OrilliaMatters received the following letter to the editor from Paul Bennett.
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Orillia’s mayor and council don't deserve re-election.
A hidden shell game paying capital project bills with money borrowed from budget line items not yet in need of their allotments allows up-for-re-election politicians to claim "Orillia has never been in better financial shape.” It may save borrowing interest – but without extreme transparency, what other games are afoot?
It’s impossible to spend one's gross annual income on a single capital project over two years, and not incur deficits in normal corporation operating activities resulting in big future tax increases, rescue by the tooth fairy, or years of shell games trying to repair the budget line items with shadowy transfers.
Mayor, council and paid professional staff proceeded with the $55-million MURF, now a rec centre (more like indoor swimming pools and walking track), without a visible, sound funding plan. No assurances of funding support were obtained from surrounding municipalities and townships, or federal or provincial governments. Orillia taxpayers are on the hook alone!
Taxpayers were committed to a "luxury" project costing more than 100 per cent of Orillia’s gross annual income, without getting majority assurance from either voters or taxpayers!
Both are reasonable prerequisites to such a monumental tax commitment. Support was easy to quantify with certainty, at negligible cost: a) voter support; add a ballot item in any preceding election ("Build a MURF at taxpayer expense?" with answer choices "yes," "no," or "don’t care;" or (b) taxpayer support; to any of the notices mailed to each taxpayer every year, add the same query with the same answer box choices.
I would willingly support either position if there was assurance of support or refusal from both the taxpayers and the voters. Neither reliable determination was made!
Paul Bennett
Orillia
