Tuesday, January 31, 2017

TAXES RISE BY 5.8%

Aren't you glad that the taxpayers are still funding the seemingly useless Economic Development and Tourism Corporation? Yep. All those jobs and new industries coming to Fort Erie. Can't keep up with all the good economic news.

Just take a look at the real estate listings with all the businesses up for sale. Makes one want to invest in this glowing market.

Not really.

Some day it will become apparent to everyone that the reason that Fort Erie is faltering despite new people (mostly retirees) moving in from other places is that its EDTC, headed by the flamboyant James Thibert has produced very little over the past decade or more. Show us the jobs and investments and we'll shut up complaining about the EDTC.

Now that the Chamber Maids and other fans of Thibert are on council, there will be no more talk about breaking up the "arm's length corporation" like The Four tried to do. They had good reason to want the EDTC returned to town hall as a department in order for  it to be subject to more transparency, which was sadly lacking. It took a Freedom of Information filing to get any info from the corporation. In return, a lawsuit that was filed against The Four for conflict of interest in the firing of town attorney Heather Salter whose alternate facts regarding the title absolute for the Bay Beach Properties was challenged by Ward 5 Councillor Don Lubberts who, as it turns out, was right all along about an unclosed road allowance. Guess who may have come up with that grand idea?Thibert has filed another lawsuit against Lubberts for conflict over another muddled land deal that is still on-going years later. (Correction: the lawsuit was cancelled.)  This information does not begin to tell the whole story of how certain cronies closed ranks and did everything in their power to S.L.A.P.P. four duly-elected representatives of the people.

Now, the Council of 2014 can face its constituents. One more year until they're up for re-election. Higher taxes often bring down candidates and we will continue to remind people of the actions of the Chamber Maids and their Fearless Leader. We're all a whole lot smarter this time around.

26 comments:

  1. 5.8% this year plus the rate hike in 2015 and 2016.....TOTAL??....(unsure about 15%) now add water hikes etc etc....AND NO ONE SAYS A WORD yet when the FOUR were around tax increases were at record lows and for their reward for a job well done they were slandered right out of office.....welcome to Fort Stupid.

    Maybe we should have GIVEN the beach away as we are not collectively smart enough to be entrusted with it. Would have made Dirty Doug and his cronies happy $$$

    ReplyDelete
  2. The lack of respect that James Thibert has for this Town Council is very obvious , while the Council is working on this years budget the last presentation was funding for Tourism and Development Agency a stand alone Agency that represents the face of the Town but is not accountable to the Town Council, James kept the Council waiting nearly half an hour ,as he was detained having lunch elsewhere. Thibert is the de- facto Mayor of this Town , Mayor Wayne Redekop is just window dressing, his council is clueless about what is needed for this Town, I have a case at the O M B concerning sewage line extensions which were forbidden by the O M B 1980 decision Niagara Falls, knowing this the Mayor rammed three more extensions over the Christmas holiday sessions, Safari Niagara was connected to our sewage lines, during the Summer on at least 4 occasions they have 4 to 5 thousand visitors to their concerts, not counting thousands through out summer break. My complaint were brushed off, I also have another investigation going on with the Ombudsman. The problem these Ontario Agencies do not have any enforcement mechanisations in place, basically a toothless tiger. I have so much going on the James Thibert affair is on the back burner which would concern the Minister of Finance , diversion of $2.2 million dollars to the owners of the Racetrack. I need an assistant because of my chemo therapy treatment. my energy level is sapped. Stevensville sewage goes into a cess pool which over flows directly into the Niagara River built to accommodate 2,750 persons now serves 5000 people , this sewage laden with E-Coli (Walkerton) a virus that killed 6 people and made a whole Town very ill is now a threat to 86 thousand residents of the City of Niagara Falls . Mayor Salci was warned by me, about this situation at an open community meeting held at Willoughby Fire Hall . he sat on the info and did nothing. Niagara Falls has another Mayor James Diodati, I have given information to their engineering staff , one person does not want anything to do with this explosive hot potato. It was Doug Martin and Wayne Redekop who stopped the closure of the cess pool while on Regional Council.

    ReplyDelete
  3. with the world's attention on the orange haired disaster leading the world's most powerful nation to the south, few seem to remember the home grown disasters here.....keep ol boy very well connected Sandy in mind as he screw's the NPCA into more troubles to advance his career at the expense of the greater good.

    He's rarely done the right thing before and with no other career opportunities, he will make history repeat itself like the Bay Beach lie and theft of public property. If he can ram through the china backed Thundering Waters project (again at public expense), he will be magically promoted to greater things, just like his predecessor now CAO(unqualified) for the region.

    Want to do the right thing Sandy?? drop immediately the publicly funded lawsuit against a private citizen doing his civic duty of holding government accountable to it's citizens. Ed Smith hero for local democracy and a real pain for dirty politicians who believe they work for themselves first, private corporations second and the public last.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandy's name came up in an article by James Culic about the Coal Docks property.
      There was once a plan to build a high rise on the probably contaminated property but Sandy came to the rescue and pushed through a zoning restriction to "save" the property from such a building. (Meanwhile, he supported the high rise construction on public waterfront property at Bay Beach.) He was the councillor of Ward 1 at the time while his brother Anthony served on the board of the Public Bridge Authority (Peace Bridge.) The PBA had bought the property in what many thought was an effort to thwart the proposed Ambassador Bridge which needed that property in order to build. The PBA also bought the Mentholatum Building, presumably for the same reason. Such purchases were frowned upon by authorities and regulations about purchases of property by the PBA. The attorney general of New York State was investigating the purchases so, the PBA sought to get rid of the properties. The Boys and Girls Club "bought" the property for next to nothing and the PBA tried to persuade the Niagara Parks to purchase the Coal Docks. Culic does not complete his history of the property and it would seem that the PBA still owns the Coal Docks, yet the town taxpayers will fund an environmental study of the property for $100,000 According to the article, over $400,000 has been spent by the town so far in various studies around the Coal Docks Property. No hue and cry over that from the cronies, yet, when the town spent less than that to restore a national landmark (Point Abino Light Station) they went nuts. So, now some want to turn the Coal Docks into a public park. - on land that the town doesn't own. On contaminated land?

      Delete
    2. Corrections: The Boys and Girls Club bought the Mentholatum Building. The $100K study is for the water quality at the Coal Docks.

      Delete
    3. When it comes to the newly minted term alternative facts they must have had the writers for our local so called newspapers The Fort Erie Post and the free Fort Erie Times. James Culic column starts with the premise of the on and off interest by the Town of the vacant lot at the foot Of Jarvis Street. The reality is the Town Council have had their paws on an off basis, even when they had no financial interest in the coal docks property,ever since Mayor Madelyn Fiazza a former Crystal Beach Alderman as they were once called. Once the Chamber of Commerce took control of Tourism and Development they had designs on it, getting their hands on the Docks, if they could sabotage the plans of the actual owner a builder from Stevensville, Sam Utivich who lived just on a cul de sac named after him. He presented Council with an ambitious development that could have revived Jarvis Street. it also fit in with the numerous studies already done financing from a Chicago Financial Corp, the first floor would have a restaurant jutting out over the river more space to high style gift shops with quality merchandise the Condominiums would have a view to die for, Buffalo to the right and Tonawanda to the left The Mayor who gave the kiss of death to this project was Girve Fretz who owned a furnishing Store on Jarvis Street , after he killed off the project, when asked why?, his reply was that Sam would not buy the stoves and washing machines from him. Which is basically how things happen in the Scam Town of Fort Erie.

      Delete
    4. A hundred thousand dollars for a study?? Yikes!! We thought at least some of the waste might be reduced, at least untill James at the EDTC (Eat,Drink,Talk,Cough) brings home the bacon with a significant development and an increase to the tax base. A hundred thousand bucks for a "study", while we face tax increases year after year. Is there a name for what is wrong with these people? Like greed or nepotism? Maybe Wayne is still "turning the ship" after all this time? If he is it looks like hes still in the fog of mismanagement.

      Delete
    5. A story in the Buffalo News tweaked my memory and I wonder what is happening to the former pharmaceutical company's building on Jarvis Street. Another one of Jimmie's "great successes." I believe that the town invested $50,000. towards the effort to bring a business and jobs to the empty building. How did that work out? Also sitting empty across from the race track is the visitor centre building. Great welcome for visitors. While people are moving in and buying houses in Fort Erie, jobs are not. Why is that, I wonder?

      Delete
  4. The only conclusion is, that the word is out there in the business community that our Town is run by a bunch of imbecile's and any body on Council who sticks his head out with an idea, is immediately smacked down like a whack-a-mole how dare you have an idea, this burgh is run by the good 'ole boy's the Chamber of Commerce I know a little how these people act, I hung around with the founder of the Chamber for four years spending time in his home. Even working to get some of his ideas off the board, one was the Canada Day event of 1978 at the sugar bowl Park where the Railroad Museum is located. Our Town has kept out any high paying jobs for the reason, we could have some educated people move here and they would lose control of power. It has always been about control of the purse and directing contracts to their members. Chrysler, Ford and Toyota all wanted to come here and all given the boot in no uncertain terms. The word is out there, our Town has no real interest In development that brings jobs here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. bout sums it up Porgey.....control of what good ol boy insider benefits the most at the tax trough and with the infantile level of political(or for that matter any) awareness around these parts....the cycle goes on and on. Fort Stupid, happily voting to screw themselves cause the Times says so.

      Delete
  5. Frustrated taxpayer # 1,000,000February 16, 2017 at 9:22 AM

    Hate to disagree but there are high paying jobs in the town, most working at the town hall. For our population we have way too many high paying "sunshine club" employees at the town hall.
    Regarding "turning the ship around", when you have the pirates on board it should be easy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And speaking of high paying jobs, it was just announced that Heather Salter is now head of the legal department in St. Catharines. No mention was made that she was fired from her similar job in Fort Erie. Of course, there was also no mention of the vexatious lawsuit against four councillors as a result of her firing. That case was ultimately dismissed but not before it cost a lot of money and the reputations of the councillors. And Heather Salter, with her "parting gift," went on to St. Catharines. And now she's in charge of their legal services. Oy Veh.

      Delete
    2. careful there "Frustrated' you're getting way to close to one of the largest root problems locally.

      The TOFE, some of it's so called (150,000 a year)leadership and out of control spending. Considered a sacred cow hereabouts and can seemingly do no wrong with the majority of the ill informed who rely on the Times for all their critical thinking. The TOFE is the largest advertiser in that paper and the extremely slanted reporting keeps the vicious circle alive and doing well. Entry level positions start at about 60,000 a year plus benefits. A wage most locals can only dream about and pretty dam good for hiding in a blue truck half the day.

      Now add the external drains on the public purse like Jimmie Dirt Bag and a couple hundred well connected ol boy insiders and you have the mess that the majority, happy in their ignorance, pay for today.

      Delete
    3. And Redekop did not heed the warning of Richard Berry back in the day and continues to spend money carelessly. When the town was flush from gaming revenue, Redekop spent it wildly without thinking that it could end some day. Berry warned him that the gaming revenue could stop and then taxes would have to go up to support the employees hired with gaming revenue and other projects. About the only good thing that the town did with its gaming windfall was to buy the Bay Beach Properties, but we all know what happened there. The town recently gave Jimmy T. the money to fund a study of the wetlands, something that had already been done. Jimmy doesn't care. He wants a study that HE can put his name on, probably skewed to show that industrial development can be done on the wetlands. Meanwhile, what exactly has been done by the FE-EDTC to bring industry to Fort Erie? Nada. I see certain areas failing to attract and keep businesses while local BIAs in Ridgeway and Bridgeburg suffer through in-fighting and interference from ward councillors, one of whom was accused of harassment by a former BIA employee.

      And so it goes on. Back to the past when the Old Boys (and their Chamber Maids) ruled the town and took care of their own.

      Delete
  6. No one want to weigh in on that other great example of home grown political achievement running the NPCA now?? An independent forensic audit was promised after a huge public outcry. The stench at the NPCA has reached epic proportions but ol boy Sandy says it's presently not convenient until they hide a few more bodies basically..... and no one in FE seems to care which is one of the reasons he was picked as a junior but very well connected regional councilor to begin with.

    Hey Fort Stupid wake up. We pay huge taxes directly and indirectly so as to keep the well connected few and their political allies doing well. Meanwhile locally the most popular spots seem to be food banks and welfare offices and these politicians have the balls to say they are working for all the people !!

    We love being lied too.

    PS. you should have an interest in this one Madam Editor as a fellow political watchdog who has been uncovering these issues at the NPCA for the public`s awareness is being sued with OUR tax $$$$$$$. Something criminally wrong with that in a democracy when you raise your voice and you`re being gagged for it with PUBLIC monies.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The whole NPCA story sickens me and I feel a kinship with Mr. Smith who is being sued with tax dollars for allegedly publishing an exposé regarding the NPCA. Yes, Sandy is fully on board the gravy train after a momentary detour due to hubris. I like how Sandy recently threw in the fifty cent word "pejorative" in his remarks to another regional councillor who had expressed his concern that the reports' language would be "weaseled."

    So another takes centre stage in the on-going assault on the environment. Niagara Peninsula CONSERVATION Authority seems to have become an oxymoron while its former chair moves up the food chain to be the CAO of the Niagara Region and file a lawsuit for defamation against a private citizen. Here we go again.

    And how's that racetrack coming along? You know, the one that was supposed to up and running by now?

    ReplyDelete
  8. $100,000 thousand dollars to study the coal Docks, does anybody really know how much has been squandered and poured down this endless black hole, they wan't to find out, if the answer they got back when Mayor Madelyn Fiazza back in 1980 still valid, never mind that they have spent over one million dollars studying the Jarvis Street strip AD NAUSEUM, one year, they had two studies done while Wayne Redekop was Mayor, one done for the Town the other mandated by the Province, we already know the answers, so why another one??? again.?? Lunacy is the operative word.!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. looks like ol boy Sandy is earning his insider pay over at the NPCA. St Catharines council is not only demanding an independent forensic audit but is also threatening to with hold payment!! Well done St Catharines!!

    Must be awfully warm for our homegrown insider in his new job of anti conservation at the niagara peninsula CONSERVATION???? authority and no one in FE says a word most of all council who by their silence supports massive wrong doing when most of the councils in the region have called for audits of the NPCA.

    Maybe the Times will do an expose?? of this travesty and maybe the sky will fall as well........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And we see some familiar names in the Burgoyne Bridge fiasco. Looks like Harry Schlange was careless with the truth about a vacation property jointly owned by a couple of people who may have a conflict of interest. He had denied that the two owned a "cottage" together. What he failed to reveal is that it was a "condo" that the two owned together. And then there's Ron Tripp who has been mentioned as having a possible conflict regarding a company awarded a contract for work on the bridge which has gone way over budget and is now the subject of a 500K audit. Surprised? No one should be.

      Delete
  10. The International Joint Commission recently had a work shop and discussion about the condition of our lakes, I gave my two cents worth, they gave me the boot after 4 minutes , after I accused the Town of Fort Erie violates the laws of Ontario and that 88 thousand residents of Niagara Falls are at high risk of E-Coli and high nitrogen levels, Wayne Redekop has ignored an OMB Judges ruling not to extend any sewer lines in Stevensville/Douglastown and Black Creek. I gave a one inch file of the misdeeds of Fort Erie and how a Cess Pool built for 2.750 people now has with the addition of Safari Niagara will pour sewage of over 5.000 people into the drinking water of residents, from Black Creek down to the Chippawa Water Treatment Plant. Our hypocritical Mayor Wayne Redekop is quoted in our local papers as being an environment friendly concerned person, which could not be further from the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You and Mr. Smith, who is taking on the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, are trying your best to wake up people to the rape of our precious environment for the sake of "developers."

    ReplyDelete
  12. This just in. Front page news! Fort Erie Times! Last week, the weather! This week, sports trivia! "State of the Town" Region,and so on. Who would have thought cheerleaders now wear a suit and tie. Poor Wayne, has to go on about a possible over "capacity" at the not even completed high school. Millions about to be wasted on a bit of land behind the library in Ridgeway. Sweet deal for somebody. Has anybody here noticed an improvement in the unemployment situation? Those overpaid electitions can cheer all they want over drinks and crappy food but it wont change the truth. We need real leadership, not a bunch of overpaid stuffed suits telling us all is well, just because of an increase in approved building permits have fallen from the sky. Affordable housing? Where is that? Most of those cheerleaders are sucking up so much taxdough they dont even know what affordable means. Put that on the front page.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pay no attention to the bald man with the plan for things that will never be built or which he has no involvement with. Meanwhile, influx of seniors from the GTA who sell their homes in the highly inflated market there and come to Fort Erie and buy a place for a lot less. The jobless situation continues. Has been the same for at least two decades. Entry level jobs with a future are nowhere to be found. Best bet: know someone and get a job at town haul.

      Delete
  13. In Waynes nonsense blurb " State of the Town " adress there was some mumbling about keeping young people here in the town. There are a few things that can help that along. A branch of a community college and an affordable place to stay while taking courses would be at least a first step. All this energy(?) into a car race track and a marina expansion? Is that going to help young people to choose to stay here and build a life? State of the Town? And this guy ran for the leadership of the NDP? Nice suit skippy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well Wayne has been quoted as saying this electorate here is basically stupid to a former exposer of corruption and ol boy enemy, Richard Berry, so one would assume he is just taking the path of least resistance and giving the majority of uninformed or to stoned to care, what they want to hear...

      Have you looked at your tax bills lately people?? and no one says a word but when the FOUR where around, tax increases were almost zero and ALL the tslk around town was about these much maligned courageous men.

      Maybe Wayne is right......

      Delete
    2. Well, thanks to our local "media," The Four were pilloried and maligned while certain people at town haul made deals with developers to give away our last piece of public beach front land in Crystal Beach. People should read the 92 page decision on the road allowance case to see your local government at its worst. Eye-opening and very disturbing to realize that the "sale" of the Bay Beach Properties was in the works from the moment it was bought (with gaming revenue) by the town. More on that will be coming out in the future. It took a while, but the truth is coming out. Problem is that the average Fort Erian doesn't give a crap until his taxes go up. And they wonder why their kids can't get a decent job in Fort Erie. Yeah, blame on The Four who worked hard to keep taxes low despite the constant campaign to discredit them.

      We warned the people; tried to inform the people; and worked to stop the madness of a twelve story tower on public beach front property - and all we got were lawsuits and aggravation.

      Delete

This blog no longer publishes Anonymous comments. Just use a nickname and comments will be considered.To use a nickname, please fill in the area of "Name/URL" with your nickname, It is not necessary to fill in the URL portion.

PAST ISSUES