Aurora Citizen

News & Views from the Citizens of Aurora Ontario

Newmarket vs. Aurora

Posted by auroracitizen on June 12, 2009

A reader sent in the following comment. It is published unchanged.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of the AURORA CITIZEN.

I had the opportunity the other day to meet up with a friend who works at Newmarket’s town hall on Mulock. I was invited in for a little tour. Needless to say, what a contrast with Aurora’s hall upon entering. Pretty much the first thing you see is, oddly, people at work. Voices. Activity. People saying hello to each other, people pretty much around, period.

And then you have, for those of you who have never graced the halls of the palace on John West Way, er,1 Municipal Drive (that schmozzle is a whole post in itself, ain’t it) entry into the front entrance where you are, hopefully, greeted by a lovely lady from Info Aurora – who doesn’t even work for the town, bless their hearts they’re volunteers – and the sound of your own footsteps as you walk over to the cashier’s wicket where eventually, somebody might pay attention to you.

Now is this just a example of a poorly architectured building making the services of the Town cold and impersonal, or is this an accurate reflection of the Way Things Go Around Here?

I think you probably know where I might stand on this, given my slant, but I’d be interested in what others truly think.

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Posted in Community Corner | 23 Comments »

Should Anonymity Remain?

Posted by auroracitizen on June 10, 2009

Well the vote is in and it seems people prefer anonymity on this blog (well most people do) — at least for themselves.

We asked the question a couple weeks ago and over 75% wanted to maintain anonymity on the site — although slightly better than half voted that people be required to use a pseudonym.

Should Anonymous Comments be posted?

  • 35% said; Yes, leave things as they are
  • 41% said; No, require people to use an anonymous online persona
  • 22% said; No, require people to sign their names

So we have decided to leave things unchanged and simply ask that people honour the request and chose a nom de plume for the benefit of responding to comments.

We won’t enforce the policy, but it will be interesting to see the commentators who choose a name and those who continue to remain anonymous.

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Posted in Community Input | 7 Comments »

An Open Invitation — Will You Accept

Posted by auroracitizen on June 10, 2009

Much has been made about the ownership and potential bias of this blog. Often, this is simply used to distract from the actual issue identified in the initial post — simply refer to the last post about Development Charges as an example. Not one comment responded to the issue of why the Development Charges by-law was rushed.

So here’s the invitation. One that has been extended a number of times already.

Send in a post — anonymously if you wish — and we will post your opinion (unedited and unchanged) on any issue in the Town as long as the post meets the guidelines (i.e. language should be consistent with what you would be pleased to have your children read, unsubstantiated allegations will not be accepted).

If you want to send it anonymously, simply write an anonymous comment in any blog posting and add a header indicating that the post is to be publish as a Guest Post. This has been done a number of times in the past.

If you agree with the conduct of Council in any aspect — make your point and present your arguments. Then others will have the opportunity to respond.

If you disagree with the conduct of Council in any aspect — make your point and present your arguments. Then others will have the opportunity to respond.

If you have an opinion about anything — make your point and present your arguments. Then others will have the opportunity to respond.

If you have any doubt about whether they will be published — look at the previous post. If the intent was to stifle comments, why would all of the negative comments have been published. It’s hard to make that assertion stick in the face of hard facts.

If you chose not to accept this invitation to post an opposing opinion, then we will assume you are comfortable that your opinions are being heard through the comments section of other posts.

This blog will continue to present issues we feel would be of interest to the community and publish them in a forum that facilitates people expressing their opinions.

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Posted in Community Input | 44 Comments »

Mistakes Were Made

Posted by auroracitizen on June 7, 2009

The Banner reported in the June 2 edition that Aurora was hiking their developments charges — but not as high as originally thought.

The explanation for the revised fees was explained by Dan Elliott, Director of Finance; “Doing this study was quite a rushed process, there were some errors made.”

Is he serious? A rushed process? Development Charge bylaws are required every 5 years. So Council has known for 5 years when the old bylaw expires and a new one is required.

There is no surprise about this timing. This Council knew the day they were sworn in that a new bylaw was required and the specific date the old bylaw expired. If the process was rushed then it was as a direct result of poor planning.

This is a perfect example of this Council missing the big picture in favour of the absurd issues it feels are important.

This bylaw is possibly one of the most important issues any Council deals with in a term. The impact of this bylaw is significant — it affects growth rates because builders will consider development charges when deciding where to build and it impacts our levels of service because of what is pays for.

So to suggest it was rushed and mistakes made reflects on poor planning either by Council or staff for not alerting Council of the timing.

How much notice do they need so the process doesn’t need to be rushed in 5 more years?

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Posted in Town Council | 8 Comments »

Aurora & Toronto Both Trying to Muzzle Their Critics!

Posted by auroracitizen on June 6, 2009

Spotted a half page article (Pg 17) in the June 4th Toronto Sun (Note to Banner and Auroran — the newspapers in that community are reporting on this issue!). Sue Ann Levy reports that Toronto Council Executive Committee has passed a policy that would allow Councillors to launch lawsuits against another Councillor or a third party (i.e. media or the public). It goes to Council as a whole July 6.

Seems more that just our Mayor is unwilling to allow free speech in their community. Sue Ann refers to “Communist City Hall”.

However, at least in Toronto, “an independent external lawyer specializing in libel and defamation will be engaged to determine the merits of the claim before it is deemed eligible”. Furthermore, it seems that Council will debate this new policy in public.

Aurora Council seems to feel neither are required. There has been no public discussion (possibly discussed privately???) and no checks and balances appear to be in place.

The Mayor is upset — so the CAO has started to take action on her behalf.

Open and transparent? We think not.

Maybe our local politicians should spend less time and money trying to muzzle their constituents and more time listening to them.

Just a thought.

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Posted in CAO, Town Council | 10 Comments »

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 »

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