Author: John Draper

Council to Debate Proposed Governance Change

John Draper

A report from Town Clerk Brent Larmer plus a proposed implementation by-law will be debated by Council at their next Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting on 16 October. This change was first proposed in 2021 and has had citizen consultation and Council debate earlier this year. The changes are significant and are said to “streamline processes and improve the efficiency of Town business” and “contribute to an efficient and effective decision-making process”. The revised governance structure is similar to that used in many other municipalities – notably Northumberland County. However, it’s not just the number and role of meetings that’s changed – more details below. The previous system with councillors assigned as coordinators and many advisory committees will be… Read complete articleCouncil to Debate Proposed Governance Change

Council Reviews Governance Committee

John Draper

In 2021, consultant KPMG conducted an organization review and one of their recommendations was that the Town “could discontinue the Council Coordinator role of governance for a committee structure”.  Instead of coordinators and a Committee of the Whole meeting, it would have four Standing committees with perhaps three councillors on each of them. This was discussed and a new structure proposed at a special Council meeting on 28 November 2022. (See Cobourg News Blog report in resources below).  Pending this change, Councillors were not assigned to coordinator roles and most advisory committees were suspended.  Earlier this year, an Ad Hoc committee was formed to make a recommendation and since then there have been some community consultations (12 individuals went to… Read complete articleCouncil Reviews Governance Committee

Town to Now Start Billing Stormwater Fee

John Draper

In November 2021, a consultant reported to Council that not enough money was being spent on stormwater management.  The new asset management plan makes it clear how much should be spent so in future, we can be assured that drains, pumps and storage areas will be properly funded.  This led to a discussion as to how the money should be collected and council approved a new method: instead of the cost being included in taxes, there would be a fee in the same way that water supply and sewer management is funded.  The fee would depend on the type of property and the area it covers – this approximates to the actual cost for each property although there is one… Read complete articleTown to Now Start Billing Stormwater Fee

First look at New Strategic Plan

John Draper

At the Committee of the Whole (CoW) meeting on October 16, Council will be asked to approve asking the Public for feedback on the “Strategic plan for 2023-2027 and Beyond”.  After getting feedback and making (hopefully) minor changes, the plan will come to the CoW on November 6 for final approval.  Guided by a consultant, work started on the plan with a two day meeting of Council and Staff on 27 and 28 June. There are a few things different about this plan (apart from being 9 months late):  It’s less ambitious (it has only three “Strategic Priorities” and the five “Pillars” are not used) and it avoids giving Operational directives (e.g. specific projects).  It was noted that the Town… Read complete articleFirst look at New Strategic Plan

Police Chief Frustrated with Courts

John Draper

It has been called “catch and release” and that’s what it is.  Criminals are caught by the Police, then the courts release them to re-offend a short time later. Today, Police Chief VandeGraaf expressed his frustration with this in a Press Release.  He used a specific example of Cobourg resident Daniel Tyler Foden who was arrested for robbery, death threats and assault of a Police Officer.  He was then released with conditions but went straight out, ignored the conditions and offended again.  Chief VandeGraaf then personally authored a Press Release describing what happened (details below) then finished with the statement: “This is aggravating the level of frustration in our community with a system that does not meet our collective expectations.”  We… Read complete articlePolice Chief Frustrated with Courts

Another Property Declared Unsafe to Occupy

John Draper

Inspection by Town staff at 821 Battell Court started September 25 and “uncovered numerous Property Standards and health and safety concerns”.  Then on September 27 a second multi-agency inspection was completed with the result that a Property Standards Order was issued to address immediate deficiencies related to the Town’s prescribed property standards for occupancy. In addition to inadequate conditions involving ventilation, lighting, plumbing, heating, and electrical services it was determined due to safety reasons, that the building be secured to prevent occupancy until the deficiencies are corrected.  These inspections were a follow-up to “a multi-agency inspection of the property (that) had previously taken place in August to evaluate fire and municipal by-law concerns.” “As a result of this inspection, the… Read complete articleAnother Property Declared Unsafe to Occupy

Short Term Rental Accommodation in Cobourg

John Draper

Originally thought of as “Home-Sharing”, AirBnb, VRBO and others have turned Short Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) into big business where investors buy properties specifically with the intent to rent them out for short terms – less than a month and as short as a day or so.  Neighbours are usually not happy with this; they say that renters often cause problems with community safety, parking, noise and litter, as well as degrading property values and destroying the sense of community.  There have been delegations to Council asking for action – in October 2021 and at Monday’s Committee of the Whole (C.O.W.) meeting. At Monday’s C.O.W. Grant Hayes, president of Guardian/Genedco Property Management, representing a large proportion of Cobourg’s Condo Owners,… Read complete articleShort Term Rental Accommodation in Cobourg

County Releases Strategic Plan for 2023-2027

John Draper

I did not know the County had a strategic plan nor was I aware that they were producing a new one.  But there is a 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan on their web site as well as the new one. The document is 28 pages with about half devoted to describing the county and the second half to text describing goals. The goals are divided into 5 “pillars” or categories and although Key Performance Indicators are promised, it will be early 2024 before we know what they are and see progress reports using them. There are no specific cost goals or even goals with numbers  – I would use the term “Motherhood” to describe the goals.  (That is, feel good goals as… Read complete articleCounty Releases Strategic Plan for 2023-2027