To the editor:
So once again the tail wags the dog, as we are led to believe that the city is run so efficiently that not even one per cent could be cut from the budget.
Every manager, and we have a lot, is busy all the time and there is no room to amalgamate administration of all departments under one roof.
All those trucks we see wandering around and all the overtime are absolutely necessary to the running of the city.
Of course in order to maximize performance of the workforce it is necessary for them to drop everything at coffee time and drive to meet at the local coffee shops, no doubt to discuss how they can do the job more efficiently.
Then we have the add-ons like the unnecessary widening of Shuniah Street for a bike lane and while it is certainly time for paving, bike lanes are hardly required in a residential area that has a number of even quieter streets running parallel (Toledo, Otto).
In the meantime snow banks in the downtown north core creep into the street and create dangers for those, especially seniors, trying to climb over them.
It is nice that the tax increase was kept below what most other municipalities across the country had to impose but it must be remembered that we already have one of the highest tax rates and debt per capita of any municipality in the country.
Now just for the record as it seems many in city management and on council don’t seem to know the meaning here is a definition from Wikipedia.
“Infrastructure is the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function. The term typically refers to the technical structures that support a society, such as roads, water supply, sewers, power grids, telecommunications, and so forth. Viewed functionally, infrastructure facilitates the production of goods and services; for example, roads enable the transport of raw materials to a factory, and also for the distribution of finished products to markets. In some contexts, the term may also include basic social services such as schools and hospitals.”
Somehow I doubt that there are plans to replace the large number of lead pipes that still distribute water in the city or replace cast sewer pipes that form the other end.
How about our aging electrical grid here in the city, when a bit of rain and wind can knock out power to huge sections of the city. It is more likely infrastructure will be looked on as a new arena/convention centre that we can’t afford.
Anyone want to bet that $500,000 in consulting fees gets us build, build, build and if the consultants are wrong about the need and the price, too damn bad.
So once again the tail wags the dog, as we are led to believe that the city is run so efficiently that not even one per cent could be cut from the budget.
Every manager, and we have a lot, is busy all the time and there is no room to amalgamate administration of all departments under one roof.
All those trucks we see wandering around and all the overtime are absolutely necessary to the running of the city.
Of course in order to maximize performance of the workforce it is necessary for them to drop everything at coffee time and drive to meet at the local coffee shops, no doubt to discuss how they can do the job more efficiently.
Then we have the add-ons like the unnecessary widening of Shuniah Street for a bike lane and while it is certainly time for paving, bike lanes are hardly required in a residential area that has a number of even quieter streets running parallel (Toledo, Otto).
In the meantime snow banks in the downtown north core creep into the street and create dangers for those, especially seniors, trying to climb over them.
It is nice that the tax increase was kept below what most other municipalities across the country had to impose but it must be remembered that we already have one of the highest tax rates and debt per capita of any municipality in the country.
Now just for the record as it seems many in city management and on council don’t seem to know the meaning here is a definition from Wikipedia.
“Infrastructure is the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function. The term typically refers to the technical structures that support a society, such as roads, water supply, sewers, power grids, telecommunications, and so forth. Viewed functionally, infrastructure facilitates the production of goods and services; for example, roads enable the transport of raw materials to a factory, and also for the distribution of finished products to markets. In some contexts, the term may also include basic social services such as schools and hospitals.”
Somehow I doubt that there are plans to replace the large number of lead pipes that still distribute water in the city or replace cast sewer pipes that form the other end.
How about our aging electrical grid here in the city, when a bit of rain and wind can knock out power to huge sections of the city. It is more likely infrastructure will be looked on as a new arena/convention centre that we can’t afford.
Anyone want to bet that $500,000 in consulting fees gets us build, build, build and if the consultants are wrong about the need and the price, too damn bad.
John Brewer,
Thunder Bay
