Hunt For White Whale Continues...

The word on the street is that Mayor Paul Tomlinson has been grilling the town staff in an effort to find out who received a copy of the 2013 draft budget. Apparently, Tomlinson's monomania over the Concerned Citizens of Kearney blog hasn't abated any and he's now declaring that whoever was given a copy of the budget (available online) "must be the blog".

Which tells us that Tomlinson has never really had a clue as to who the editors of the blog are but is going to continue to lob wild accusations like hand-grenades in the hope that something horrible might happen to someone he thinks deserves it.

In the meantime, Tomlinson seems to have forgotten all about stuff like photocopiers and email which means that we can expect another poor schmuck will likely end up on the Proudfoot hit list just because he or she dared to take an interest in the town's finances.

Are you surprised?

Budget 2013: It Gets Worse!

If you've had a chance to review the 2013 Draft Budget, you will have noticed that a new format has been introduced which makes it extremely difficult to compare it with the 2012 Budget. The rationale may be for efficiency purposes however when you start to look more closely, you can see that there are many devils in the reformatted details.

It will take a little longer to work through this latest bundle of smoke and mirrors, but here are some troubling observations:

As we mentioned, the Kearney Library will lose all funding in 2013 (Budget page 10). The Library is told they can use “accumulated surplus” (Proudfootese for Reserve Funds) for 2013. So what happens in 2014?

Meanwhile Council is giving itself a pay raise of 21.8% raising their honorariums from $41,067 to $50,000. This will be this Council's third pay raise since taking office!

Municipal property taxes will increase by .4%. This is better than the 9.5% reductions in the last two budgets but it doesn’t even cover inflation. The Proudfoot bunch is keeping their commitment of reducing taxes at any cost. Low taxes always sounds good in a media sound-bite but the impact is to kill the library, kill Lions Park facilities, kill community festivals, kill jobs, kill the spirit of Kearney. Some day there will have to be a massive tax increase when the next council tries to bring Kearney back from the dead.

But the property tax story gets even worse. Total Taxation Revenue (Page 1) only increases by $13,527 while Education Levies increase by $23,849. In other words, the Town’s portion of property tax revenue goes down in 2013 by $10,322.00. This means the Town is not collecting enough to cover education taxes, which are set by the Province. The Town is obligated to collect a certain amount of education taxes as determined by the Province. Pretending that the line on tax increases is being held at little or no change, while this Council is subsidizing the shortfall out of municipal funds (at the expense of local programs and services) is disgusting. $10,322.00 of your tax dollars, that were supposed to fund things like the library are being slipped to the Province under the table.

We will leave things at this point for now. There is a great deal to fathom regarding the mismanagement of our tax-dollars, and it is becoming abundantly clear that the 2013 Draft Budget is fraught with deception and misuse of funds. Again, so the Proudfoot Bunch can cater to their masters.

Are you surprised?

Budget Committee to Kill Library Funding. Town Debt to Increase

The Kearney Budget Committee is in the process of developing the 2013 budget. We have had an opportunity to review the draft and our preliminary findings are not only disappointing in terms of sound financial planning but very alarming in terms of fundamental principles being violated.  We will be doing a more thorough analysis over the next few weeks, but here are some preliminary concerns:

• Operating Revenue the same or probably less from 2012 to 2013. See next point.
• Tax rate increase of 3% doesn’t meet average property assessment decrease of 5%. In other words, the tax rate will go up but property owners will still pay less because of the new assessments, so the Town will receive less revenue.
• Town debt increased by $200,000 because a loan is required for bridge repairs in 2013. In the past, bridge (and other infrastructure) repairs have been covered by Reserve Funds but they've already been depleted to pay for shortfalls in 2011 and 2012.
• A 2012 deficit is projected in spite of drawing from Reserve Funds to balance the 2012 Budget.
• For the third year in a row, nothing is budgeted to go into Reserve Funds in 2013, which will mean more borrowing for repairs to other infrastructure.
• We still have a $100,000/year CBO who only brings in about $28,000 in building permit and inspection revenues.
• And the list goes on.

But, one of the most alarming changes in the 2013 Budget is the removal of the entire funding for the Kearney Library. The Town of Kearney has always funded the operation of the Kearney Library and because of that, we have an up to-date, well managed library with healthy Reserve Funds for new books, new equipment, children's educational programs, etc.

In 2012, the Town’s funding for the Kearney Library was $25,360.00. For 2013, the library's funding will be ZERO! The Budget Committee's solution: The Kearney Library will just have to pay for its 2013 operating costs by using the library’s Reserve Funds. Of course, the Budget Committee doesn’t refer to it as the "Reserve Funds" in the budget. Instead they try to hide it with another of their usual flim-flams and list it as the “library accumulated surplus". If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance...

You may not always agree with what you read here but if there is one cause everyone needs to pay attention to it is the preservation of the Kearney Library. You need to speak up and make your voice heard. The 2013 Budget is still in its draft stage. Tell Council they need to stop this madness while there's still time. Stop the catering to special interest groups on the backs of the townspeople and our children!

We are already losing our Community Festivals and the beautiful pavilion at Lions Park. We cannot allow our library to die as well!

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

2013 BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING

THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN KEARNEY

2013 BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING

Senior’s Room, 8 MAIN STREET, KEARNEY

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

10:00 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Don't get your hopes up.

Duck Lake Development – Update

As you may recall, in 2002/2003 the Duck Lake Development Project was halted when the Grass & Loon Lake Residents Group, among others, appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to kill the project. Well, the Duck Lake Development Project is back, and the Town of Kearney was officially notified by letter in July 2012.

At the November 9th council meeting, regarding the Duck Lake Project, Mayor Paul Tomlinson and Councillor Steve Sainsbury declared a conflict of interest as they are both founding members and former directors of the Grass and Loon Lake Residents Group. Councillor Barry Dingwall, also a former member and director of the GLLRG, did not declare a conflict of interest. Instead, Dingwall led the discussion at the council table and managed to draw in the Town to pay for legal counsel involvement for the upcoming OMB Hearing on December 06, 2012.

Except there was no OMB Hearing on December 6th. It was a Pre-hearing Teleconference, specifying the parties involved. The Town of Kearney was not identified as an involved party but thanks to Councillor Dingwall, the Town's legal counsel participated. Unnecessarily and paid for by the Kearney taxpayer. Apparently, the Town has money to burn if it benefits the Proudfoot Four.

Also, to the moderator’s obvious surprise, Councillor Dingwall entered the teleconference and identified himself as “Councillor and seasonal resident”. Hmm... What does that mean?

Let’s look at the facts:

1. Tomlinson opposes the Duck Lake Project because it is across the road from his house.
2. Tomlinson forms the GLLRG specifically to oppose the Duck Lake Project. Tomlinson is President.
3. At November 9th council meeting, Tomlinson declares a conflict of interest.
4. Councillor Sainsbury is also a former director of the GLLRG so at November 9th council meeting, Sainsbury declares a conflict of interest.
5. Councillor Dingwall is also a former director of the GLLRG but at November 9th meeting Dingwall DOES NOT DECLARE a conflict of interest.
6. Councillor Dingwall participates in the November 9th council discussion, ropes in the town's lawyer, and unnecessarily attends the December 6th teleconference.

Now we hate to be critical of poor old Councillor Dingwall, but how blatantly stupid and arrogant is this latest transgression? We hope that the principals for the Duck Lake Project take note that Councillor Dingwall appears to have violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act and, like Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, if pursued through the courts, could be forced to forfeit his seat at the council table.

Also note that both Mayor Tomlinson and Councillor Sainsbury may have also violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act since Mayor Tomlinson expressed his opposition to the Duck Lake Project in a July 2012 issue of the Almaguin News. And Tomlinson and Sainsbury, having excused themselves from the November 9th Meeting, because of their conflict, held their own private meeting in the hallway and continued to discuss the Duck Lake/OMB issue.

If the GLLRG remains opposed to the Duck Lake project through the current process, you can be fairly certain that the former GLLRG directors now on council will do everything they can to influence the Town’s position to oppose the project. Any discussions these members of council have, or have-had, or will have, while on council is in violation of the Conflict of Interest Act, Section 5.
Stay tuned, there is bound to be more.

Kearney needs an Intergity Commissioner

In 2006, the Municipal Act was amended to add a new part, entitled "Accountability and Transparency". This authorized municipal councils to establish a code of conduct for members of Council and town committees. Municipal councils also have the power to pass by-laws respecting accountability and transparency of the municipality and its operations that would make clear the ethical behaviour expected of members.

Each municipal council is also empowered to appoint an Integrity Commissioner who reports to Council and is responsible for independent oversight of Council and committees with respect to the code of conduct, rules and policies governing their ethical behaviour.

The municipality and its local committees are required to give the Integrity Commissioner any information necessary for an inquiry. The Integrity Commissioner also has free access to all books, accounts, financial records, electronic data processing records, reports, files, and all other papers, things or property belonging to or used by the municipality for an inquiry. The Integrity Commissioner must preserve secrecy, but at the same time, the municipality is required to ensure that reports received from the Integrity Commissioner are made available to the public.

The most important function of the Integrity Commissioner is to educate members of Council with respect to ethical conduct.

We've reported time and time again on the blatantly unethical behaviour of Kearney's current council. Everything from waiving fees and environmental impact studies for campaign contributors, to violating rules of conduct, failing to declare conflicts of interest, (or declaring a conflict, then acting in conflict anyway), and on and on.

The Town of Kearney desperately needs is an Integrity Commissioner. If Council can afford to hire their own "Ombudsman" so they'll not longer be answerable to the Provincial Ombudsman (a free service), then lets also see an Integrity Commissioner. It's a part-time position for cities like Toronto, so Kearney's "as needed" costs would be minimal.

But sadly, all our tax dollars are going to a full-time CBO (who, according to several witnesses, spends his shifts shopping in Huntsville or napping in his truck) and a private "Ombudsman" who will sue you for costs if you file a complaint against Mayor Tomlinson and his chums. Meanwhile, Council (aka The Proudfoot Four) has cut the rink attendantjob, a Fire Service job, and is planning to eliminate the Operations Managerjob, because, according to Mayor Tomlinson, "the time has come where we can’t do the services we used to do."

No surprise there.

More service cuts for Kearney

“Perhaps the time has come where we can’t do the services we used to do” - KEARNEY MAYOR PAUL TOMLINSON

The above is a quote taken from the Almaguin News article of November 15, 2012, “Management job remains unfilled”. It seems that Budget Coordinator Councillor Wadsworth and Mayor Paul Tomlinson, faced with huge operational deficits in 2011 and 2012, are now pondering the possibility of not replacing the Operations Manager, a vacancy left by Dean Hall.

As you have been reading in the Almaguin News and on the Concerned Citizens of Kearney Blog, Tomlinson and the Proudfoot Four have boxed themselves into a corner with nowhere to run or hide. They reduced the property tax rate in 2011 and 2012 to the point the Town does not have enough revenue to meet its operational obligations. For 2011 and 2012, the solution has been to take the shortfall out of Reserves or cut the much needed roads reconstruction program.

Well, 2013 is looming and the Town’s revenues are still falling short of meeting operational needs, and the Reserves are just about gone. So now, Tomlinson and Wadsworth have few options still open to them; raise taxes or cut services.

Raising taxes would be an open admission that this council has deliberately put this Town into a financial hole to “cut taxes at any cost”. Tomlinson and Wadsworth don’t want to let the tax cut promise go just yet so they are now considering further cuts to services. Yes, further cuts. The nice heated washrooms, built by the Kearney Lions Club) at Lions Park are closed to save money. In their place are 2 lovely yellow and purple porta-potties, also financed by the Kearney Lions Club. Probably doen’t matter because there is nobody to look after the rink this winter.

Our beautiful walking trails are strewn with fallen trees and nobody to clean them up. Our volunteers have walked away in disgust from economic development, town beautification, and good roads management. Our roads are deteriorating at a rapid rate and we now have residents billing the Town for lost business and safety violations.

The sidewalks on Main Street will see another winter without snow removal. Getting property owners to clear in front of their properties turned out to be illegal and it is just a matter of time when someone takes a serious fall and the town is faced with a huge lawsuit.

The only thing Kearney now has in abundance is stupidity. We still have a $100,000+/year Chief Building Official (CBO) who continues his ludicrous and illegitimate septic inspection program in hope of nailing some poor souls for Building Code violations. What will he do this winter when sceptics are covered with snow and he will have no excuse to trespass? Of course, there are those businesses in Kearney that are trying to open or expand and the CBO has been very diligent in finding ways to prevent that.

Mayor Tomlinson and Councillors swore a Declaration of Office upon taking Office in 2010 to “truly, faithfully, and impartially exercise this office to the best of my knowledge and ability” and “I will disclose any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect in accordance with the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act”. This is so blatantly laughable if it wasn’t so tragic. Mayor Tomlinson has been asked by his own council to resign. Mayor Tomlinson has been censured by his own Council.

Recently we have seen many Mayors in Canada forced to vacate their Offices or they are being investigated for misconduct. Unfortunately, the Town of Kearney does not rank with urban misconducts for media attention, but even then our illustrious Mayor has managed to make the CANADA Section of the Toronto Star with his buffoonery.

Council can’t force Tomlinson out of Office, but at least Council can shut the Mayor up and get rid of our huge CBO cost burden. Please Council, do the right thing as you promised. 

Kearney Residents Demand Compensation

We reported in September that the Town was planning to close Higgins Road for 3 days to replace a culvert. We suggested at the time that this was not a good idea as it obviously placed residents on the far side in jeopardy and would negatively impact on businesses isolated as well. Council's reason for closing Higgins Road completely was because it was cheaper than keeping one side of the roads open while the other side was worked on.

In typical Tomlinson/Proudfoot 4 style, that was of no concern. Remember folks, as a reward to the Proudfoot property owner associations who contributed to their campaigns, the Proudfoot 4 promised to cut property taxes at any cost. The property tax rate was reduced in 2011 and again in 2012, which left the town unable to meet its operating needs in 2011 and forced Council to take $627,000 out of Reserves.

With the Proudfoot Four still forcing tax cuts 2012 opened with the Town of Kearney running another $600,000 deficit. You do the math and that leaves very little left in the original $1.5 million Reserves. Council desperately needed to find ways to trim the 2012 Budget. And they did. They cut the roads reconstruction budget for 2012 and 2013 (contrary to the 2007 “Roads Needs Study”) to save $500,000.

So, to save a few dollars by completely closing Higgins Road for 3 days, Mayor Paul Tomlinson and his Proudfoot gang, including Jim Skelton, who leads the Capital Management Committee, not only placed residents in jeopardy but they hurt affected businesses and our struggling economy. All to save a buck. (Are you surprised?)

Not to worry, Mayor Tomlinson says. According to the Almaguin News article of November 15, 2012, Page 11:

“One letter, written by a local resort owner, indicated that she was told by Mayor Tomlinson and the president of the Grass and Loon Lake association that she would be taken care of, and that they were entitled to compensation, enclosing an invoice of more than $800.”

“Tomlinson denies that he told any resident that they would receive compensation for the inconvenience.”  

“[A] second letter alleges that the town had an 'obligation and duty' legally to leave access to the homes which was ignored. The resident invoiced the town $1,400 and added $28 in interest at 2 percent.”

In addition to placing the public in jeopardy and negatively impacting businesses, the actions of Mayor Tomlinson regarding this matter are so inappropriate as to be astounding.

1) Mayor Tomlinson allegedly promises compensation. The Mayor does not have authority to make that promise and such a promise, without Council approval, is a misappropriation of Town funds.

2) Mayor Tomlinson denies making that promise. Well, I don’t think we have to convince anyone, except maybe the Mayor himself, that Mayor Tomlinson is known to lie whenever and wherever it is convenient to do so.

3) Mayor Tomlinson with Ron Duff, president of the Grass and Loon Lakes Residents Group, are quoted as promising “…that she would be taken care of”. The question here is what council does Tomlinson belong to? The elected Council of the Town of Kearney or the quasi-council that really got the Mayor and his Proudfoot 4 elected: The Council of the Grass and Loon Lakes Residents Group?

4) Mayor Tomlinson completely ignored the needs of disabled residents callously putting some of Kearney's most vulnerable in jeopardy and causing them severe hardship.

Well, we say to the Proudfoot voters: You have been had.

Proudfoot voters allowed the dissolution of the Kearney wards system which allowed the Grass and Loon Lakes Residents Group and the Sand Lake and Area Property Owners Association, and a handful of those you trusted, to seize control of the Town. Sainsbury and Dingwall, supported by Tomlinson and Wadsworth, orchestrated the dissolution of the wards and lo and behold all four now control the current Council. Probably just a coincidence.

Town Council (2010 – 2014) now comprises a majority of Proudfoot members who ignore the real needs of the Town of Kearney and its residents, both seasonal and full-time, rewards their campaign manager and supporters by waiving fees and environmental assessments, reduces taxes while driving Kearney into financial ruin, and paying for a $100,000/year CBO to manage $25,000/year in building permits, while bullying and harassing the elderly and the poor through phony septic system inspections in the hope it will generate revenue by finding Building Code violations. All the while, the Proudfoot elite enjoy tax cuts on their waterfront properties and insist the Proudfoot Four are "a breath of fresh air."

In September, Council voted in a resolution asking Mayor Tomlinson to resign. He refused. Apparently he is not finished doing the damage that the Proudfoot Associations voted him in to do. The resignation request from Council may have been partially in response to a petition with approximately 200 Kearney signatures, submitted to the Town, asking the Mayor to get rid of the prohibitive costs of a full time CBO ($100,000/year) and return the town to a shared CBO service ($35,000/year), or resign. There was no direct response from the Town or the Mayor. (Are you surprised?)

At the same meeting in September, Council voted to “censure” Mayor Tomlinson. This is merely an official reprimand but Council does have the authority to curtail the Mayor's activities. For starters, we would again respectfully suggest that Mayor Tomlinson be prohibited from talking to the media and from issuing any written or oral statements while representing his Office as Mayor, without prior Council approval. If Council took this small action, we would not be reading about Mayor Paul Tomlinson’s lies, false promises, and unilateral actions, and the continuing negative shadow the Mayor casts upon the Town of Kearney.

Dingwall and the Duck Lake issue

As most readers know by now, the Grass and Loon Lakes Residents Group (GLLRG) was created in November 2003 primarily to rally opposition to the Duck Lake townhouse development. Mayor Paul Tomlinson and Councillor Steve Sainsbury were founding members of the GLLRG. Councillor Barry Dingwall wasn't a founding member but served on the GLLRG Board of Directors from 2007.

So Dingwall was a director for several years of an organization created to oppose the "Duck Lake Development". So why didn't Dingwall declare a pecuniary interest, as did Tomlinson and Sainsbury, when the Duck Lake issue was discussed by Council? Dingwall may not have been around in the beginning, but obviously supports the GLLRG's mandate, not just enough to become a member, but to seek and secure a seat on the Board of Directors.

Is Dingwall's failure to declare a conflict of interest illegal? Maybe, maybe not. But it's certainly unethical.

Are you surprised?

Citizen Appreciates Fire Department's Efforts

I would everyone to know of the outstanding work of our very own Kearney Volunteer Fire Team during the wee hours of November 4, 2012.

I was out and about that night and there was a huge fire at the end of Lake Ave in Kearney. I was amazed on the quick response and professionalism of this team. They were amazing to say the least and though the house was not saved surrounding structures were. As far as I know no one was injured and I don't know if anyone was home at the time of the fire.

I hear many b.s. comments about our fire dept but I have a renewed sense of appreciation for the brave men and woman who serve this community for very little in return. The were out all night, I know because when I woke at some point and they were still there.

I can only imagine the stamina needed to perform the tasks they did so late and likely after spending a whole day doing their daily lives either working or working at home. Imagine working all day and late at night your out in cold temperatures battling a fire with smoke, heat, wind and so many other factors.

Next time someone has bad things to say just think about the heroic work these fine upstanding citizens do to help our community, to help save us from tragedies at all hours of the day, 24/7, 365 days a year.

A heart felt thanks goes out to the Kearney Fire and Emergency Services for a fabulous job done and you have the eternal gratitude of so many residents. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the letter! Apparently, the family was home, but everyone got out safely. Our fire-fighters have proven themselves time and time again. It's too bad that Mayor Tomlinson and his minions don't share our appreciation.


And, it's too bad that in The Meanest Little Town, citizens are afraid to sign their names to letters, even the complimentary ones.

Can't Resist

We've been trying really hard to steer away from making fun of Council, or more specifically, the Proudfoot 3.5. But this photo of Council, pulled from the Town of Kearney website, was just too funny to let pass.

BUH?

Town revamps website, again

After 2 years of trying to shame Council into taking action the Town of Kearney is finally revamping its website (instead of just getting rid of the content that encouraged people to visit elsewhere) and Mayor Tomlinson is promising great things. There's still very little about tourism, and nothing much about local businesses, but we shall see. The new look is great, but it's the content that's key.

Help Wanted

After getting rid of Operations Manager Dean Hall, and questioning whether the position was required, the Town of Kearney has decided they need an Operations Manager after all.

Click on image to view full-size.

Reader Mail

Kearney unfortunately has provided itself with justification for Amalgamation - if any other partners would accept. I hope that this Amalgamation option is never considered or deemed necessary.

I expect that Council and staff are aware that the Province set aside 90 Million dollars to facilitate “asset management” in Northern Ontario. Applications for funding to prepare a plan was to be submitted by October 22, 2012. This exercise would be essential for Kearney, as future funding and healthy management is dependent on this exercise.

Asset Management is a combination of management, financial, economic, engineering, operational and best practices applied to physical and human assets with an objective of providing the required level of services in the most cost effective manner. One current estimate is that each and every household in a rural Northern Municipality has a Municipal Asset investment in excess of $100,000.00.

Elwood Varty

Ontario ombudsman André Marin says municipalities ‘shockingly secretive’

From the Toronto Star:

Ontario ombudsman André Marin says the province must put “some teeth” into its government transparency legislation by penalizing municipal councils which break open meeting laws.

Saying “shocking secrecy” exists in some of Ontario’s 444 municipalities, Marin said the government should consider prosecuting councillors and making them face fines or jail time for holding secret meetings. 

Read the entire article here. 

Meanwhile, if you ask Kearney Mayor Paul Tomlinson for his opinion he'll tell you it's "much ado about nothing".

Kearney's Finances - A mid-term report

We are at the midpoint of Kearney council’s term of office and it seems an appropriate time to take stock of where we are and how the 'blog' should continue to serve the community in the most effective way. We have had a lot of fun highlighting the antics of Mayor Paul Tomlinson and the Proudfoot 4, and by doing so, we have helped to increase your awareness of the inappropriate, self-serving, bullying, harassing misdeeds of the Mayor and his gang from Proudfoot.

But recently, we have seen some very encouraging signs that a majority of this council have had enough and have taken very strong steps to put the Mayor in his place; a majority of council has asked for the Mayor’s resignation, has established national awareness of the Mayor’s petulant and childish behaviour, and has censured (reprimanded) the Mayor for bullying and harassment and has sought legal guidance on how to effectively shut the Mayor down. These same members of this council have made a commitment to the people of Kearney that they will follow through, which appears to be happening.

Things have been quite quiet since then which we interpret has a positive sign. However, much damage has been done over the past 2 years and this council will need every resolve to turn things around before this term expires in November 2014.

We, the Concerned Citizens of Kearney Blog Contributors, commit to you that we will continue to monitor and report, but our hope is that we will be able to shift our emphasis more to the positive and constructive as the majority of this council seems determined and committed to move in the right direction.

However, we ain’t there yet, and to kick things off, we are offering our perspective on the town’s financial status, the huge challenges before us, and expectations for 2012.

Kearney’s Financial Status – October 2012

(Reference Budgetary Control Document 30/09/2012)

As you will recall, in March 2012, members of the public discovered that, due to a shortfall in property tax revenue for 2012, the town was running a $600,000 deficit. Council did a lot of scrambling, whittled the deficit down to about $400,000, and blamed the issue on a computer glitch and the previous treasurer. 

In June 2012, the town issued a revised budget which addressed the $400,000 remaining deficit. They balanced books and 'Good news!' you might say. Well maybe, but probably not.

Here are some points to ponder:

1) Revenues/Grants in the 2012 Revised Budget were suddenly increased by $171,825. Where did they come from and why did we wait for a crisis before identifying them between April and June?

2) Other Revenues: 2012 Regatta Revenue budgeted $30,000, actual Revenue only $16,270.83 due to council cancelling the big revenue generator street dance. Regatta 2013 may not have enough funds to continue even if there is a will to do so..

3) Property Tax Revenue: $2,935,460.000, down $3,192.00. Not so bad except the education portion is up $24,378.00 for a total shortfall of the town’s portion of property tax revenue ($2,208,815) by $27,570. This represents a drop of 1.2% in the town’s property tax revenue.

4) Financial Reserves: The town is taking $388,213.00 out of Reserves to fund their 1/3 portion of the Build Canada fund project, such as the Highway 518/Chetwynd Road reconstruction. Remember Phase 3 had to be deferred from 2011 because the town didn’t have enough money in 2011. 2012 will be worse than 2011.

5) The 2011 Audit Report discovered that the town ended up with a funding shortfall of $627,000 which wasn’t budgeted for in 2012, therefore this shortfall came out of reserves. The town’s accessible reserves before this, totalled about $1.5 million. Afterwards, perhaps $1,000,000 in reserves. With the $388,213 taken out as per point above, we are down to about $600,000 in Reserves.

6) Funding Reserves: Every year prior to this Council, a certain amount of funds were put into reserves to build the reserves and to help pay for huge capital costs, such as road reconstruction, bridge replacement (West Bay Bridge), boat ramps and docks, trails, parks, structures, vehicles, emergency equipment, and so on. This council has not only cut all contributions to reserves, they have cancelled capital investment in our roads and bridges which are starting to fall apart, and in 2 short years have managed to undo all the reserve building prior councils have done.

The bottom line with all of this is that in order to balance the 2012 budget, this council will need to virtually deplete the town’s reserves and defer expensive, but critically needed capital programs. Failure to adequately maintain its infrastructure is negligence and as we move forward, this town is coming perilously close to a huge liability exposure, which we cannot afford but will be on the hook to pay.

How did we get into this mess?

Council, for self-serving reasons, cut the property tax rate in 2011 by 9.5%, equivalent to property tax revenue of $237,500. In 2012, council for the same reasons, cut the property tax rate by another 9.5% or approximately $237,500.  By end of 2012, the town is now down in operating revenue by $712,500 plus a cost of living factor (say 2%) of approximately $15,000.

But the news gets worse.

The new property assessments for 2012 are in and the Almaguin News says some property assessments for Kearney are up by 5%. Good news? You decide as the Devil is in the details. 5% phased in over 4 years is 1.25% each year, less than the cost of living increase.

But the news gets worse.

Increased assessments are phased in over 4 years but decreased assessments are implemented immediately, starting with 2012. You've paid your 2012 property taxes but if your 2012 assessment went down, you are entitled to a 2012 tax refund. These decreases in assessments run anywhere from 5 – 15% and higher. If the average decrease in assessments is 5%, then the town needs to cough up $110,440.75 to pay you back. Where will the town get the money to pay you back?

You guessed it – OUT OF RESERVES.

And the news gets even worse.

By cutting taxes in 2011 and 2012 by approximately 25%, depleting reserves to meet operational demands, and deferring critical capital investments, this council has few options remaining. Whether they come clean and say “we have made a big mistake” and then seek professional advice, or once again do a cover-up and blame game, remains to be seen.

However, the positive sign is that the majority of this council has seen the light, they are fed up with the bullsh*t of Tomlinson and Wadsworth, and they will take a strong stand to turn this “Titanic” around.

Kearney is “the Biggest Little Town” but Kearney is not too big to fail.

Please Note:

All of the above is based on publicly available information. If council or Kearney staff disagree with any of the above, we welcome them to provide corrections. We hope Councillor Dingwall will refrain from his standard and completely useless refrain of “IT IS LIES, LIES, LIES” and for a change try offering something intelligent. 

Submitted anonymously.

What happened to the polls?

Until a few days ago we were running three polls:

1. Should Tomlinson, Dingwall, and Sainsbury declare a conflict of interest whenever [Tim Brown's] "Ethical Wealth Corporation" comes to Council looking for favours?
2. Is all of Kearney better off since the abolition of the wards system?
3. Has Mayor Paul Tomlinson worn out his welcome in Kearney?

Then, unexpectedly, the polls all reset themselves to zero. Instead of starting the polling over, we decided that since the numbers had remained constant throughout, we would just let the results stand. We didn't record the exact numbers, but the results were roughly:

Poll 1: 90-95% said YES
Poll 2: 90-95% said NO
Poll 3: 90-95% said YES

We thought about a new poll, "Do you think Tomlinson, Dingwall, or Sainsbury* give a damn what the people of Kearney want?", but we already know the answer to that.

Our thanks to the hundreds who voted!




*Sainsbury has been known to change his tune if he thinks it's politically in his best interest.

Kearney financial woes to get worse

More bad news for Kearney's taxpayers.

MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) is in the process of releasing property assessments for 2013 to 2016 and assessments are down by anywhere between 8% and 16%. At first, this sounds like good news, but it's not. What this means is for the Town of Kearney to collect the same amount of property tax revenue in 2013 as they did in 2012, Council will need to raise the tax rate by 8 - 16% to offset the general decrease in assessments.

This is really bad news because Council reduced the tax rate in 2011 by 9.5% and again in 2012 by another 9.5%. With the cost of living factored in, they have reduced Kearney's tax revenue by about 25%, to the point where the Town can’t pay its bills. In 2011 and 2012, just to make ends meet, Council had to pilfer almost $1.5 million from Reserves and critical road reconstruction. By the end of 2012, there will be nowhere to run.

Kearney is in deep financial trouble and the Proudfoot Three can scream all they want that our blog is a bunch of lies, but if they have a different story to tell you, this is a good time for them to tell it. At the same time, they can tell us what the game plan is for 2013.

Perhaps another Town Hall Meeting is needed.