Recently city council voted 11 to two to
increase the salary of our CAO. Councillors Lynne Reynolds and
Andre Rivest were the two no votes.
I have to admit that the outcome of the
contract negotiations, nor the vote surprised me very
much.
What did surprise me though was the reaction
of Councillor Ron Dupuis who attacked Reynolds for not
supporting the pay increase.
For him to accuse her of "pandering" to the
public is rather odd, since the entire foundation of the job of
a councillor is to listen to the public, and accordingly be the
voice of the public in council chambers.
If Reynolds is "pandering" to the public,
then I wonder who Dupuis and the rest of council "are
pandering" to.
We are continuing to see higher taxes, with
more increases expected next year, lower service levels, fewer
staff, and an increasingly frustrated public.
We are going in the wrong direction. We are
constantly reminded of the fragile fiscal situation at city
hall and to watch them, time and time again, put good money
after bad is worrisome to say the least.
I really wonder about the collective
leadership, or lack thereof, at city hall when common sense
loses out so often to the old "don't rock the boat"
mentality.
I'm sure that being contrary to a majority
wish is not easy. But sometimes the right thing to do can also
be the hardest thing to do. It's time for our councillors to
stand up for their constituents and start making the tough
decisions. The citizens of Greater Sudbury deserve nothing
less.
Fern Cormier
Sudbury