I was going to call the Advocate today, to see if there was a mistake. I checked everywhere, even the cartoons, just to see if I was missing something. As for the past little while this is what is happening in our city.
• Councillors don’t want to live in Chris Stephan’s city. I do, I don’t care about a $200,000 gala. Knowing full well their comments would be printed, they went ahead and said them anyway. Their comments were unprofessional and boorish. I want to live in Chris’s community where those elected truly represent the voter. Which I think Chris does.
• Red Deer College president gets a 25 per cent wage increase, in these times obscene.
Lyn Radford, “feels for the student.” Red Deer College presents a budget to the provincial government then includes salary. She then blames the government for the tuition hikes.
• I didn’t know we had a problem on 32nd Street and 40th Avenue. I drive it daily. Now they are talking a roundabout.
I don’t know what the cost will be, but I can only imagine horrendous.
Would it mean purchase and destruction of the apartment? Moving a (I think) a substation?
• Mayor Morris Flewwelling wants the bullet train downtown. Toronto is facing this problem and the tremendous cost associated with it.
Why are these projects not in the future plans as Red Deer continues to grow?
I am for development — with careful thoughtful, logical, sensible planning put into it. Why a roundabout in an established area?
• The museum wants another $500,000. They just got $1 million. When is enough, enough? They won’t go to the taxpayer, though. Where then will they go? Logic?
• City council need a compensation package, taxpayers have to buy their meals while most of us brown bag it. Rookie councillors receive $18,000 plus for sitting on boards, most boards pay per diems as well.
• Cindy Jefferies is irked when Stephan states that some departments aren’t holding the line on spending.
• Red Deer is the fourth most dangerous city to live in. Craig Curtis wants a $400,000 crime prevention program.
RCMP do not get their man as they proposed in the new budget. Stephen Woolrich states, “city does not get the implication.”
The taxpayers get it — we live in a dangerous city. I feel it and some of us know it. There is not much consumer protection out there. Try presenting concerns to this council and see what happens. Yet Morris pooh poohs the stats.
• Before Christmas, Craig Curtis speaks of laying people off. Dianne Wyntjes, former union representative, no comments. Budget submissions by several departments request more staff.
• My wish for 2012 was that this council would listen to the taxpayers and use reason and caution in spending. Canadians resisted the urge to splurge on the holidays, affecting the merchants’ bottom line.
• While the average Canadian earns $44,000 yearly, city councillors earn $55,000 plus. Paul Harris and Dianne Wyntjes get an extra $18,000 for sitting on a board. Not bad huh? Plus the extra perks. City will send council on $7,200 retreat. For how long? For how many people? My employer never sent me on a retreat, has yours? My hope is that they learn to respect each other and the taxpayer. I feel that this council feels that I don’t know what is good for me — so therefore they do and spend freely accordingly.
• They are spending $200,000 for a week gala that most taxpayers could care less. Cutbacks? Never heard of them.
• Studies are done with taxpayer money — save the money. Ask us, it’s our city, we’ll let you know what we think. We could be called taxpayers at large and be paid $100,000. You could hire a bunch of us or the workers laid off before Christmas.
• This is what the city proposed and in some cases already did: $75,000 for the individual who plans the gala.
• More money for snow removal. We hardly had any snow. Where did the money go? Now we have doubled our snow removal budget. Must be an election coming up.
The only protest to the city budget were councillors Stephan and Tara Veer. While the rest of us are working hard to maintain and manage increases in taxes, utilities services, but our council has dived into a money pit. Yet when Chris protests, he’s bashed down. He has a right to his opinion as he is listening to the taxpayer. I have never met the man. I’d like to shake his hand. He deserves and should be respected as he speaks our behalf.
I want to thank the Advocate for their reporting of city events. For I feel when newspaper begins to serve only a small percentage, we are losing our democratic rights. We as taxpayers are kept in the dark anyway — there are things going on that we don’t know about. I’d like to see the books, including wages. I bet we’d be surprised at what we’re paying. Courage is measured by truth and the expression of it. Good job Chris.
P.S. The mayor of Edmonton has refused raise for the past three years. Calgary mayor donates a portion of his salary to charity.
Lucille Gaumond
Red Deer