As odd as politics can be at City Hall, Elaine MacDonald has hit a new low water mark.
As reported in other media she stated the following as the budget process kicks off.
“everything is going up, and people should accept the fact that taxes will be going up. If people want to live lean, they can go to the counties.”
Ms Macdonald, besides not supporting the arts in Cornwall, and stating that she supports lobbying and voting for funding for groups that she belongs to at council, (Labour Board President & Board member of The Agape), words must sting tired Cornwall rate payers.
While some at City Hall are crowing at “only” raising taxes 1.9% this year, many of the raises Cornwallites are paying for are due to the chicanery of the councils she’s sat on as well as the labour pay hikes that she has rubber stamped with support from a few of her colleagues.
Cornwall’s biggest issue according to many is the runaway costs of emergency services (Fire, Police, EMS) that she has pushed for and rubber stamped.
Many former residents have moved to South Stormont & South Glengarry where they get a bigger bang for the buck; paying much cheaper taxes while still being able to benefit for Cornwall services without paying surcharges for many of those services.
The problem is that organized labour in the area, of which are the biggest employed block, refuse to not support the retired school teacher and her slate each election.
The few councilors that get elected that oppose her blank cheque tax hikes get labelled Mavericks or worse. Invites to certain committees and events don’t seem to happen.
The City of Windsor Ontario recently celebrated its eighth consecutive budget without an increase. LINK
Windsor actually cut its police funding by $500,000, and actually invests in public arts with its mayor calling for over $1M in the purchase of public art for public spaces.
So why is it that Cornwall has been jacking taxes up over 2.0% per year on average for nearly the last decade which doesn’t include raises for water?
With the founder of the Community Action Group, Gerry Benson, having council fund his Vanity University project for studies clearly many don’t seem to seriously want to deal with real big ticket issues such as doing a dollar comparison of switching from local police to the OPP.
Can Cornwall grow in this economic environment with Councilors like Elaine Macdonald, Carilyne Hebert, and Claude McIntosh, and Bernadette Clement rubber stamping tax increases year in, year out?
What do you think dear CFN viewers? You can post your comments below.
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When will the city start living lean? It really frustrates me when the city spends money on outside consultants or gives money away to local agencies, when they can’t afford to properly keep our infrastructure in top shape and to provide high level of service for even the basics.
It is time the local government chooses to take care of the playing field, so that citizens, entrepreneurs, and the like can contribute and grow the city organically.
I totally agree with Jason. It’s time city council start using city staff for what they were hired for. No more outside consultants when we have city staff can do the job.
As has been said before there isn’t a tax hike Elaine MacDonald doesn’t like. She has to realize there are ways to cut the fat off the city budget. One way would be to settle the whistleblower and other issues now sitting before the courts.
And Elaine needs to be read the riot act by someone at city hall on what constitutes conflict of interest. As much as there isn’t a tax hike Elaine MacDonald doesn’t like the same can be said for her interpretation of conflict of interest rules. I guess she figures she’s special and these rules don’t apply to her.
Everything is just fine in Cornwall. No is being held accountable for purported flaws in the management of the communities resources for the simple reason that people are getting just what they voted for.
People that disagree are invited to pack up and leave which speaks loudly to the leaderships conflict resolution skill set. The same mindset that has managed so effectively other issues facing the community (whistleblowers, conflicts of interest, ethical practices etc.) is fully ingrained in this council from all outward appearances.
The mayor is maintaining the tradition that has defined Cornwall for decades.
If you disagree stay. Otherwise a move to the counties may be the most intelligent recommendation that I have ever heard coming from MacDonald.
It’s funny,, folks…
Tommy Douglas was a leftist and never ran deficits in spite of his innovating social progrms.
Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is a leftist and has no problem ensuring that Calgary lives within its means.
Windsor is one of the biggest NDP strongholds in the country and can keep taxes down.
Elaine’s no NDPer.
She’s a neocon Kilger Klique phony.
Josh Elaine’s just an emotionally damaged person who sold her soul a long time ago. She’s not objective. She appears to work for one vindictive agenda at council and hopefully will not be elected again, nor any of her minions.
Hugger welcome back. Hip Hip Hurray! I am my usual self nothing has changed. I do agree that Elaine and her pal (the one I cannot stand Carolyn) – Elaine is in a conflict of interest and I have seen that for some time now. I would rather live in the boonies than in Cornwall any day. With schools closing wait and see your taxes – that will make you all very sick indeed.
Wait until Ontario Hydro hits Cornwall very hard and that will come. All of you out there will be living in the dark when you get those bills. People cannot eat and pay their hydro bill. Last week my daughter and I picked up only a few things at the store $96. and my husband and I went elsewhere for other things and WOW! I thought that I was in heart failure for only a few things – nothing.
That cute little dog in the picture gave me an idea to pad myself with extra using a pillow while going outside. At my old age now 66 I need all the heat that I can get. Old age cannot stand the cold nor the dampness. I am laughing at myself and looking at one of my husband’s old pillows that I tossed on the floor earlier and haven’t picked it up yet. LOL LOL. ROLF! Maybe I can use that old
Sorry to disappoint you Jules Hugger1 is NOT back, nor will he probably be.I don’t know where you got the idea I was back.Fool me once, shame on me, fool me two or three times shame on you. I will say this though, Hydro One is not coming to Cornwall.Cornwall Electric has or will shortly sign an extension until 2029 with Hydro Quebec. And schools are closing everywhere; up to 32 in the Ottawa area.
It’s unfortunate that I know very little about Cornwall’s political history prior to the early 2000s, but, from what little I have been able to piece together, I get the distinct impression that different factions, including Elaine’s, both good and bad, have been jumping between the Liberals and the NDP to try gaining the upper hand on each other.
For all the good work the Agape Centre may do, the Vatican has a lot more money to throw around than Cornwall and its ratepayers do, so why does the City need to fund it at all when art gets shafted and the tax burden keeps getting pushed downwards?
Maybe Ottawa should stop wasting money on useless neocon wars (welfare for the Al-Sauds and the Rockefellers) and help our cities instead.
Ah Hugger you sure disappointed me. When I saw your name I thought that you flew back to the Cookoo’s Nest along with me. I am sick with the flu on and off all the time and I almost landed at the General Hospital and chickened out. I am taking it easy and laughing like hell here. I hope that you are ok and in good health. Take care and all the best. I mean that.
Hugger there will not be 32 schools here in Ottawa closing. The schools are full of refugees and immigrants and families having huge families that will keep the schools going for some time to come on our dime. Hydro is a nightmare and beyond the mortgage payments and people don’t know whether to pay hydro or eat. That is what the libtards elected.
Coming from one of those “huge” immigrant families and going to school on someone else’s “dime” (which is what the Canadian social contract is about) I’m comfortable with our new and would-be Canadians, and don’t mind them gtting their feet under themtoday on my dime; remember… “There but for fortune go you or I.”
Message to arrogant Elaine…people realize costs are escalating. People also realize that poor political decisions and self serving politicians are primarily responsible for the current sorry state of affairs (liberalism). What people are questioning is councils inability to comprehend that this city needs to live within its means. Increases tied to actual cost of living. Moving therefore is best
David you feel into the bear hole. All Elaine and her friends ever ask for is the COL. However 2% of a Sunshine list salary is more than 15% of the actual salaries that are being taxed to pay for public positions. We recently had CUPE crying out that cuts to cleaning services are resulting in poor conditions. And they’re right, but those conditions are there because that 2% has priced cleaning staff salaries out of the market place.
If CUPE really cared they slash cleaning salaries under the proviso that the same monies be used to create more jobs. CUPE would never be interested in such a proposal, so in team with our gov’t bean counters people in Ontario will continue to die or get sick from CDIFF and MRSA infections.
Cornwall lost a great deal of population and there should be OPP to look after Cornwall and all of SD&G. Cornwall is going to be a village soon or like I said a ghost town. If it becomes a ghost town I will have more and more fun on CFN than ever before. It would be like Icabob Crane in the Headless Horseman. Remember that story? LOL LOL. ROLF!