CFN – Advertising Ban a policy not followed!
City Council created a policy which ensured that the city’s advertising dollars would not be spent with any company that allows anonymous posts or comments!
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To this date however the largest amount of spending with media and advertising sites is with the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder.
The Cornwall Standard-Freeholder has anonymous comments in its point of view section, just above the letter to the editors, and still allows anonymous posts on-line!
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Who is responsible for such a shameful display of ignorance? Not only is the policy set forth not being adhered to but it should never have been created in the first place!
Mayors Personal Expenses should be looked at closer!
The mayor is back to health which is good for the City. With all of City Halls mishaps and gigantic blusters this term coming to light no one else could do damage control like the old referee!
A concerned citizen asked about this: Mayor Kilger has spent a lot of his budget early in to the year and I am sure he will surpass the budget set forth but some statements about his spending don’t add up (pardon the pun)!
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When discussing the Mayors spending our CFO (Chief Financial Officer) said this: Financial services manager Maureen Adams added that the mayor sits on numerous boards – such as the Association of Municipalities of Ontario – that requires extra travel and costs.
The concerned citizen asked me “Does AMO not cover expenses?” Which I do not know but I hope not or we have a serious problem! If AMO does and the mayor is double dipping then all credibility would be lost!
Either way it does not matter! Bob Kilger would have had to hand in a nomination form and volunteered to be part of this board he was not required to be on any AMO committee! Since when does the mayor and for that matter any councilor get to spend City Tax Dollars on whatever he wants? Mr. Kilger you volunteered so you pay the costs out of your salary!
$650,000 Shortfall should be taken more seriously!
Our highly respected CFO dropped a bomb shell on City Councilors this week! Informing them that we are $650,000 over budget! Although it only amounts to less then 1% of the budget it should still be taken seriously!
Mr. Denis Thibault’s – WTF of the year came during this meeting. When he stated the following:
“This is less than 1% of our overall budget (of $155 million),” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, this is nothing and it’ll be dealt with.”
I have been watching every council meeting and I will say Mr. Thibault is one the most level headed Councilors. However, Mrs. Adams has it right.
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Mrs. Adams mentioned to Council that she will be sending a memo out to all departments requesting any possible cuts to ensure we end the year on or closer to budget the current – $650,000.
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Should that not have been the first thing on everyone’s mind and since when does City Council have a carte-blanche to do whatever they please with our money? I would hope our tax dollars and the concern for how our money is being spent is taken more seriously or is it this elderly group simply does not care anymore and has grown tired?
In Summary
We are over budget! This could have been averted if Law suits, expenses and our Council/Mayor were on top of things! Council and the Mayor is out of touch with our societies trends and lack the foresight needed to make proper decisions due to their long tenures which reinforces, in their minds, their beliefs!
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Time for a Change!
Thank You,
Mike Bedard
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Very interesting article.
I like the recommendation/conclusion at the end:
Those striving to be earnest need to consciously distance themselves from the deluded and the hypocrites, perhaps by introducing an explicit social cost to being either.
We may be wrong to prefer those who are earnestly misguided to those who are consciously phoney. Outright hypocrites can be exposed and confronted. But self-deluding beliefs can wrap themselves around uncomfortable facts with a slipperiness that is both more treacherous and less easily noticed.
“…If I had to choose I would rather live in a world of hypocrites than in a world of the deluded. Self-delusion is more harmful in the end. But we can hold leaders in business and politics, not to speak of ourselves, to a higher standard. Falsifying our beliefs may be the most common solution to cope with hard truths. But it is not the only one. The other, harder way is to change our conduct to fit what we know to be true – in other words, to have a conscience and listen to it…”
But we are facing two problems with it: First we are in a mass delusion, the whole of humanity has been chasing the dream of “constant quantitative growth” with excessive overproduction and consumption in our finite and closed natural system inevitably leading into this dead end we find ourselves today. We have been brainwashed with it so long we do not even remember what “normal” or “necessity” means.
The other thing we have no idea about is “truth” and “conscience”. We are all living in our own little subjective, selfish boxes it is a wonder we can actually contact each other and agree on something occasionally.
In order to find our way out of this false maze we need to establish some solid starting point, we need to go back to a “source”, “beginning” and start building a new system from that point.
Although we humans disconnected ourselves from the surrounding natural system based on our ego and pride, pretending to be above the system, we are still part of this system and the laws governing it apply to us whether we want it or not.
Thus the first stage on our path to recovery has to be the full exploration of this global, integral, interdependent system we exist in, learning the laws and conditions around us, and then by the correct application of those laws and conditions on ourselves we can return to balance and prosperity in the right way, not how we invented it deluding ourselves.
“I come to you in spirit and in truth” declares Jesus. “What is truth?” responds Pilate. According to Nietzche the former is the affirmation of a savage (self-evident truth) whereas the latter is the question of a civilized person (philosophical enquiry). The nature of truth is a subject which, although fascinating, is unlikely to be of interest to many people. So are we savages or civilized people? In most cases the answer is whatever makes money or serves the interests of those who do. Were we willing (or indeed well enough educated) to submit ourselves to Nietzchean interroagation most would fail. Nonetheless and for what it’s worth it is a process I reccommend.
Good article. Too many people are really asleep and delusional indeed. I have been saying that for many years. People expect that the politicians will solve all our problems but that is not so at all. We the people are supposed to be the government. We get the government that we deserve and when we look at ourselves as a bunch of lazy, want everything fast and a bunch of gluttens then we will not get a good representation.
Yes it sure is time for a change indeed. People have to awaken from their deep slumber and get active in the community. People have to run for office at the local level in order to help change the top end – the federal.
If there is no change I guarantee you that things are only going to worsen. Cornwall needs a drastic change – wipe out all and start over again. Stop electing the same bozos over and over again and getting the town in terrible debt.
I warned everyone before about that “tax mahal” that you call a Benson Centre and I knew what it would cost. If it were done legally there would be more cost but they cut corners where it will cost people their health.
One more thing that I wanted to say. We don’t need to use our real names to make our point. A lot of us prefer to be anonymous and my e-mail is very valid and I use my computer from home which is registered with Rogers.
I see that Thibault is taking his nap on the job – no wonder the town is in debt when we have to pay people like that who sleep instead of doing some good for the community. If my daughter did that on the job she would be fired and so would I have been fired when I worked. If we were not busy in my unit in the federal government our supervisor would have pounded on the desk including her boss and either told us to go home or put us to work cleaning out the fridge in the unit and even vaccuuming the carpets.
This is one guy who is delusioned and should be thrown out – the trouble maker of the councel seat.
Jules = You got that Thibault guy figured out correctly & yes he should go ASAP . When it comes to Integrity he falls short & he apparently is blind to the principal re Conflict of Interest .
“Believe Me” it didn’t take me long to have Thibault figured out at just a few times looking at him. At first I said to myself give the man a break and see who he really is about. Well I did just that I gave him a break and I studied his character and believe me I didn’t like what I saw. Thibault is the first one on my list to ditch out. Cornwall needs drastic changes in council. Someone wrote in Jamie’s column from Cambridge, Ontario about them having some of the similar problems and like she said get out there and vote them out. I encourage new people to get out there and run for mayor and councel. Stop making it a good ole boyz club and get down to real business.
Cornwall has a deficit and if it isn’t tackled now it is only going to get worse. One lady in the State of Maryland told me years ago that the city was having a terrible time economically and there were streets that were not plowed in the winter and that people had to go and shovel their own sidewalks and streets. I told her that it is a good thing about where she was living where the winter is very mild and she agreed. Now what are people going to do here in Canada if that ever happened here and don’t tell me that it can’t because it can folks. Canada is in big trouble as well and our leaders are not telling us much. Ontario is like a backwater province now and those are the reasons for cuts.
In order to make things happen we have to start at the municipal level. Cornwall doesn’t need 10 councellors – it is way too small. Cornwall needs hard working people who will have vision and lure jobs into the community. These councellors are only there to feather their pockets. André wants to talk but he can’t since his hands are tied. I know what André is thinking and it shows in his face that he wants to tell everyone what is going on but he can’t get it out. André’s personality has always been a man of very few words but it shows in him what he wants to say. It is time for a change folks and a mighty drastic change for sure.
The more I look at Thibault the more I see a big crook and foxy enough to steal from the people while he sleeps. LOL LOL. You are all paying big money to keep these crooks in office. Wake up folks. If you think that your taxes are high now just give it a little time and when you get your tax bill pray to God before opening the bill that you don’t have a heart attack when you see it. You will all be paying big time for sure. You have to pay for “Fitzies” enormous pensions when you are already paying an arm and a leg for his “illustrious salary” and for what – for total and complete corruption. My God the things that I read and not just on Jamie’s paper but elsewhere that would make your heads spin around like a top.