Dear Editor,
Many of us in Alleyn and Cawood and across other Pontiac municipalities believe the actions—or lack thereof—of the MRC Pontiac’s warden and its Council of Mayors have reached a point of blatant disregard for the people they serve, and they are not fulfilling even basic duties. It is nothing short of a betrayal to the residents they were elected to serve.
The issue very is simple: Property evaluations in Alleyn and Cawood were initially increased by a staggering 370 per cent earlier this year, a number that was identified as inflated, unsustainable, and ‘never should have been sent to residents in the first place,’ according to Warden Jane Toller in June.
Following months of advocacy, media coverage, and direct confrontation at MRC monthly meetings, the average valuation increase was revised to 85 per cent, still high but a more realistic number. Despite this correction, the MRC Pontiac continues to demand that municipal shares be paid by Alleyn and Cawood to the MRC based on the inflated and discredited 370 per cent figure—a number that Warden Toller herself has publicly admitted in June is ‘not real.’
This looks to me like taxpayer exploitation in plain sight, and the mayors are idly standing by like sheep. How can the MRC justify charging shares based on a number they know is wrong and grossly overstated? This is not just an administrative oversight; it is a calculated decision to unapologetically rip off one of the smallest and poorest municipalities in the region.
The warden is elected to represent the interests of the entire MRC and ensuring decisions are fair and grounded in reality. By continuing to enforce a fake number as the basis for the payment of municipal shares, Warden Toller has demonstrated a disregard for the principles of equity and accountability that underpin her very role. While I understand that the warden and the Council of Mayors hold the authority to review or modify the formulas used for calculating municipal shares, do they not have to adhere to provincial laws and regulations — or better yet, is there not a law or regulation that protects municipalities from using a fake number to calculate shares? If not, there should be.
Equally concerning is the complacency of the Council of Mayors, who have remained silent while their neighbouring community of Alleyn and Cawood is being financially bled. These mayors have failed to exercise their collective authority, allowing the warden to dictate policy, completely unchecked. They appear more concerned with maintaining harmony than defending the interests and pocketbooks of constituents – or is it just sheer incompetence? What if it were their community being charged shares based on a fake number? What will it take for them to stand for what is right and fair?
Operating as a dictatorship, where unilateral decisions go unchallenged, while mayors are reduced to silent spectators, is not how governance is meant to work. The Council of Mayors is supposed to provide oversight, question the warden’s actions, and advocate for fairness across the region. Instead, they have become complicit in enabling a system that punishes the vulnerable.
If you had an employee who miscalculated the price of an item, you discovered the error and revised the price accordingly, most of us would apologize to the customer and revise the price and tax paid on that item for the customer. If your employee refused to do so, would you fire them or let them gouge the customer? Well, the MRC Pontiac is publicly and unapologetically gouging our community.
The warden’s blatant failure to listen to the community’s very valid and data-driven concerns is unacceptable and, frankly, very confusing because it’s our money and she is accountable to us. And the mayors of the MRC Pontiac who have stood idly by without a shred of interest or support should consider their positions and whether they are fit to serve. I, for one, do not think they are. In that context, I do have to commend two mayors from Waltham and Litchfield for their engagement. It’s refreshing to see some take this seriously. Luckily, there is still time to stand up for what is right before the next election.
Elections are the ultimate tool for accountability. If the current leadership continues to ignore its mandate to serve the public with honesty and fairness, residents must use their voices at the polls to ensure change. Complacency among voters is as dangerous as complacency among leaders.
To the residents of Alleyn and Cawood, and to every ratepayer in the MRC Pontiac: now is the time to speak out, fight for fairness, demand transparency and accountability, seek new leadership, and solidly refuse to accept people in positions of power who fail to serve.
Folks, if you accept this behaviour, you have no right to complain about current and future property evaluations and shares paid in your communities. We deserve leaders who will fight for fairness, not impose financial hardship on communities and taxpayers.
Julie Vaux, Alleyn and Cawood
