Distracted

It should not have come as a surprise. The fact the County has more roads, bridges and waterworks than it can afford to keep up, has been apparent for years. Thursday’s presentation by the director of finance was merely the tabulation of a sad-but longevident- truth. Yet council’s capacity for denial seems boundless—more powerful than arithmetic. Particularly so in an election season.

James Hepburn’s message could hardly have been more blunt. Basic infrastructure is decaying at the rate of $38 million per year. We are currenlty spending $11 million —double the amount we spent 10 years ago—but still miles away from the amount required to simply maintain what we have.

So wide is the gap that neither a massive increase in debt or taxes nor a combination of both is enough to close it. We will need money from above, but the province is tapped out, and the feds aren’t yet convinced it is their problem.

More likely, we will need to come to terms with the fact that some of our roads, bridges and waterworks will continue to decline.

The numbers were still warm on the screen when a well-dressed gentleman stepped up to address the council committee. He and five of his neighbours want the municipality to take over the maintenance and care of their lane on Weller’s Bay. It seems he, and at least some of his neighbours, bought into plans for a larger subdivision that failed to fully materialize. Now these residents live on a road they say they can’t afford to maintain.

A more casually attired gentleman speaks next. He lives in Rossmore, and doesn’t want restrictions on his water usage. He notes that his water comes from a Belleville plant typically operating well below capacity. He is upset he could be fined for exceeding his monthly water allotment.

No one explains to him that all County waterworks users pay Belleville an obscene price for his water. No councillor points out that other residents on the waterworks system are subsidizing his water rates—that they may have a viewpoint on his excess water usage.

In the same meeting Council learns it can’t afford its roads, it sent staff away to look into acquiring a new road. In the same meeting it is told its waterworks funding model is unsustainable— council directs staff to list the reasons allowing residents unfettered use of really expensive Belleville water is a bad thing.

No one wants to tell taxpayers the hard news. No one is prepared to tell the truth. Not when it is much easier to send staff and managers away to write a report—and then present their findings in some undetermined post-election future date.

Had a kindly resident stood up before council last Thursday and politely demanded a unicorn as her right as a taxpayer, I expect County staff would be busy right now, poring over medieval manuscripts, preparing a feasibility report on single-horned equines.

There are moments at Shire Hall when we sail past the absurd into a new realm of unreality. It would be funny—were it not so wasteful, expensive and pointless.

There are, of course, rules that discourage council from launching investigations on a whim. Only outgoing councillor Bev Campbell seemed aware of them. Few of her colleagues, however, were eager to enforce the rules on this day—not when it is so much easier to send staff away with busy work. Perhaps new rules are needed—ones that truly insulate the business of local government from the manic contortions of an electioneering council.

Some will complain that the issues of extending maintenance services to the lane on Weller’s Bay and water restrictions in Rossmore are more nuanced than I have described. And of course this is true.

But the finer details are surely eclipsed by the fact that we can’t afford the roads and waterworks we own now. Discussions about taking on the responsiblity for new roads, in this context, seems silly at best, misleading at worst.

The point is there was really only one issue on the agenda last Thursday. One item, which requires the laser-focused attention, and basic comprehension from all taxpayers—the decline of County infrastructure. What can be done and what can’t.

This issue demands an honest, open and forthright discussion. There are no easy answers. No easy paths forward. Residents deserve to know the truth. They deserve to be represented by folks who will be straight with them.

When they ask for your vote later this month, insist at the very least, your council representatives tell you the truth. Even if it’s hard.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca