Dear Editor,
I really did not want to get involved again, however, with the events occurring in the Municipality of Pontiac since the November 2017 election, I felt something had to be said and done.
A chance had been given to the mayor since she had no municipal experience before running for mayor but 1.5 years later, this is where we are at. The accomplishments since the election are:
First thing that was done was an attempt to give away our Curley Lake Road snowmobile trails.
Second was to abolish a debt of $75,000 by abrogating a resolution passed by previous council who had passed the resolution to collect the debt on the advice of the municipal lawyer.
Third was to impose door-to-door compost material pickup in a rural area. This was passed by four inexperienced councilors who later admitted that they had not received all the information at the time the vote was taken. There are citizens who are working hard to have this decision overturned.
Fourth, it is a total disgrace to see our beautiful community centre 4/5 completed which was scheduled for completion in February 2018.
Blaming the previous administration for the delay when in reality, it was the mayor’s interference after being coerced by the Quyon Lions Club who had no right to request changes. Ample opportunity to provide input on design had been given to this organization by the previous council but they refused to cooperate and showed lack of interest which was very immature.
As a previous mayor, I am aware of proper procedures for council meetings but these are not being adhered to and could result in potential lawsuits. Having a mayor who makes decisions on her own without council is not right. Having four inexperienced councilors is creating an issue by allowing the mayor to make these decisions on her own and this is quite concerning. The mayor’s inability to prioritize and ensure that the municipality benefits from grants such as the TECQ program is proving to be just stupid.
The budget for 2018 is the worst that I have ever seen, especially raising business tax as we are trying to attract more businesses and not chase them away.
Why would our taxes go to pay for consultations, engineering reports and legal opinions because of total ineptness?
Alary Road increasing from $145,000 to over $650,000 is further proof of stupidity. This is not monopoly money here but rather hard earned tax dollars that are being wasted.
I would really like to see the mayor resign as a result of a non- confidence motion by councilors. She is making them look quite foolish. We need to get our municipality back on track before we lose everything. If not, who would want to have to clean up this mess again?
Bruce Campbell
Municipality of Pontiac
