The Cobourg Taxpayers Association (CTA) sent a letter to Council requesting that Council receive this proposal for information purposes only. We have not taken an official position on the Venture 13 proposal. Our rationale for the request is this: Our perception is that although some town projects are handled well (police, fire, town roads, grass cutting, and other similar projects), we have no confidence with respect to many of the others.
The Shadowy Role of Municipal Private Companies
Municipalities have set up private corporations to run quasi-public businesses like companies. Cobourg has set up Holdco this way. Here is an article on why and some of the pitfalls.
The Private Lives of Quasi-Public Agencies
Here is an extract from the article:
“They were supposed to be outside of government, yet beholden to it.
CTA Provides Input to Waterfront Consultants
The Cobourg Taxpayers Association met with the Waterfront Consultants, thinc design, to provide input on some key points with regards to the waterfront. Highlights of the input:
- The need to distinguish between wants versus needs. We have asked that a clear needs/wants definition and designation be provided for each project.
Can We Actually Make a Difference?
The Foxes Will Never Fix The Hen House Of Democracy
Highlights of the article:
- Today, there is no risk at the local level. Municipalities are step-children, beholden to the money and authority of the province and a revolt in any particular town has no repercussions on the others. It’s
Alternative Public Transit System
Innisfil is a municipality near Barrie where their Council determined that a bus system would be too expensive. They have contracted with Uber to provide an alternative public transit system. It is this type of creative thinking that we admire.
One major difference from Cobourg is that Innisfil does not currently have a transit system.