Is it any wonder why citizens are puzzled and angry?

It was another proposal that came out of the woodwork.

The city leadership has decided this city needs another downtown park.

So, staff has been busy moving a new project along. It will result in about 40 businesses forced to move elsewhere because the southeast corner of Wellington and Gordon Street will become a new downtown park.

Uh, that’s in 2022.

At first blush, staff announced the cost of buying up two strip malls and a separate small animal clinic would be $9 million. This would eliminate the commercial corner and create a pristine park nestled along the shores of the Speed River.

Then the price was revised to cost between $12 and $16 million by 2022.

Let’s see, those on council voting for this foolish scheme will be the same ones who voted for the $16 million civic museum (less Coun. Todd Dennis). But then went off the rails to spend more than $50 million on a wet waste composting plant that has not met targeted production since start-up last September.

So, approving this parks plan, council is saying it will save enough money to pay for the project over the next ten years. I don’t know, but how much money has council saved in the past five and one half years?

How does this work into the announcement that a new $63 million downtown library will be open by 2017? Or how about the south-end recreation centre? Ask Farbridge team player Mr. Dennis about that.

Both these projects will bind the hands of future councils. Those councils may have other plans than to build monuments to the perceived genius of the Farbridge gang of eight.

Let’s drop the vision thing and the obsession with downtown Guelph. Let’s work on putting our financial house in order.

Let’s have good roads, responsible development, more commercial and industrial development to create jobs, more social housing, more recreational facilities with washroom walls that don’t collapse, fewer closed meetings, and more transparency.

It’s not complicated, All that’s required is critical thinking.

Come’on Madame Mayor, open the doors and windows and let the sunshine in.

The Top Ten Farbridge legacies

In the past five and one half years, Mayor Karen Farbridge has ruled the city supported by a majority in the 13-member council. Some in the public prints claim that she has done a great job. It is a point of view not shared by many taxpayers.

So we thought we should pick ten decisions ratified by the Farbridge council that you can judge as being: Wasteful, wonderful or whacky.

The important aspect of this exercise is the cumulative effect of policies introduced in the almost six-year time frame. The result will be higher costs in the city that are passed on to future generations.

There is ample history of this happening. After Kate Quarrie defeated Ms. Farbridge in 2003, council inherited a load of debt and mismanagement that required some drastic changes. History has shown that the Guelph taxpayers are not comfortable with aggressive changes in the administration of their city. The result was Mayor Quarrie and most of her supporting councillors were defeated in 2006 and Karen Farbridge was returned as mayor with a majority of nine supporting councillors.

This is a lesson that should not be forgotten. The following top ten decisions are just a few of the decisions that the Farbridge-controlled council has imposed. Be forewarned, they will not disappear two years from now when the next city election is called.

The Top Ten

Number 10 – The civic museum has cost $16 million so far, including $6 million in government grants. The taxpayer’s share of this project located on private property is $10 million and counting. Like many capital projects the city never reveals real costs. This was passed off to the public as saving a pre-confederation building owned by the Roman Catholic diocese. In barging ahead with the project. Council sandbagged the case for a new downtown library. Mayor Farbridge promised to build a new downtown library in her election pitch. It is still doubtful due to the high debt incurred by the Farbridge council. One of the mistakes made in renovating the old heritage building was ordering custom-made cabinets from a European supplier. Trouble was they were too high and interfered with the sprinkler system. Bottom line: How many visits does the Civic Museum receive each day compared to the number attending the downtown library?

Number 9 – The wet waste plant’s latest price tag is $33 million. The garbage bin collection system is another $15 million. Many close to this project have doubts about its operation. Air quality control remains a problem and, after some retrofitting, the plant is still not operating at full capacity. That’s eight months after the plant was fired up following construction. When does Waterloo’s wet waste arrive daily at the plant when we are unable to process the homegrown stuff?

Number 8 – The Hanlon Business Park – $10 million. The city has borrowed that amount to complete the park. While some property has been sold to developers, not one job has been created in three years. Once again, Guelph’s reputation as a place that is bad for business looms large as a deterrent. Don’t expect the Terry Bradshaw puff video to create an avalanche of new business.

Number 7 – Paying $233,000 to an outside legal firm to settle the ownership of Lt. Col. John McRae’s World War I medals. That exercise took three years to settle. While the medals were on display at McRae House museum, the family launched a lawsuit in 2008 to take possession. The settlement consisted of a public acknowledgement that the family gifted the medal to the museum and a small plaque would acknowledge this.

Number 6 – Firing the new City Hall contractor and renovating the old City Hall for a provincial courthouse, resulting in a $19 million lawsuit yet to be decided. While both sides are exchanging viewpoints it is revealed that the contractor has outstanding subcontractor obligations.  The city has agreed to pay these debts presumably because there are liens attached to the new City Hall. The city maintains this action is not part of any future resolution of the dispute. Cost of renovating the old city hall was completed on a cost plus basis. The end cost to taxpayers has never been revealed.

Number 5 – Taking legal action to avoid paying $10 million, its share of building a new Wellington, Dufferin Guelph public health headquarters. The cost of taking this through the court system is unknown. The City lost and must pay its share of the costs. This is another unbudgeted expense that has contributed to the abnormally high debt in which the Farbridge administration has placed the taxpayers. The dispute is one of other cost-shared projects that have caused divisive splits between the city and its country partners. The question remains why the Mayor cannot get along with her partners.

Number 4 – Allowing the amount of city debt to rise to more than $118 million thereby breaking its own debt-ceiling rule by some $26 million. To most taxpayers, their eyes glaze over when it comes to debt of which they are responsible. Servicing that debt costs more than $5 million this year. That’s not chump change. There are only two ways to reduce it: Raise taxes and fees or increase assessment. The latter takes years to impact the average tax bill. The city’s lack of cooperation with development proposals in recent years has resulted in Guelph being not friendly to business or development proposals. The recent flurry of allowing 18 story condos in the downtown area is the result of an awakening by the Farbridge administration to be more cooperative in promoting new development – both residential and commercial/industrial.

Number 3 – The reincarnation of a new downtown library now scheduled for opening in 2017 will cost of $63 million. In addition, the Chief Librarian says a fund-raising specialist will be charged with raising another $10 million to install furnishings etc in the new facility.

Number 2 – The skating rink in front of the new city hall that cost more than $2.5 million, has its own Zamboni that won’t fit in the special garage built for it. City staff informed council the operating cost for the feature would be $1.2 million a year.

Number 1 – Spending $74 million to rebuild some of the city’s infrastructure as part of a senior government stimulus. The city’s share was $24 million. The spending included such items as $2 million for a bicycle lane on Stone Road, $750,000 for a new time clock in the Sleeman Centre. Plus four years of traffic disruption that affected business across the city.

Summing up

The taxpayer’s future liability is more than $108 million. Add to that accumulated debt of $118 million and the total is $226 million.  When the cost of civic staff is taken out of the budget, it leaves less than $45 million based on the total 2012 city budget of $174 million.

The recent announcement of the 10-year plan to spend $9 million converting a commercial node at the intersection of Gordon and Wellington streets into a new downtown park, begs the question: Why now? On must wonder how council can approve such a long-range proposal with such existing uncertainty in the city’s ability to pay for more grandiose schemes.

The point to all this is to alert taxpayers that there is a limit to what the city can afford.

That limit has already been exceeded.

Did the Mercury join the Julian Ichim fan club?

The recent editorial the Guelph Mercury written about the case of urban actibust  (sic) Julian Ichim was artfully dissected. It deemed to make the point that his $4 million lawsuit against the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario, could clarify the role of Guelph undercover police in the G20 and Olympic Torch run.

Talk about flogging a dead horse.

TorStar owner of the Mercury, through it’s Toronto Star MetroLand subsidiary, has steadfastly criticized the role of the police before, during and after the G20 meeting in Toronto. The local paper brain trust apparently decided this was an opportunity to put a hometown twist of the sad saga of Mr. Ichim.

He is not just an activist as the local paper describes him, he is bent on doing whatever necessary to disrupt and contribute to civic disorder.

He is part of a Guelph-based group of anarchists determined to force their extreme points of view that enrage the authorities and citizens.

Hark back a view years ago when burning brush and tires were set on fire on the Hanlon.  Or the occupation of the Hanlon Business Park construction site that halted development of that project.  He was accused of threatening the family owners of the construction firm. Or remember the gang that pelted buses with eggs and curses. They were carrying guests from the official opening of the Hanlon Business Park.

Along the way, Ichim sued the Guelph Police Services without success.

Then along came the G20 protest and he was a cell leader taking protestors along Toronto streets. Mr. Icim’s political actions lead him from Guelph to Toronto and back. As if Guelph needs anymore notoriety what with the Pierre Poutine robo call scandal.

Frankly, most folks must scratch their heads about his latest attempt to nail the cops.  Perhaps it will bring an end to the violent actions perpetrated by the anarchist cell. Taking on the Province of Ontario in his lawsuit will require deep pockets. Hope the lawyer representing him has cashed the cheque before the pre-trial depositions.

This you can bet on, regardless of the outcome, Mr. Ichim will turn up again, like a bad penny.

And the saga will continue.

 

Skating around the issue

With regards to the Editorial article “Skating around budgeting process” the simple economics of using the Skate Park in the East End of the City deserve serious consideration by City Council and Staff.

The City has rented the skate park for the last two summers – July and August in 2010, but due to staff fumbling it was only available in August in 2011.  Thanks to more staff fumbling this year, it did not even make the list of possibilities.

Now why is the use of this facility a good deal for the City?

In the first place the facility is SUPERVISED!  Skaters must have the proper equipment including safety equipment and helmets. Secondly, the Supervision ensures that horseplay is not allowed. As well the facility carries sufficient Liability Insurance  thus relieving the City of any potential liabilities arising from negligence on their part.  (Take a lesson from the Clair Road washroom incident!) The final plus is that instead of frittering away one million dollars on an unsupervised City facility fraught with Liability issues, the City gets a COMPLETE service for $10,000. (The saving in capital cost avoidance covers 100 years of facility rental.)

Other benefits to the City include problem avoidance – problems that resulted in the City closing the City operated skate park – problems that included excessive noise, late night rowdyism, garbage, illegal activities, and a complete lack of supervision.  Does City Council want to repeat this experience and annoy another neighborhood?

There are times when the private sector provides a better service at a more reasonable cost to the taxpayer.  This is one of those times.  If the City can find $25,000 for Terry Bradshaw, then if should be able to find the $10,000 for this service.  The youth of the City want this service,  and the City needs to provide it for them.

City Councillors, when it comes the skate parks please do not be “penny wise and pound foolish”.

Dan Moziar

Guelph

Guelph Mercury becomes suddenly assertive

Media Watch

Like bombs bursting in air, the mighty Mercury awoke this week from its long sleep covering city hall to discover events that stirred the editor to publish two critical editorials.

It is an event of historic proportions, as I cannot recall in recent memory, the Mercury being critical of the current administration on its editorial pages. I wrote a column on those pages every third Saturday for five years that was critical of the Farbridge leadership.

Managing editor Phil Andrews took the unusual step of acknowledging there are other voices in the community who articulate the warts of the current administration.  To suggest that those critical of public affairs and trust management, address the issues as “a hobby”, is like telling journalism icon H.L. Menken to shut up.

It’s not a hobby Phil, it’s a cause.

People are becoming more concerned about the way their city is being run. There is plenty of evidence that the city authorities massage the news to make them look responsible and innovative.

There are too many instances ignored by the mainstream media that have cried out for detailed explanations from city authorities when things go wrong.

The Mercury lacks critical purpose and it shows. But keep the faith. Things are going to get warmer and more interesting as time wears on.

As Pogo reflected in the Okeefenoki swamp: “We have seen the enemy and they is us.”

Gerry Barker

Editor – guelphspeaks.ca

Hallejua! We have a winner!

The city announced that the vacant post of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) had been filled after the former CFO was fired a year ago. Albert Horsman comes to the city from the Town of Kawartha Lakes where he served as Chief Administration Officer (CAO).

But the title of the senior Guelph staff position is now called – Executive Director of Finance and Enterprise.

The new employee comes to the job with varied municipal experience that is focused on management but does not include a degree in financial accounting.

Indeed the job description makes his position not only to manage city finances but also to seek and create positive enterprise opportunities.

Is this guy a financial manager or a salesman?

Guelph CAO, Ann Pappert described Mr. Horsman’s experience as a municipal finance expert with a background in the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Infrastructure Ontario and the City of Toronto’s financial planning division.

But has he ever been responsible for accounting a city’s finances?

It is another strange appointment to an Executive Director’s post where the titles are longer that an elephant’s trunk, and the job descriptions are buried deep in the bureaucratic bowel known only to the few and not to the general public.

Not wishing the new man any ill will but to paraphrase Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz, “this isn’t Kansas, Toto.”

Once Mr. Horsman gets settled in, he will quickly discover the financial picture of the city and the excessive debt currently costing more than $5 million a year in interest just to service the debt. Gradually he will work his way through the voodoo accounting practised by the leadership of this city with the complicity of the independent auditors. The result is taxpayers have had little understanding of the financial mess the city is in.

For example, Coun. Ian Findlay suggested that the 2012 budget be re-opened to permit spending $10,000 to provide a skateboard park this summer. This has been the practice in the past.

Here’s the rub. Why was this expenditure dropped when the 2012 budget was being established last fall?  More to the point, where was Mr. Findlay when the decision was made to drop the project?

It was a dumb mistake but the 2012 budget should not be re-opened. That’s like letting the cats among the canaries. Perhaps the money can be found elsewhere.

In conjunction with his fairly modest request, city council is to consider a staff proposal May 30^th to spend upwards of $9 million to develop a downtown park at the corner of Gordon and Wellington Streets.

These are really big picture guys.

The project calls for purchase of commercial properties to develop the park while disrupting an intense commercial node at one of the main intersections of the city.

What was the planning staff thinking? It’s not a bad idea to have a downtown park but the staff proposal is ill conceived. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail and the project be sent back to staff to investigate compromise and initiate a more reasonable solution without spending millions.Then, out of the blue, comes the Chief Executive Officer of the Guelph Library suggesting a new downtown library costing $64 million that would open in 2017. So confident of this happening, the library has hired a fundraiser charged with bringing in $10 million to completely finish the interior of the building as proposed by the library management.

In steps Coun. Ian Findlay, who expresses confidence the project will meet the 2017 completion. “Not only will there be a library but there will be commercial space available,” he said.

What are these people smoking? There isn’t public money available in 2012 or in the foreseeable future. To promote such a possibility is egregious and willful.

The new Downtown library is a possibility but it requires private participation and limited public exposure.

Welcome Mr. Horsmen to the city of whacko economics.

 

 

When help is needed, call in Terry Bradshaw

The decision to pay $25,000 for a five-minute infomercial about Guelph was a perpetuation of the view held by Mayor Karen Farbridge that she is doing a great job running the city.

The weird part was selecting former Pittsburg Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw as the spokesmen in the five-minute video.

Terry who?

The native of Louisiana has transformed himself from football star to TV sports broadcasting. He is an entertaining and opinionated football analyst but what in hell is he doing touting Guelph?

I’ll bet that Bradshaw was never in the city to proclaim its wonders. His part was done in a studio somewhere in another country.

There was one little slip in the presentation in which Bradshaw refers to the Guelph edition of the video as being part of this “nation of ours. “ He wasn’t referring to Canada, folks.

No wonder the Mayor is so proud of the video. She was the supporting star and without a smidge of deprecation, did her patented number that Guelph is one of the top ten cities in the Country.

Her mistake was giving the impression that this was an initiative of the city’s development department. In fact it was an American production company that put it together. The pregnant question remains: How many city staffers contributed to the shooting of the video and at what cost?

The production is classic Farbridge. A person of power, she has come to believe that she is omnipotent as our Mayor. She actually believes this promotion is real journalism.  It points to her weakness in believing her own propaganda created at the public expense about what a great job she is doing.

Isn’t ego a wonderful attribute? If only the Mayor would see herself as others see her.

One does not have to look much farther back than last fall when a senior manager resigned and blew the whistle on how Guelph was unfriendly to business both existing and prospective. It caused a stir in the staff ranks as shortly after, his boss Chief Planner James Riddell, resigned to take a position in St. Catharines.

This and other resignations and the dismissal last year of Chief Financial Officer Margaret Neubaur have created a malaise within the staff causing uncertainty and a lack of leadership. Six senior staff positions remain unfilled.

Oh, there is leadership but it has become focused in the office of Mayor. Guelph has been molded and fashioned in Mayor Farbridge’s version of what she envisions as a great community.

Our city was great and has tremendous potential to become a city of all the people and not just the playpen of a minority of politically left activists.

In her blog the mayor quotes a saying from India: “That leaders need to be like elephants. The dogs can bark all they want, they need to keep moving.”

I would hope that the Mayor was not singling me out because my name is Barker.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill: “Some elephant. So many dogs.”

By Gerry Barker

Editor of guelphspeaks.ca