By: Jim Young

Jim Young — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 22:24:57 +0000

It is possible that the school and park purchases are good for the city and in general I’m supportive.
But if they are such good ideas, why would politicians make these decisions in secret?
Politicians feast on popular ideas and decisions so secrecy creates suspicion.
If we stay silent when they make decisions we agree with behind closed doors, how can we object when they make decisions we don’t like behind closed doors.
It’s not the decision, it’s the secrecy.
Always remember it is OUR money, being spent at OUR City Hall, by councilors who are OUR representatives.

By: Blair Smith

Blair Smith — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 20:44:47 +0000

There are many aspects of the behaviour of the current Burlington Council that should cause concern to the City’s citizens. For me personally the most serious and perhaps the most ironic is the lack of transparency that attends Council’s deliberations and decision making. The most serious – because without necessary transparency both accountability and public awareness are made much more difficult, almost impossible. The most ironic – because Meed Ward ran her campaign on populist principles that stressed a completely open government in which citizens became true partners in the process of governance. Indeed, prior to assuming office, she was given a well articulated and sequenced program of initiatives to open the doors and windows of fortress City Hall. But only now as the 2022 election nears are we seeing disconnected and minor pieces brought forward for display. There is a great deal of difference between campaign rhetoric and the dynamics of governing. This Council has been one of the most “closed” in the City’s history and many citizens have lost both interest and faith. The City Clerk, City Manager and Head of Legal Services are all directly complicit.

Comments on: Burlington Goes on a Spending Spree—Behind Closed Doors

By: Jim Young

By: Blair Smith