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.

Reader Mail

Given the many and growing numbers of mean-spirited happenings emanating from The Town of Kearney, Kearney’s new identity can certainly be summed up as the “Meanest Little Town”.

Recently the Town of Kearney lost 3 members of staff; one for poor performance, one as a cost savings cut, and one who just walked away in disgust. The “cost saving” cut was imposed upon a long standing member of the Kearney Fire Department and First Response Team who has been an inspiration to others and her caring approach in helping those in need is beyond words. It will be interesting to see how the Fire Department functions without a Fire Protection Officer, the Fire Department Administrator, and the First Response Captain. This move not only reeks of stupidity, it is just plain meanness. Fortunately one member of staff had the courage to file a complaint against the Mayor for Bullying & Harassment, and that has got the ball rolling to get rid of this mean-spirited, arrogant, nasty, farcical Head of Council.

If the Town of Kearney is so hept on cutting costs, why are we still carrying a CBO that will cost in excess of $250,000 over the 4 year term of council and is busy doing make-work projects like terrorizing our seniors and the elderly, trespassing on people’s properties with the dishonest excuse of a septic inspection program, and killing economic growth. Council has had the good sense to censure the Mayor but there is still evidence that the only tune the CBO dances to is the private misdirection being given by His Worship. When will council start reining in the Mayor and start the CBO packing?

Speaking of the CBO and mean-spiritedness, the young Outfitters couple, who have tried unsuccessfully to expand their Kearney business, have found that for every hurdle they jump, Hess throws up another. A new restaurant wants to open in Kearney but every effort has been foiled by Guess-who. Well, maybe Mr. Hess has barked up the wrong tree this time. And what about the Proudfoot (yes Proudfoot) property owner who requested to see his “building permit” file and was refused by the CBO. WHAT??? It took a Freedom of Information application to get access to the file.

Council and Town Hall Meetings have become a blood sport and the spot light is now on the noble 4, who have taken a brave initiative, to follow through on shutting the Mayor down.

The 2012 Kearney Regatta lost money for the first time in 60 years. Why? Was it cancellation of the street dance, the kids water sports, Battle of the Bands, Kearney Revue, the Northern Lights Steel orchestra. or the consequently very low attendance. Profits from year to year normally fund subsequent years so there is no cost to the tax payers. Through the mean-spirited attitude of Mayor Tomlinson and his ambition to kill the Regatta, the Kearney Regatta is now seriously wounded and may not survive another abysmal year as was 2012. Councillor Wills and her 2 Committee members made a valiant effort against the Tomlinson Tsunami but they too have finally thrown in the towel.

Any masochists out there, who would like to volunteer for lucky 2013?.

And finally, Council has asked Mayor Tomlinson to resign and he has refused. Given the low level of support Tomlinson received in votes and his rapidly diminishing base of Proudfoot support, why is he hanging on? He is viewed as the lowest of the low and if he hopes to reclaim any dignity, he must resign or endure 2 more years or disdain, to be followed forever as a social pariah in the Town of Kearney.

More town staff gone

In order to find funding for their pay increases, a useless full-time CBO, and the tax-cut that the Proudfoot Four promised their Proudfoot backers, Council has fired Operations Manager Dean Hall and eliminated the Fire Prevention Officer position, also putting Captain Kim Harrison out of a job. We predicted this back in November 2010 but our exposé stalled Tomlinson's plan, at least until things got desperate. So, even in tough financial times the Proudfoot Four are going to make sure Proudfoot cottage owners will get their promised tax-cut even if it means taking food off our tables to do it.

Are you surprised?

More reader mail...

Dear Mr. Molnar and the Concerned Citizens of Kearney,

You should be proud of the excellent job you've been doing in keeping the people of Kearney in the loop and helping to empower the Little People. I hate to think of what else Mayor Tomlinson and his friends might have pulled if their antics weren't kept in the light of day. It's funny how we keep reading about the horrible blog and how anonymous writers are evil and twisted but I notice that most of those who write in want to also be anonymous, including those who support Tomlinson. I also notice that all the writers that complain about the blog (including Barry Dingwall in the Almaguin News) just bash the blog but never correct anything the blog has written. It's just a lot of Bad Blog this and Bad Blog that but never anything about the blog got it wrong or here's the real story. You guys must be bang on! Keep up the good work!

I would also like to remain Anonymous. Not because I don't stand behind my words but because I don't want my family targeted by those freaks in Proudfoot!

Anonymity is a double-edged sword. It offers the opportunity to speak without fear of reprisal by those in power. Sadly, in Kearney, those in power (and their friends) will lash out in all directions in the hope that one of their bullets might find its mark. Even on the power of rumour and innuendo we see Kearney citizens beaten in the street. In Kearney, anonymity protects us and our families, but it also means that the innocent will be rounded up with the "usual suspects". Even after I came forward as the "Chief Editor" of the blog, zealots like Mayor Tomlinson's friend Jim Skelton continue to harass those who have contributed to the blog and have been so bold as to sign their names. In the Town of Kearney, anonymity isn't a symptom of a deranged mind as Councillor Dingwall would have us believe, it's a symptom of a town living in fear of a mean, brutish mayor and his henchmen.

R. Molnar

Town kills Fire Prevention Service

According to one of our readers:

I just got off the phone from a dear friend. She informs me that the Fire Prevention position has been cut.
Kim has lost her job she held for so long and was an exceptional person. Is this typical of Kearney to get rid of such a dedicated person and great program?

Shame on Kearney to be so cruel!!!!!

More Reader Mail

Dear Editor:

I read your blog and weep for the Kearney staff and ratepayers. Kearney is not unique; however, as many Municipalities have become embroiled in a “stew” lending to a perception of meanness and of being leaderless. These municipalities have limited the dialogue with Council resulting in trust and transparency being diminished.

Kearney is proof that the Municipal election should be held every two years to give the electors an opportunity to provide the ultimate report card on the Mayor and Council.

Please do not publish my name.

A Reader Writes In

Blogs can offer a number of advantages, in that they permit ordinary folks to voice their opinions or concerns, the public is no longer dependent on whatever media coverage may be out there and the limited information that reporters may be able to access prior to his or her deadline, and they are relatively instantaneous.  They should promote community interest and involvement, if at all possible.
But I have to indicate that the general tenor, the often cruel depictions of different members of Council and members of the public, some of whom decided to write into your Blog and take as stand now and then or voice an opinion (particularly opinions that may contradict or oppose the Blog's regular authors), and the antics often exhibited by the Blog are somewhat distasteful.
As a result, despite some of your readers' recent letters, far from promoting community interest and involvement in local affairs and issues, the Blog is coming perilously close to resembling a hate propaganda machine, where members of Kearney council or occasional citizens who disagree with the Blog's commentary from time to time are targeted with cruel, vile and remarkably defamatory insults.
Although you appear to have some knowledgeable and quite possibly intelligent regular contributors or authors, it is unfortunate that many of these authors have to resort to cruel, vile, accusatory and defamatory pictorials and commentary. It really does bring the whole purpose of the Blog, which ostensibly may have been to permit citizens to review recent decisions (Council's mainly here) and voice any concerns they may have had, down to a very base, hateful level.
If you want to continue with a Blog, you should reconsider the monster you have created, and do away with the foolish pictures of politicians you are currently displeased with, the horrific and damaging accusations that one or more politicians may have had something to do with a very serious and dangerous recent assault occurrence (apparently involving the former Mayor's son) and the very nasty commentary about those who write into your Blog to express a different point of view.
Kearney should be a quiet, peaceful wilderness community.  Instead since about 2007 it has become an example of the kind of community most would want to avoid in the same way as a Town hit with the "black plague".  Your contributors are just as responsible as any politician who may have stepped over the line in the community, including the past Mayor and the current Mayor, for creating or continuing an atmosphere of hate and distrust at all levels.
As I have indicated, a Blog can be helpful or it can be destructive.  I hope your regular contributors consider this.  The messages they are sending to the young and old alike are very unpleasant at best and quite dangerous at worst.  If you do not rethink your approach, and start emphasizing the good in your community, you are well on your way to complete destruction of the beautiful Kearney wilderness environment.
Just another voice, which I hope and trust, you will let be read.
It is fairly unlikely that you will publish this comment, but if you do, I am requiring that you withhold my email address and preserve my anonymity.

We don't so much ridicule, as provide a display of the ridiculous. That's a real photo of our mayor you've been seeing in various newspapers. Perhaps you should consider writing to him as well.

New Email Address

We've been having some problems with our Hotmail, so we've switched to Gmail. Our new email address is:

kearneyconcernedcitizens@gmail.com

Skelton still had access to voters list

We received a couple of emails today from Jim Skelton in which he denies having been a scrutineer during the election. It appears that our source may have been off on that one. When we're wrong, we're wrong. But that only means that Skelton had other access to the voter's list, or someone accessed it for him. Either way, friends of Mayor Paul Tomlinson enjoy special privileges and access to confidential information they can use against their enemies. And nobody's buying Jim Skelton's back-pedalling "shot in the dark" explanation. Editor Molnar actually doesn't appear on the voter's list because he doesn't appear on the title to the family cottage. This and that he's unlisted in the Kearney phonebook (same reason) contributed to his decision to be the one to step forward. That Jim Skelton has already started tracking Mr. Molnar and his family makes it clear that anonymity (or near anonymity) is a must unless you want to find yourself being beaten in the street in front of your family.

Normally, we like to post Skelton's ramblings (they get a good laugh all around), but the two we received today offer little more than some rantings to Council about the Johnstons. It certainly appears that the email the Town of Kearney sent out in March 2011, about Jeff Jr. running "The Blog" worked very well in poisoning people against the family. Even when others come forward to take responsibility, at least one friend of the mayor continues to publish defamatory statements against the Johnston family on a regular basis. We're the pot calling the kettle black, but with two major differences: Skelton is making statements without basis of fact, or in this case, completely wrong statements. We always base on fact and can prove our statements, and we don't mind being wrong and saying so. But criticizing a public official in order to make Kearney a better place is one thing. Continuously attacking a local family (sometimes literally), and trying to poison people (and Council) against them, is harassment. If you don't like the Johnstons, that's fine. Nobody likes you, Jim. But enough with the daily emails to Council and the general public about them. Go find another windmill to tilt at. Or drink the Kool-aid already.