Dear Editor:
Well, finally we know, but we don’t yet know, what we really should know.
At last week’s all candidates meeting in Beachburg, the question was asked if Mayor Hal Johnson received any money in regards to his lawsuit against Whitewater Region township. Mayor Johnson replied he had received a settlement but could not disclose the amount due to confidentiality.
This was the first acknowledgement that an agreement had been reached and money paid out. The issue has been talked about around our township for years yet we only discover the outcome when the pointed question was asked at a public venue during an election campaign.
We should know the reason why our Council or Chief Administrative Officer opted not to inform the public when the decision was made.
We ratepayers should have the right to know the amount of the settlement as we paid for it. Confidentiality? Who decided on that? The courts, council, CAO or
litigant?
There are more things we should know during this election campaign.
We need to know why do we still have five fire stations when only two, Beachburg and Cobden, respond to the majority of calls? We would be able to get by with those two stations, yet our elected officials aren’t keen to deal with the matter of closing surplus ones.
We need to know why Council decided to hire a full-time fire chief.
We need to know why Council pursued legal action regarding the dog tag issue, at a purported cost of $20,000, only to end up having wasted the money.
Lastly, we need to know why the township costs for employee salaries and benefits has increased a whopping 16.89 percent from 2014 to 2017, in a time of low inflation, with a larger increase to come for this year. Could it be that bureaucratic creep has crept into Whitewater? We
should know!
Gary Younghusband, Whitewater
