When you have a gathering of 11 wise and learned people around a table of council you hope for good things. When the city sold Cornwall Electric a fund was created, “The Progress Fund” and this was to help pay for things that Cornwall would need down the road or help face adversity.
The city, knowing about the recession and sewage treatment issues chose to jump into an abyss of debt because of the opportunity to get the new Arena funded with contributions from the Federal and Provincial governments.
Instead of choosing a more modest project our city Council and Mayor have supported an amazing project for a city the size of Cornwall. It’s something we all will have to live with and pay for now.
Only thing is that these same learned and wise men and women now want to “explore” using capital from the Progress fund. It’s bad enough that the interest has been spent consistenly; the city is now fretting about the 2-5 Million dollars per year in debt they will have to carry.
I say we carry it. That fund isn’t something that should be tampered with; especially without public support and I would suggest that would be via election or plebiscite.
L I N K Here’s a story in today’s Free Holder about this issue.
“The Progress Fund was created through the sale of Cornwall Electric in the late 1990s with the intention of leaving the $25-million principal intact and using the annual interest from the fund — usually around $1 million — to support “quality of life” projects in the city. To date, the fund has generated more than $14 million in interest.
Other council members were adamantly opposed to even exploring the idea of spending the fund.
Coun. Denis Carr noted the city’s auditor has repeatedly recommended against it, while Coun. Elaine MacDonald 
said it’s the closest thing the city will ever have to a “money tree.”
“It’s the golden goose and we just can’t afford to kill it,” she said.”
Here is the contact information for the Mayor and City Council if you wish to let them know what you think about possibly touching the Progress Fund.
To contact the Mayor or City Council click the names below.
What do you think Cornwall? Please take our poll.
Loading ...please visit our sponsors:
