Council, CAO, Municipal Clerk and staff are not following the Town of Cobourg’s Public Engagement Policy. They are not listening to the public. Lydia Smith, Cobourg Taxpayers Association president gave that message before council on April 30, 2018.
Although the delegation focused on the 2 years and 12 missed engagement opportunities with respect to the Council’s recent approval to put a water playground on Cobourg Beach, Lydia was quick to point out that the policy was not followed during the New Amherst School re-zoning either.
We often hear that today’s citizens are not “engaged.” That they are more interested in family, jobs and sport than in politics. That few bother to vote. That younger citizens, the millennials, are the worst. What is really the problem? Looking at recent events in Cobourg makes the problem obvious –