THE ISSUES - RECYCLING CONTRACTS
OVERVIEW
In January 2012, the Chair of Waste Management Committee presented Council with a cost-saving proposal involving the re-jigging of some recycling contracts. It would have meant spending some money to buy our own containers (the big bins at the waste site), instead of relying on the ones being provided by the current contractor - and it would have meant (legally) opting out of some existing contracts. By now, the new bins would have been paid for, and we would have been saving thousands and thousands of dollars in transportation and processing fees - year after year.
Instead, Council did nothing - and when questioned (by way of the survey/petition), they played with semantics and tried to make the Waste Management Committee the scapegoat. Nice try, Council, but it doesn't wash.
In the spring of this year (2014), Council basically took over the Waste Management Committee and folded it into a Committee of the Whole (something they have been itching to do for some time - if you're not already familiar with that topic, [click] for more details). Shortly after the take-over, staff prepared a new report to Council which regurgitated many of the same concepts that the previous Waste Management Committee had already advocated long ago. All of a sudden, since these are now recommendations coming from staff, Council has shown its true hypocritical colours by jumping on board with the plan.
Instead, Council did nothing - and when questioned (by way of the survey/petition), they played with semantics and tried to make the Waste Management Committee the scapegoat. Nice try, Council, but it doesn't wash.
In the spring of this year (2014), Council basically took over the Waste Management Committee and folded it into a Committee of the Whole (something they have been itching to do for some time - if you're not already familiar with that topic, [click] for more details). Shortly after the take-over, staff prepared a new report to Council which regurgitated many of the same concepts that the previous Waste Management Committee had already advocated long ago. All of a sudden, since these are now recommendations coming from staff, Council has shown its true hypocritical colours by jumping on board with the plan.
DETAILS
NOTE: This was topic #3 of 5 in a comprehensive survey/petition which we circulated in the Fall of 2012. If you're interested in reading the original background material for this topic (which we circulated as part of the survey at the time), along with Council's official written response (which they subsequently mailed out to the 300+ participants), we have a separate page dedicated just to that. A word of warning - there might be a lot of reading there, too.
[Click] to see the Background Info and Council's Official Response regarding Recycling Contracts.
Otherwise, if you trust us, you can skip that and just keep reading on, below.
Our "position statement" on the topic of recycling contracts was as follows:
[Click] to see the Background Info and Council's Official Response regarding Recycling Contracts.
Otherwise, if you trust us, you can skip that and just keep reading on, below.
Our "position statement" on the topic of recycling contracts was as follows:
I feel Council should immediately pursue any and all options available to the Township, to significantly reduce the cost of hauling and/or processing recyclable materials — even if this means (legally) opting out of existing contracts.
As with all 5 topics, the results were extremely clear and compelling. 94.3% of residents agreed with our position to (legally) opt out of existing contracts, and to pursue other opportunities.
( click on the image to view a larger version )
Before we get into the actual topic of the recycling contracts themselves, let's address the poor excuse Council provided in its official response. Here is the bulk of that response:
Council did receive the minutes of the January 12, 2012 Waste Management Committee meeting with the attached report on recycling. The Committee requested that the report be circulated to Council without any direct recommendation from the Committee to Council. Therefore, Council would have received the document as information with no further action being taken until a recommendation is received.
Are we really expected to believe that Council has no mind of its own - that it only acts on recommendations? There are so many holes in this feeble justification, Swiss cheese would be jealous. Let's start with what Council had to say at its May 13, 2013 meeting, when it was questioned by members of the public about the changing of recommendations from committees. Here was their response (from Council's official minutes):
It was noted that Council is the legislative body and can change, accept or defeat any recommendation received by either staff or committees.
It was noted that the Municipal Act stipulates that Council is the deciding body for a municipal corporation and that Council members will answer for their performance to the electorate during elections.
That's a totally different tune to the one they sang just 3 months earlier, when they responded to our survey/petition. This doesn't sound like a Council which really values - or even feels the need to wait for - committee recommendations, does it?
What about when the Mayor approached the Waste Management Committee with a resident's concerns about Brush Disposal Fees? The Committee discussed the issue, and felt that the disposal fees should remain in place - a position it made quite clear in its minutes. A few short weeks later, Council decided - on its own, without a recommendation - to eliminate the Brush Disposal Fees ... and under some very interesting circumstances, at that. (If you don't already know about the Brush Disposal Fees fiasco, you can [click] to learn more.)
With that maneuver, Council demonstrated - quite clearly - that it is perfectly comfortable "going it alone" after all.
Now we come to the most glaring and direct falsehood in Council's official response to our survey/petition. The (verifiable) fact is that, despite its claim to the contrary, Council really did take some further action based on the Waste Management Committee's information. Here is the simple chronology of what really happened, up to the time of the survey ...
Under construction. Our actual analysis will continue here ...
What about when the Mayor approached the Waste Management Committee with a resident's concerns about Brush Disposal Fees? The Committee discussed the issue, and felt that the disposal fees should remain in place - a position it made quite clear in its minutes. A few short weeks later, Council decided - on its own, without a recommendation - to eliminate the Brush Disposal Fees ... and under some very interesting circumstances, at that. (If you don't already know about the Brush Disposal Fees fiasco, you can [click] to learn more.)
With that maneuver, Council demonstrated - quite clearly - that it is perfectly comfortable "going it alone" after all.
Now we come to the most glaring and direct falsehood in Council's official response to our survey/petition. The (verifiable) fact is that, despite its claim to the contrary, Council really did take some further action based on the Waste Management Committee's information. Here is the simple chronology of what really happened, up to the time of the survey ...
Under construction. Our actual analysis will continue here ...
RESOURCES and SUPPORTING MATERIALS
Under construction. We are busy preparing
the substantiating resources (documents, newspaper articles, etc.) to
publish in this section. Please check back in a little while, or link
up with our Facebook page to be notified of updates.
[Click] - Recorder & Times article on the lead-up to the presentation of our survey/petition to Council.
Note: Our petition lead-up also got coverage on CKWS TV's evening news - but the online video clip is no longer available on their website, so we are no longer able to link to it.
[Click] - Background Info Package which was provided to anyone who participated in our survey/petition.
[Click] - Sample Survey/Petition Sheet.
[Click] - Survey Guide outlining the design details and methodologies used in the survey/petition to ensure that it was accurate, meaningful, and statistically representative of the entire population.
[Click] - Presentation/Speech. The "script" which EK-COG's spokesperson, Brant Burrow, used when we were recognized as a delegation at Council's November 26th, 2012 meeting, in order to present Council with our survey/petition results.
[Click] - Recorder & Times article covering Council's November 26th, 2012 meeting at which we presented the compelling results of our survey/petition.
(will be added soon) - Township's Full/Official Response to the Survey/Petition.
Stay tuned ... more materials to come.
[Click] - Recorder & Times article on the lead-up to the presentation of our survey/petition to Council.
Note: Our petition lead-up also got coverage on CKWS TV's evening news - but the online video clip is no longer available on their website, so we are no longer able to link to it.
[Click] - Background Info Package which was provided to anyone who participated in our survey/petition.
[Click] - Sample Survey/Petition Sheet.
[Click] - Survey Guide outlining the design details and methodologies used in the survey/petition to ensure that it was accurate, meaningful, and statistically representative of the entire population.
[Click] - Presentation/Speech. The "script" which EK-COG's spokesperson, Brant Burrow, used when we were recognized as a delegation at Council's November 26th, 2012 meeting, in order to present Council with our survey/petition results.
[Click] - Recorder & Times article covering Council's November 26th, 2012 meeting at which we presented the compelling results of our survey/petition.
(will be added soon) - Township's Full/Official Response to the Survey/Petition.
Stay tuned ... more materials to come.
PLEASE ATTEND COUNCIL MEETINGS
The clearest, most effective message you can send to Council, is to attend their meetings. So long as the public gallery is empty, they will get the impression that no one cares.
It would be hypocritical to hold Council responsible for the outcome of all things if we are perpetually absent from the process, ourselves.
Typically, Council meetings are held on Mondays. [Click] to open the Township's official calendar in a new window.
It would be hypocritical to hold Council responsible for the outcome of all things if we are perpetually absent from the process, ourselves.
Typically, Council meetings are held on Mondays. [Click] to open the Township's official calendar in a new window.