What's in Santa's Sack for Newmarket Council

Has your Newmarket Council been naughty or nice in 2015?  Let's take a peak inside Santa's sack to see what will be waiting for them on Christmas morning.

Mayor Tony Van Bynen - with his popularity at a low ebb at the moment, Santa has decided to give the Mayor a Donald Trump comb-over.  It will stop all those mean spirited Montgomery Burns comparisons.  

Regional Councillor John Taylor - Santa has the shiniest silver star with the word "Deputy" engraved on it because people just simply forget that he is also the Deputy Mayor and Mayor Tony's right-hand man. 

Ward 1 Councillor Tom Vegh - Santa is bringing Councillor Vegh the invoice for his $1,000 stay at the Toronto Delta Hotel last January.  Really Councillor Tom, why did you stick this bill with the taxpayers?

Ward 2 Councillor Dave Kerwin - a cord of chopped wood for his fireside chats. 

Ward 3 Councillor Jane Twinney - Santa remembers the time when Ms. Twinney was candidate in 2010 she used to remind everyone that then-Councillor Victor Woodhouse didn't live in his ward.  This Christmas, Santa is bringing Councillor Jane some change of address postcards.

Ward 4 Councillor Tom Hempen - Santa is bringing a list of complaints from his tenants for work that needs to be done.  He is also bringing Councillor Tom a map with X's marking where he owns rental properties so Councillor Tom doesn't forget the ones that are located in the Davis Drive intensification area.

Ward 5 Councillor Joe Sponga - what Councillor Joe needs most of all is a calendar with the dates of upcoming council meetings, committee of the whole, and workshops circled in red.  Councillor Joe missed quite a few of these dates in 2015.

Ward 6 Councillor Kelly Broome Plumley - Santa would like to bring Councillor Kelly a gift but she seems to have gone missing. Last term, then Ward 6 councillor Maddie Di Muccio was always in the making news and getting results. This term, nobody knows where the new Ward 6 councillor is.  So Santa has filed a missing persons report with the police.  If you have seen Councillor Kelly, please let Santa know. 

Ward 7 Councillor Christina Bisanz - With the news that the local riding is splitting into two and signs that current MPP Chris Ballard is pondering a run for the Mayor of Aurora, Santa is bringing Councillor Christina a second shot at the Liberal nomination for Newmarket Aurora in 2018. 

You don't have the right to yell "Fire" in a crowded theatre

The comments Newmarket-Aurora MPP Chris Ballard made earlier regarding a developer in Aurora were completely out of line. Ballard made allegations that were reckless, unsubstantiated and not becoming of someone who sits in the Ontario Legislature.

To put his words in context, imagine a judge saying before a trial begins, "I'm gonna to find him guilty and then I'm gonna sentence him to hang." Ballard's words were just as prejudicial.

And earlier this month, I took Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen to task for saying "Failed candidates have no constituency" in reference to a member of the public who was speaking on electing the York Regional Chair. No elected official should denigrate any citizen for engaging in the political process. Van Bynen's remarks were arrogant and wrong.

But sometimes I need to point out that citizens cross the line too. We all have the right to complain about our politicians. We can even use hyperbole and overkill in our complaints. But there is a line a citizen shouldn't cross.

For example, a citizen should never say:

Chris Campbell‏@ChrisMayor2018
At the moment I do not recognize the legitimacy of @TonyVanBynen as Mayor @TownofNewmarket over questions on salary cover up 1/2

Words like these cross the line into sedition. Sedition occurs when someone's speech incites contempt for lawful authority. Whatever you may think of Tony Van Bynen as a politician, you should never publicly doubt that he was lawfully elected by the people of Newmarket. You must always recognize the legitimacy of his position.

When someone says he doesn't recognize the legitimacy of a duly elected official, he shows a contempt for our democracy.

Further, a citizen should never make the following claims:

Darryl Wolk‏@darrylwolk
Tony lied on Davis costs. Tony lied on jobs created. Tony lied on his own salary. 2016 TIME TO RESIGN @TONYVANBYNEN! #FailedMayor #Corrupt

When a citizen makes such an allegation, he crosses the line into libel. Libel occurs when someone writes a malicious, false statement about another. In this case, allegations of lying and corruption are written to make us feel contemptuous towards the Mayor of Newmarket.

I would be very surprised and extremely disappointed if the Mayor didn't take legal action. I say this, not because I care about his personal reputation, but I care very much about the office he holds. As Mayor, Van Bynen represents Newmarket. If he allows these words to be written without consequences, then the Town of Newmarket will be smeared with false allegations of corruption and lying.

I remind readers that this Mayor went to extreme lengths in 2013 using the full might of his administration with Kangaroo Court proceedings against a political rival. At the time, I described his actions as political opportunism. If the Mayor does nothing regarding Wolk then I'll be proven right.

Finally, for anyone who thinks that Wolk and Campbell would have done anything different that the current Mayor, consider this response from Campbell when asked how he would change things:

Chris Campbell‏@ChrisMayor2018
@RockNRollCroll @darrylwolk I'd review the process & policy first & appoint an external body to determine pay

Anybody that follows Council closely knows that in 2008 - 2009, Newmarket Council did exactly that. In fact, Tom Hempen and Jane Twinney won their seats thanks to claims that that their opponents voted themselves pay hikes. (Of course, you would have to live in Newmarket during this time to know this). Allegations that the Town of Newmarket somehow breached the Municipal Act with this pay policy are ridiculous.

Personally, I've always respected former Councillor Maddie Di Muccio's proposal regarding pay. She put forth a motion that Councillor's pay be changed as follows:

1. Remove the tax free portion of the pay. If Councillors earn $47,000 then they should pay income taxes on that full amount. (Right now, Councillors only pay income tax on 2/3 of their pay).

2. For every percentage tax increase, Council members should receive a reciprocal percentage pay decrease. If taxes are increased by 4%, then Council members would receive a 4% pay decrease as an incentive to balance their books.

When these ideas were tabled, the other Council members reacted with an opposition that I've never seen before. Councillor Twinney even left the chambers in tears because she was so distraught at the thought of being personally accountable .

But a merit pay system of salary tied to fiscal goals of town remains an excellent idea and a positive alternative comparing the pay of our council members to other municipalities.

Results for Ward 6 - Together? Not really.

Earlier this month, I wrote this post about the Tom Taylor Crescent to Yonge Street path connection in this blog post http://nwkttownhall.blogspot.ca/2015/12/councillor-broome-plumley-is-taking.html

The question of this path sailed smoothly through the Committee of the Whole meeting with just a few perfunctory questions about the proposed "Option 2".  Councillor Broome Plumley bragged about her success in this November 30th blog post here: http://kellybroome-plumley.blogspot.ca/2015/11/2015-regarding-proposed-trail-from.html

At the time, I was alone in voicing opposition to the $630,000 price tag associated with the construction of this approximately 200 meter path.

So you could have knocked me over with a feather last night when one Council member after another flip-flopped from supporting the path in the Committee of the Whole to opposing it at the Council meeting.

The reason for opposing the path is easy.  It's ridiculously expensive.  And to their credit, Councillors Twinney, Bisanz, Hempen, and Vegh did a good job expressing the obvious shortcoming with the proposed plan.

To counter this argument, Ward 6 Councillor Kelly Broome-Plumley meekly protested, "It's what the residents want."

That seems to be the consensus among the supporters of this path.  Regional Councillor Taylor and Ward 2 Councillor Dave Kerwin both stated that their support derived from what the residents want.

But as one area resident pointed out to me last night, most residents don't appear to support the $630,000 "Option 2" path.  There was a petition presented to Council in August 2014 that states residents don't want this trail at all.

Respecting what these residents wanted, that was the position the former Ward 6 Councillor, Maddie Di Muccio, took into Council chambers in mid August 2014.  Consulting with and then representing the viewpoints of constituents is what a councillor is supposed to do.

So how did Councillor Broome-Plumley become so disconnected from her constituents just a year after she was elected?  When did she stop listening to what her constituents wanted and start speaking for what other interests wanted instead?

I wrote about Kelly Broome-Plumley being a Manchurian candidate over a year ago.  Those who donated to her campaign paid large sums of money to ensure her loyalty and she has delivered her vote in council to their agenda at every turn.

What Councillor Broome-Plumley discovered last night is that loyalty doesn't extend both ways.  She can not count on Council to support her in the initiatives she wants to pass as yesterday Council failed to support her proposed plan for the path.

This path was supposed to be a major accomplishment for Councillor Broome-Plumley but today she has egg on her face.  She didn't listen to what the residents wanted and her allies showed they weren't loyal to her.

Councillor Broome-Plumley likes to end her blog posts with this tagline:  RESULTS FOR WARD 6 - TOGETHER

After last night, that tagline does not jive with Councillor Broome-Plumley's track record.

Hopefully everyone will learn their lesson and start listening to what the residents want.  It is time to put this path proposal in the dustbin and move on to more important initiatives.

However, my fear is that the gruesome-twosome are determined to see this path constructed and the area residents will eventually get saddled with something nobody wants, (save for the gruesome-twosome).

A Newmarket twist to the classic 12 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, Council gave to me -

Broadband internet for Tony.

On the second day of Christmas, Council gave to me - 
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the third day at Christmas, Council gave to me - 
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony

On the fourth day of Christmas, Council gave to me - 
Four percent tax increase.
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the fifth day of Christmas, Council gave to me -

Five months Old Town Hall delays

Four percent tax increase.
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the sixth day of Christmas, Council gave to me -
Six councillors sleeping

Five months Old Town Hall delays

Four percent tax increase.
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the seventh day of Christmas, Council gave to me - 
Seven charity photo-ops
Six councillors sleeping

Five months Old Town Hall delays

Four percent tax increase.
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the eighth day of Christmas, Council gave to me - 
Eight Deputy Mayor titles
Seven charity photo ops
Six councillors sleeping

Five months Old Town Hall delays

Four percent tax increase.
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the ninth day of Christmas, Council gave to me - 
Nine Main St parking spots (but three were built on private property - whoops)
Eight Deputy Mayor titles
Seven charity photo-ops
Six councillors sleeping

Five months Old Town Hall delays

Four percent tax increase.
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the tenth day of Christmas, Council gave to me - 
Top ten places to live in Canada (or did we come in thirty-first place?)
Nine Main St parking spots
Eight Deputy Mayor titles
Seven charity photo ops
Six councilors sleeping

Five months Old Town Hall delays

Four percent tax increase.
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Council gave to me - 
An 11% increase on my water bill
Top ten places to live in Canada
Nine Main St parking spots
Eight Deputy Mayor titles
Seven charity photo ops
Six councillors sleeping

Five months Old Town Hall delays

 Four percent tax increase
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Council gave to me - 
Twelve months of Nwkt Town Hall blog topics
An 11% increase on my water bill
Top ten places to live in Canada
Nine Main St parking spots
Eight Deputy Mayor titles
Seven charity photo ops
Six councillors sleeping

Five months Old Town Hall delays

 Four percent tax increase
Three brief words from Kelly,
Too many missed meetings, and
Broadband internet for Tony.


Merry Christmas Newmarket!

Is Newmarket sponsorship a cash cow or money pit?

This is a photo from the Era's web page which shows two Town of Newmarket supervisors - Stephanie Dryiw (Supervisor of Marketing and Sponsorship, Recreation & Culture) and Colin Service (Supervisor, Marketing and Sponsorship).  You can read the article via this link.

Ms. Dryiw isn't listed on the latest Sunshine list but Mr. Service is and his 2014 salary is listed at $124,484.98.

Being supervisors, we can assume each has direct reports below them.  In the private sector, it's typical for a supervisor to have in the range of 10 employees.  I don't know what ratio the Town of Newmarket uses but let's lowball and say 5 employees per supervisor.  That makes the "Marketing and Sponsorhip" team 10 employees plus 2 supervisors.

If Mr. Service makes $124,000 then for a similar job, Ms. Dryiw must be making very close to $100,000 annually.  Let's say that the average of the 10 employees is $35,000 annually too.  This would make the department's payroll in the range of $550,000.

To be financially viable, the department would have to bring in at a minimum two to one ratio of sponsorship dollars versus expenses.  Anything less than that makes the exercise not worthwhile.   Pretend that there is no additional expenses other than salary, then you would be looking at $1,100,000 in sponsorship money annually.  That means each of the 60 donors getting awards would have to sponsor events to the tune of just under $20,000 on average.

Here is a photo of all the sponsors:


Outside of Magna and Metro, I don't see others on this list who could afford a commitment of $20,000 annually.  (Remember what a big deal the Town made of the dog park sponsors who agreed to $5,000 annually?).

Our Town Councillors talk about sponsorship money as a potential revenue source but from what I can see, the exercise has been a complete failure.

Town Council promised the dog park would be paid for by sponsors.  It wasn't.

Town Council promised that the increased cost associated with the Old Town Hall would be paid by sponsors.  Where is that money?  

And when it comes to naming the Riverwalk Commons or ice rinks, I think that we're seeing corporate naming rights doled out at cut rates in order to preserve the facade that this sponsorship initiative is working out.

It's time to cut bait and save taxpayers the expense.

Unless, of course, the real reason for this program isn't revenue.  Maybe it's photo ops?

Why hasn't economic growth returned to Newmarket?

Earlier this year, York Region Council released a report stating that between the years 2010 and 2014, the economy in the Town of Newmarket created 100 jobs in all. This "growth" lagged well behind all other of York's nine municipalities, including those with a much lower population than ours.

Mayor Van Bynen fumed. He said publicly that this report couldn't be right and in the end he got York Region Council to revise its numbers to 500 jobs in all. Even that number was a paltry result when compared to the other York Region lower tier municipalities.

The question remains, if 2010-2014 was such a disaster, what is being done now to change this course?

We have a new Member of Parliament who sits on the government side of the house.

We have a new Member of Provincial Parliament who also sits on the government side of the house.

We have an united Town Council without any divisions in the ranks. Members of this Council are extremely tight with the Provincial and Federal level members, like never before.

Yet despite all the political cohesion between all levels of government, where are the jobs for Newmarket?

It's not a matter that Newmarket residents don't pay enough taxes to support growth initiatives. Our taxes have risen beyond the level of inflation for 10 years straight. Our mill rate sits at the second highest in York Region. Even though we lead in paying taxes, our economic growth trails everyone else.

It's not a matter that Newmarket Council isn't in sync with the Chamber of Commerce. These two groups couldn't be tighter. In fact, at the 2014 Chamber of Commerce debate for Mayor and Regional Councillor, the Chamber's president/moderator was likely the biggest supporter of the incumbent Van Bynen, Taylor campaigns, plus other members of Council too. Council and Newmarket Chambers absolutely adore each other.

It certainly isn't the fact that we don't invest public money into various businesses in town. The grants are there, even though they tend to flow towards supporters of Council first. Crony capitalism and corporate welfare are a way of life in Newmarket. It wasn't always this way, but Mayor Van Bynen has entrenched "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" as a way business gets done in this town.

We certainly have our own Newmarket Economic Development Advisory Committee (NEDAC) too. I can't tell you what this committee actually does because the committee has only met twice (once in October 2015 and then in November 2015) and the minutes of these meetings have not been published.

We seem to have all the necessary ingredients in place already. So why has our economy stalled while all the neighbouring towns and cities around us are booming?

Could one ingredient be missing?

LEADERSHIP

Without that, the jobs will never come to Newmarket.

They were elected but will they show up?

Despite the fact that sitting on Newmarket Council is considered part time work, I am still hesitant to write about attendance at council related meetings as a measure of a council member doing his or her job.

We've seen in the past Council members who have a perfect attendance record yet they contribute so little towards the debate of issues that their attendance doesn't matter.  What's the point to being at a meeting if the council member doesn't contribute anything?

Conversely, we have seen council members who have missed a couple of meetings but their commitment towards their constituents could not be doubted.  These members are engaged in debates, table motions, and come to every meeting prepared for the business at hand.

And yet, attendance can be a measure of the council member's attitude towards the important work before the town.  Attending or not attending meetings is one facet of a council member's job and I recognize that there is work being done outside of these meetings.  But the work done outside of the meeting isn't being recorded by anyone whereas we have records to refer to regarding attendance at meetings.

We should be able to reasonably extrapolate that a member of council who regularly skips meetings may not be particularly attentive to other aspects of their job.  After all, if you don't show up when people notice you are absent, how can you convince anyone that you are working hard at the other times?

Here is a summary of meetings scheduled in 2015 for Newmarket Council:

• Council meetings:  12 meetings (but 10 have minutes posted on line)
• Committee of the Whole meetings:  13 meetings (but 11 have minutes posted on line)
• Special Council meetings:  5 meetings (but 4 have minutes posted on line)
• Council Workshops:  11 meetings (but 10 have minutes posted on line)

So over a twelve month period, there are approximately 41 council meetings (or about one per week with the summer months scheduled off).

For the purpose of my review, I am only considering the meetings with minutes posted on line.  Therefore my review will only consider 35 meetings in all.  I am only considering absences but during some of these meetings, a council member may have arrived late or left early.  For the purpose of my review, those instances are considered "in attendance".  

Of the 35 meetings, the Mayor and Councillor Broome-Plumley have perfect attendance in 2015.  

Council members Bisanz, Kerwin and Taylor have missed 6% of these meetings.

Councillor Vegh missed 9% of this year's meetings

Councillors Twinney and Hempen missed 20% of the scheduled meetings.

And Councillor Sponga has missed 26% of the meetings.  

Newmarket residents interested in determining how well these politicians are serving the community should look at absenteeism as a problem.  I know many of my readers are managers or business owners.  How tolerant are you of an employee who misses work once every 4 or 5 days?  What if 33% of your employees were absent from work at this rate?  Could your workplace manage with this kind of absenteeism?

In the case of Newmarket Council, it is a rare occasion when all 9 members are present at any given meeting.  On a frequent basis, two or more council members are not present while important issues are being reviewed and key votes are being missed.  

Out of curiosity, I looked at the Library Board and the Central York Fire Services committees because they drive a large portion of the Town's budget each year.  As luck would have it, Councillor Sponga sits on both of these important committees.  

Between them, the Library and CYFS committees have met 18 times this year but only 15 meetings have minutes posted on line.  Councillor Sponga missed 7 of the 15 minuted meetings for a 47% absenteeism rate. 

Councillor Broome Plumley is taking care of (her employers') business

Over a year ago, I wrote this blog about the candidature of Ward 6 Councillor Kelly Broome-Plumley:  Click Here

The allegation was simple: Who arranged for Councillor Broome-Plumley to have a "fully funded" campaign (as others have alleged) and what did they expect to receive in return?

As far as I know, Kelly Broome-Plumley has never spoken about how much money she raised.  The sum far in away exceeded all others who ran for a ward council position.

From my observations, Councillor Broome-Plumley votes in tandem with the Mayor and Regional Councillor at every opportunity.  The evidence of her voting record can be found here:  Click Here  Newmarket Councillors will vote a dozen or more times on various items each meeting.  In approximately one year worth of voting, Councillor Broome-Plumley has been "in favour" of almost everything placed before her.  She has only voted against items on 5 occasions in total.  Even these "Opposed" votes were cast with her allies.

If the gruesome-twosome were looking for someone to rubber-stamp their agenda then the election of Kelly Broome-Plumley has been a resounding success.  In this past year, we've seen tax hikes, service cuts, user fees increase, water rates rise, and less municipal government transparency.  So while the Mayor and Regional Councillor may be "winning" with Kelly Broome-Plumely at their side, taxpayers of Newmarket have been on a crushing "losing" streak for quite some time.

Outside of Council meetings, Councillor Broome-Plumley sits on just one town committee.  This may shock residents of Ward 6 because as a candidate for election, Ms Broome-Plumley was quite critical of the half-dozen committees her predecessor participated in.  At the time, Broome-Plumley declared that was too few.

I could not find any community groups or other initiatives organized by the Councillor in the past year.

Nor could I find anywhere in the Era newspaper where she was quoted any issues relating to the town's operation or strategic plans for the future.

She has lead two initiatives in Council this term.

1)  The outdoor skating rink at Whipper Billy Watson Park located just around the corner from her home; and
2)  A walking trail connecting Yonge Street to Rita's Place

Both involved controversies.

The skating rink was given a single-sourced advertising agreement awarded to Ms. Broome Plumley's employer.  No other business or community group was allowed to bid on advertising for this rink which featured large signs being posted within the public park promoting Ms. Broome-Plumley's employer.

The walking trail she promoted will cost us almost double what was originally planned for a less accessible trail involving more destruction of trees, extensive grading, and too small for usual maintenance measures.

Want to guess the reason why we are spending approximately $630,000 on this trail as opposed to the $305,000 budgeted in 2014?

It turns out a big wig at Snap'd, which has employed Councillor Broome-Plumley's husband in the past (including these photos published in Snap'd last year:  Click Here)  owns one the homes that neighbours this proposed trail.

Oh, and did I mention that the Town of Newmarket was also going to hand over, free of charge and paying all related legal fees, a few meters of land to each of these same home owners?

And to top it all off, Councillor Broome-Plumley thanks this Snap'd big wig in her blog yesterday, for "her leadership role in speaking for her neighbours and helping us come to a plan we can all be proud of."

How does spending more than double the original planned amount and giving away public land in the process while destroying natural habitat become a plan "we can all be proud of?"

Well it's true if Councillor Broome-Plumley's definition of "we" is exclusive to her alliance with Van Bynen, Taylor, and her employers.

The taxpayers and residents of Ward 6?

We're not included within Councillor Broome-Plumley's version of "we".