The new year brings high expectations and great challenges for the new council. Dealing with the budget is going to be our biggest challenge
The main thrust of the election CAG pledge that was signed by 22 candidates, focused on the fact that taxes are 1/3 less in the counties. In order for Cornwall to grow and prosper this issue needs to be addressed, that’s why I signed the pledge to roll back taxes.
The reality is that our police and fire budgets are growing at an disproportionate rate when you compare them to other city departments. If we are to make any progress, these budgets need to be dealt with and the new council should lead by example. We do not need a raise, we should be cutting our budget by 20% over the next 4 years (5% per year).
We need to be pumping more money into our social programs. Our seniors and those that are less fortunate will need the most help in the future. Our local senior population is expected to double over the next 20 years and we better prepare now.
Mark A. MacDonald
Councillor, City of Cornwall
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Hopefully the taxes issue can be handled correctly. The police and fire budgets need to be reined in ASAP.
Populations to double over the next 20 years in Cornwall? Now where have I heard that before? LOL LOL. ROLF! I am literally on the floor laughing my head off. I think that it was Mr. David Oldham that read that at the library some years ago that Cornwall was supposed to be 100K or more way back in the 1970’s when we all took a hike down the highway for good. LOL LOL. ROLF! What a load of BS! This is going to be something to see how he can keep the Barney Fife PD and the Barney Fife FD in order – I sure doubt that with BOB’s mighty generous offer to his good friend the chief of the Barney Fife PD. Oh you just can’t top that can you? No people are living hand to mouth and he just rips everyone off. Nice isn’t it nice.
Read it again Jules. The senior population is expected to double. The population is aging, therefore the number of seniors is increasing. ROLF ROLF…
Furtz this is one senior that will not be in Cornwall at all. I am going to be 64 next month and I will stay in Ottawa or go somewhere else but it sure won’t be Cornwall. I don’t know where they get their mighty strange statistics. It is laughable. They give an ordinary Barney Fife PD $100K a year not counting what the chief and deputy chief get for a farm town and seniors are not the offenders at their elderly ages like a teenager. Maybe the cops of the Barney Fife PD and the Barney Fife FD will all have to be seniors with the time. LOL LOL. ROLF! There will be nobody left around to fight crime and fight fires, etc.
Furtz yesterday I calculated something that is going to happen soon with the economy that will last 25 years. I sat down and added 25 years beyond the 64 and I would be 89 years old IF I am lucky to survive that long. LOL LOL. Things are not good at all I will say that. My adult children would be in their 60’s.
Jules, math is a bitch. We all get older. It’s a fact of life.
Yes Hugger we sure do get older and this is the first year that I feel myself getting old – more weak. Life creeps up on all of us sooner or later.
Jules, we get it; you don’t like Cornwall. Perhaps for your and our sanity you could tone down the Cornwall bashing. Continuiing dow the same path is not good.
I heard about two years ago on news that Cornwall was already receiving the most OAS benefits of any other city in Ontario.Since then I,ve heard that many Quebec seniors have been moving here as well putting further strain on our healthcare & homecare services at a time when cutting services for seniors with more to come.CCAC has been re-evaluating on where & who is getting coming cuts when more is required. Mark is right on the money about needing to do more for seniors.Police budget should be reviewed & handled accordingly,maybe even consider going under OPP services, why cannot Fire services start using a few volunteer firemen which could build up to a hiring for FT jobs,Counties all have volunteer why can,t Cornwall? Just something they could look into to see if it is workable or not.Just food for thought
Jules, I highly recommend getting old. The alternative stinks.
Volunteer fireman? Probably not. The fire fighters contract probably doesn’t allow that. Most cities had this problem when amalgamation happened. Having voluntter firefighters work alongside paid firefighters would be a boatload of problems.
Furtz I don’t know what advantages being a senior is all about. My daughter wanted me to walk to the library with her tomorrow and I told her that I don’t know if I will have the strength to do that since it is far enough from here. In my younger days I could do that like nothing. I sure feel it this year more than ever before.
Jules, offically you are not yet a senior at 64, I,m 67 & still feel like spring chicken
Hugger1, are county Firemen not in any union? Are there any cities using volunteers
Jules, it probably has to do with some luck and reasonably good health. I’ll be 67 in a few months, and still cut/split/stack a mountain of firewood every year. I still handle over a thousand hay bales each year to feed the cows. I’m no exercise fan, but a bit of physical activity really helps. Also, since retiring, it’s been such a luxury not to be spending five days a week working at a shitty job. I love sleeping in, especially in the winter. After almost fifty years of working, my time is at last my own, and I love it.
Mary you must be a very young senior even at 67. LOL LOL. Mary I have something funny to tell you and everyone. If you look at my face I do not look like 64 and more like in my 50’s if not younger. My daughter is 35 going to be 36 in February and we both went to the hairdresser nearby. While getting our places on the chair one elderly Italian lady a hairdresser named Gina asked my daughter and I if we were sisters. My daughter felt so insulted and asked: “Do I really look that old” and you talk about me roaring with laughter – that was a real compliment for me and I am still laughing here at this end. The library is quite a distance from where I live and when you try to focus it doesn’t seem that far until you start walking it.
Mart Bray….as far as I know there is no union for volunteer firefighters. It’s hard to pay union dues if you don’t get paid. And no city has volunteer firefighters. I think some of the outlying regions in Ottawa use volunteer firefighters, but I’m not sure. I know there was a stink about the outlying areas using volunteer firefighters when they did the Ottawa amalgamation.
Hugger the only places with volunteer fire departments are outside of Ottawa and in places that are rural. You will see them in Constance Bay, Fitzroy Harbor, Casselman, and all tiny places. Ottawa with Kanata, Nepean, Gloucester, Orleans, Navan, Blackburn Hamlet, Barrhaven, etc. all have city services.
Rural fire fighters are pretty much all volunteers. No pay, no benefits… just the satisfaction of serving the community, and being on call 24/7.
Thanks for the info Jules. I did a quick search and it seems cities are warming up to having volunteer firefighters.
I.m retired from nursing but I had to give volunteer hours just to get my education in nursing let alone a job , psw also had to get hours to get a degree in their job which is mostly women…why do most men jobs get hired without actual proof that the can do the job….just asking
Mary, what are “men jobs”?
Mary I went from a spry chicken to an overgrown Thanksgiving turkey. LOL LOL. My daughter was bugging me since she came home and we have a bit of shopping to do as well. What a day that will be for me tomorrow. LOL LOL.
Furtz, mostly men jobs are firemen & police, although many females are filling the police jobs & doing a great job
Now we hear Councillors Claude McIntosh and David Murphy have issues with Mark MacDonald’s 5% tax cut for each of the next four years. It may be unrealistic to think that 20% can be cut without affecting people or services.
I still haven’t recovered from my walk (a mighty long walk) and Furtz at almost 67 being able to split wood while I can’t even lift the axe the way I feel. I will be turning in earlier this evening.