Dear Editor,
Over the past two months, I have consistently spoken about fairness in the MRC meetings. Today, I must raise a pressing concern.
In 2024, the MRC Pontiac charged inflated shares to Alleyn and Cawood, increasing from $112,000 to $289,000, based on a figure that was later deemed false by the warden of the MRC during the June council meeting of Alleyn and Cawood. Yet, we are still being charged based on this incorrect number.
For months, Alleyn and Cawood has actively spoken out, requesting fair adjustments to these charges. However, the response has been silence or reluctance. The argument that adjusting Alleyn and Cawood shares would shift the burden to the other 17 municipalities is unfounded.
Let’s be clear – Alleyn and Cawood was overcharged from the beginning. Correcting this would not negatively impact the other municipalities.
Any adjustment could be funded from the MRC surplus, causing no harm to anyone else.
I urge each mayor here to remember that while you represent your municipality, when sitting at the MRC table, you are a councillor of the MRC Pontiac. Your decisions should reflect the best interests of the entire Pontiac, not just your individual communities.
At the Oct. 16 meeting, the mayors claimed they couldn’t support the Alleyn and Cawood bylaw to remove the comparative factor in share calculations because they lacked sufficient information. I ask, what more information do you need?
This issue should have been resolved years ago when Chichester faced a similar situation. Lack of action then has allowed this problem to resurface, now affecting Alleyn and Cawood. This failure to act as a united council has brought us to this point.
Mayors, you were elected to lead – not just for your municipality, but for the Pontiac as a whole. This ongoing mindset is not leadership. It is embarrassing and undermines the credibility of this council.
If it takes a taskforce of Alleyn and Cawood representatives, elected officials, employees, and taxpayers to hold this council accountable, so be it. But I urge you to wake up. Act as a team. Do your job.
Fairness is not optional. It is your responsibility to uphold it, for the benefit of the entire Pontiac.
Joseph Squitti, former mayor of Alleyn and Cawood
Danford Lake
