CORNWALL ONTARIO – As I write this the CCPS have not reported any crime since February 23. That’s five days. It’s a bit bewildering considering their budget?
The United Counties of SD&G with about 50% more population, and far larger area to cover including CCPS Chief Dan Parkinson’s home outside of the City, had a budget of approximately $11M in 2016.
The Cornwall Community Police Service budget was approximately $17M. A breakdown of total calls reported by the force divided by total budget is over…..$5,000.00.
The savings alone from having one police service for the region would pave some of the brutal roads we see and infrastructure needs.
Clearly this one issue is enough to finally start the conversation about how to initiate amalgamation in this Eastern tip of Eastern Ontario.
It doesn’t make sense to have so many ineffective municipal politicians mucking about thinking they are very special while really not representing the best interests of all the residents in their community.
Two quick examples are South Stormont where Deputy Mayor Tammy Hart, who was just convicted of Conspiracy along with fellow one time hate group members Bob Noble and Richard & Ruth Currier in court. That conspiracy was connected to their attempt to shut down this newspaper and to kill the South Stormont News by going after our legal rep. The Currier’s have now lost and spent an estimated $30,000.00.
The irony is one of the tactics used by these gifted souls during the last municipal elections was that if South Stormont didn’t kill its contract with SSN that taxes would go up by 10%.
While taxes have gone up since the last election it certainly had nothing to do with SSN other than the township spending nearly $20K to essentially default on an agreed contract for one year to publish the township bulletin.
Hart and friends are alleged to have terrorized some local business people that advertised in SSN as well as some Township staff.
Taxes have ballooned while transparency has gone down in South Stormont. Is that really how to run a government?
Here in Cornwall things are even more bizarre. Regular readers of CFN are familiar with many of the issues that CFN and myself have endured at the hands of some of our elected officials and city management; some of whom this writer really wouldn’t trust with plastic cutlery, never mind the budget, and government of this city.
Petty childish antics for example have kept me off any city committees. It’s tradition that if you run for office and lose that if you apply to be on a city committee that you are given a seat as a courtesy for the time and effort spent in attempting to serve the community.
People like David Murphy clearly have no business being in politics. As Chair of the Lay Committee, which is an ironic term for him to be on with the allegations related to him and some of his former students at St. Lawrence College, have refused to give me a position on any committee even though I applied to be on six and have since stated each time I get an email asking if I was still interested in being on a committee as positions open up.
Rising taxes, young people fleeing, corruption, cronyism….. can you imagine the savings to tax payer if we just had one pool of these folks for the region that makes up the United Counties of SD&G and Cornwall?
Doesn’t it make sense to limit the ignorance and pettiness to a smaller circle?
City and Township management are not much better, but are duplicated multiple times. Again, amalgamation would reduce duplication of lack of services here in our part of Eastern Ontario.
Loading ...With so many of the decision makers in Cornwall hiding out in the townships to avoid the taxes they inflict on we residents doesn’t it feel grossly hypocritical? These folks save thousands every year while benefitting from Cornwall services. Is that not a definition of insanity for those that keep electing these monkeys?
What do you think dear CFN viewers? Is it time to amalgamate the United Counties of SD&G and Cornwall?
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I don’t think amalgamation would be the best approach here.
Cornwall and the United Counties have different needs from their local government and different socioeconomic makeups that befit a city versus small rural communities.
Better to fight corruption and reduce bloated police and administrative salaries in Cornwall than deny its citizens an urban-focused representative government.
Jamie I listened to something from the US today about how some people with computer savvy can make someone sound like yourself and make you into a criminal and this system has existed for 17 years. I only knew that when it happened to you. Cornwall’s cops are not educated like other cops and are completely corrupted with the clique. I voted yes for amalgamation and this tax dodging has to stop.