We continue to look at the 2020 budget, which saw council approve an 8.4 per cent tax increase.
At Town Hall, it was often mentioned that the reason for the large increase had to do with the previous council and staff’s choices which forced this council to step in to fix the financial situation.
When we hit the streets to get the public’s feedback, this is something we heard as well.
With that, we felt it was appropriate to reach out to former Mayors Charlie Luke and Dennis Travale for a comment.
Travale sent the radio station an open letter, which you can read below, that does praise Mayor Kristal Chopp and our current council for making tough decisions that were made.
He felt Wardism was a big stumbling block for previous councils as no councillor was willing to face the public backlash for big cuts in their ward, even if warranted, that would put Norfolk on better financial footing.
With that, he doesn’t believe a single council is to blame and gives an example of his time as Mayor where there were big steps made to help Norfolk’s finances but those steps kept being met with unexpected costs arising, typically handed down from the Province.
Mayor Luke also echoed that no “one council” is to blame, as each member of council sat down around the table each day trying to make Norfolk County better.
He said that the current council is working hard but does not necessarily agree with the public statements putting blame on the council before.
He added that for every budget meeting, the people sitting around the table weighed the options of what was best for the county and what the people could afford.
Below you can find Travale’s open letter:
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In response to comments in the media and on “the Net” laying the blame for this year’s property tax increase on previous Councils I offer the following, knowing that the trolls and naysayers will want their 15 seconds of fame – HAVE AT IT!!
Are the previous Councils, from 2001 onward, responsible for the current situation? To a certain extent – YES.
Since the inception of the NEW Norfolk All Councils knew there were too many inherited arenas, fire halls, museums, community buildings, libraries and water/waste water treatment facilities for a municipality the size of Norfolk.
Yet, there was no taste by the long-serving Councillors who came from the Councils of the previous municipalities (City of Nanticoke, Simcoe, Township of Delhi or the Township of Norfolk), and now sat on Norfolk’s new Council, to entertain a discussion to close one or more of these facilities. There was no taste and certainly no community push to move to a “Norfolk” model.
All Council members were well aware of the costs and problems (then and into the future) but territorial protectionism, both by the Councillors and the voters of the new WARD system, had not changed and any proposed change was met with vigorous objection. There just was not the will by councillors to “bite the bullet”, become unpopular and risk not being re-elected.
No Mayor can independently direct staff to do something, close a facility, reduce or cancel a program/service. Any change requires a majority support from Council – that is – 5 votes. I repeat – no single member of Council, the Mayor included, can make a binding decision. A majority (minimum 5 votes) is required.
Every decision is a Council decision.
I can only speak to my 2 terms as Mayor and say with positivity that from 2006 – 2014 the decisions of Council put Norfolk in the best financial position ever – despite the international financial downturn that started in 2008.
We had:
· $70 million in the bank thanks to the sale of Norfolk Power;
· Over 250 development applications in process;
· Saved over $9 million through an efficiency review;
· Greatly reduced the OPP budget;
· A plan to grow the Reserves;
· Played a lead role in establishing the South Central Ontario Region (SCOR) which had a dramatic, positive impact on diversifying and growing the economies of the 5 partner Counties, especially Norfolk;
· Worked with our federal MP, elected members of the Liberal provincial government, and senior bureaucrats and brought more than $70 million extra dollars that were invested in Norfolk’s future;
· Engaged in active discussions with Haldimand to bring drinking water to Port Dover (now having to be resurrected by the current Council); and
· Spent $69 million to replace the single pipe sewage system in Port Dover to a two pipe system to keep rain water out of the sewage plant and causing overflows into the lake.
These are just a few of the very positive things we did.
However, on the other side of the balance sheet my two Councils were forced by the Province to:
· Suspend all development in Simcoe due to an error by the provincially managed waste water plant and spend a few $$ Million, unexpectedly;
· Get out of the sewage lagoon situation and build new sewage treatment plants in Port Rowan and Waterford;
· Build new sewage treatment plant in Delhi, and make substantial upgrades to the waste water treatment plant in Port Dover;
· Make significant upgrades to all the drinking water sources (lake intakes and wells) and the treatment facilities;
· Conduct study after study, at tremendous cost in dollars and time, rather than get on with fixing the Misner’s Dam;
· Pay ¾ of a $ million to the Province before being able to assume ownership of the Port Dover Marina;
And many other unexpected provincially imposed studies, regulations and costs.
Who could predict that the activity at the highway 3 County garage, over many decades, would lead to a multi $ Million clean up?
There is much more on both sides of the equation over the past 19 years and beyond by Councils, including those of previous municipalities; however, these limited highlights should provide a clear insight to the difficulties of serving the people and being a “child” of the Province.
It is fair to say that everyone who is brave enough to put their name on the ballot does so with the expectation (real or imagined) that they will do great things for their community, only to discover that there are more barriers than open road. It is very easy to be a critic.
Did previous Councils make all the right decisions? No.
Was any previous Council made aware of the financial/billing issues and necessary write-offs surrounding the Drainage projects? No.
Are previous Councils wholly to blame for the current situation? No.
The pressures of today in terms of providing services and maintaining infrastructure are enormous. The costs are escalating and more provincial downloading and restrictive policies compound the problem.
I congratulate and strongly support our new, younger, dedicated, smart and fearlessly focussed Mayor and Council for finally taking action on many items that previous Councils, including the two I lead, would not.
There’s lots of blame to go around and for those who wish to assign blame I recommend a Michael Jackson song “Man In The Mirror”.
Is the future bright? It is getting brighter. It’s a work in progress. #CHANGE
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Luke’s full comments can be heard below.
Note there was a technical issue when recording Luke’s comments that did cause some music to play in the background, we have minimized it but felt it was appropriate for his full statement to be heard regardless.