Oshawa council’s $100,000 question
Dear Editor,
It’s a legitimate question. Why do eight City of Oshawa councillors take a substantial bonus, totalling $100,000 per term, from the city’s coffers?
The answer may be that they a) like the money b) feel entitled c) aren’t bothered by the fact that other municipalities choose not to give themselves the same perk or e) all of the above.
Starting a discussion about eliminating this expense in Oshawa, a city saddled with the highest taxes in the GTA and the highest debt in the Region, should not be a touchy topic.
On May 28, Greg Milosh went to Oshawa’s finance committee with his concern about this practice. He alerted those in attendance about how uncommon it is for municipal councillors in Ontario to take thousands of dollars each year to pay themselves for chairing committee meetings and that almost unanimously the comparator municipalities he contacted indicated they do not expense it and consider it part of the job. How did Oshawa councillors respond to this information? They kept silent. A couple of them seemed to shift a bit uncomfortably in their seats during Milosh’s respectful and serious delegation. (Incidentally, he also pointed out the unusual brevity of many Oshawa standing committee meetings, for example, the monthly community services committee meeting held that same morning lasting only 3 minutes).
His closing request to eliminate the stipend to Oshawa committee chairs and vice-chairs went over like a lead balloon. Instead of reflecting on what Milosh, a life long Oshawa resident, took the time to research and the trouble to present, they dismissed him without one question or comment.
The lack of response from the six elected members of Oshawa council in attendance is something to comment on. Their avoidance of any discussion and failure to review the appropriateness of this perk is not only regrettable, it seems seriously at odds with Oshawa council’s claims of frugal spending and limited resources for discretionary spending.
The $100,000 question remains: Why not review this expenditure? If not amenable to eliminating it, why not consider, as Milosh suggested, re-appropriating it toward assisting something like youth employment, or another worthy cause that benefits the wider community?
Mr. Milosh indicates he will avail himself of the opportunity to address this issue again. He has a follow up delegation scheduled to appear before Oshawa’s full council on Monday, June 8, 6:30 p.m. in the Oshawa Council Chamber where he intends not to be snubbed again, but vigorously press for stronger leadership and the elimination of this unnecessary perk.
Rosemary McConkey