local TV.

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Posted in Code of Ethics, Town Council | 29 Comments »

What’s up with the May 12 Council Minutes?

Posted by auroracitizen on May 23, 2009

The minutes for the May 12 meeting have been published. However, the Minutes and the video don’t match.

The is only one recorded vote recorded — which passed 7-1 — but the recorded vote that was passed 5-3 and has been the subject of considerable discussion seems to have disappeared. It simply says ‘Carried”.

How can this be? Can anyone can shed any light on this matter? Why do the Minutes not reflect what we can all see on the video?

How can this Council approve Minutes which anyone watching the tape knows is factually wrong? Is this an attempt at revising history? If the Minutes of the Town can be trusted for accuracy — what does that say about the political process in Aurora.

The Minutes will be subject to Council scrutiny on Tuesday. Let’s hope they get corrected. Stay tuned!

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Posted in Town Council | 23 Comments »

St Kitts Provides Answers

Posted by auroracitizen on May 19, 2009

You can see Sher St Kitts response to some of the questions raised about the Dream Team and the Canada Day Parade Committee in a Letter to the Editor on page 4 of this weeks The Auroran.

You can also see Councillor Buck’s comments on the meeting on page 6.

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Posted in Community Input, Town Council | 5 Comments »

New Council Math

Posted by auroracitizen on May 19, 2009

On May 16 Councillor Collins-Mrakas provided the following information in response to questions raised about why 5/8 was deemed to be a 2/3 majority.

As there seems to be considerable discussion of this matter, and, frankly some confusion, I provide the following for your information.

For those who are not familiar with previous decisions of Council which by procedure required a 2/3 majority in order to carry, I draw the residents attention to the matter before council on May 13th, 2008 regarding the reconsideration of the decision to hold a by-election.

As you can see from the excerpt of the meeting (appended below), the vote was 5 to 3 in favour of reconsideration – a majority – yet the vote was defeated due to the fact that we did not have a 2/3 majority.

Please review the Clerk’s comments and explanation provided with regards to the reason for defeat.

Council Meeting May 13th, 2008
(IX) NEW BUSINESS/GENERAL INFORMATION – COUNCILLORS

Moved by Councillor McRoberts Seconded by Councillor Collins-Mrakas

THAT a Notice of Reconsideration for the motion related to holding a by-election be accepted.

On a recorded vote the motion FAILED TO CARRY, as the required 2/3 majority was not achieved.

YEAS: 5 NAYS: 3

VOTING YEAS: Councillors Buck, Collins-Mrakas, Gaertner, McRoberts and Wilson

VOTING NAYS: Councillors Granger, MacEachern and Mayor Morris

Note: On a motion to reconsider there must be a majority of at least 2/3 of Council in favour of the reconsideration to allow it to pass, as required by the Procedural By-law. In this case the 2/3 majority was not achieved therefore the motion failed to carry.

It will be interesting to see how Council explains this change in procedure.

Addendum: Elizabeth Bishenden provided a link in her comments that provide some additional insight into this issue. According to the “Parliamentary Procedure Instructional Materials Centre” a two-thirds majority of 8 voters is 6.

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Posted in Guest Post, Town Council | 10 Comments »

See It Yourself — Then Decide Yourself

Posted by auroracitizen on May 14, 2009

There has been considerable discussion about Tuesday’s meeting, where Council waived the procedural By-laws to give Sher St Kitts the opportunity to speak at length about the questions that have been raised by Councillor Buck about the activities and accountability of a Town Committee that is organizing the July 1st Parade.

Most people did not attend and many will miss it on TV due to other commitments when it shows.

However you can avail yourself of the service provided by Rogers to see the meeting online on their website. All televised meetings are available although the May 12 meeting has not yet been uploaded (probably not until after the regularly scheduled airing this weekend).

You will then have the opportunity to decide for yourself who did what and whether conduct was appropriate.

Possibly someone who attended the meeting could suggest what parts of the meeting should be reviewed so everyone doesn’t have to watch the entire session (horrors;)).

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Posted in Town Council | 49 Comments »

The State of Volunteerism

Posted by auroracitizen on May 14, 2009

Volunteers have recently come into the spotlight here in Aurora.

First, Sher St Kitts has come to our attention because the committee she heads has been unclear on how funding for the July 1st parade and how the Dream Team is associated with a Town funded and endorsed committee. This lack of transparency and potential conflict of interest has raised eyebrows and concern in some quarters. At a meeting on Tuesday, this issue was raised in a very confrontational manner — endorsed by the Mayor and Council.

Before you ask why we used the word endorsed — understand that when someone attacks a Councillor directly (versus Council as a whole) on a civil matter that is outside the mandate of Council and this is allowed only because Council waives the procedural by-law – that implies endorsement.

The same week, we have seen the resignation of Dave Giroux, the President of the Aurora Minor Ball Association (AMBA) in frustration because Council continues to refuse to honour their commitment to build a senior ball diamond. Not everyday one sees that!

He communicated his reasons through the local papers and has encourage stakeholders to rally around the issues because of the lack of movement on this issue.

We all recognize that stuff happens — but when they escalate to this level it links directly back to leadership — by the Mayor and Council.

Why have they not been able to deal with issues without this level of escalation?

Council needs to immediately take the following steps;

  1. Clarify the conflict of interest and financial questions associated with the Dream Team and the Town endorsed parade committee.
  2. Communicate with the stakeholders in the AMBA about what has happened and why they have not moved forward on resolutions that are a year old. Plus indicate what next steps and timing are in place to resolve the outstanding issues.

We predict if Council doesn’t move quickly to address these issues they will continue to fester and will become significant issues at the next election. We all know that is the last thing the Mayor wants. Unfortunately, she may not get her wish.

Stay tuned.

PS — There are a number of comments related to this post in the previous post When Is An Invitation Not An Invitation?

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Posted in Code of Ethics, Conflict of Interest, Legal, Recreation, Town Council | 26 Comments »

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