T Rich

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City's winter maintenance program to go under review

GuelphToday

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Spending more money on a value for money audit and waiting months for the results is nothing more than kicking the can down the road. What steps have been taken or will be taken TODAY to identify the cause of the problems? You don’t need an auditor to tell you there was a shortage of salt, staffing or equipment issues. That’s why we have Managers. Ask them and hold people accountable.

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City winter control budget $1.9 million over budget due to weather, salt costs

GuelphToday

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Don’t forget there was also an additional $600,000+ spent on snow removal for the bike lanes.

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Building a better picture of Guelph’s public trees

GuelphToday

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I would like the Mayor and Councillors to explain why they are spending our tax dollars on this when they claim there was no way to avoid an almost 8% tax increase for 2026. These pet projects have contributed to a 38% tax increase in the last four years! Come on council, start looking at where OUR money is being spent and direct it to BASIC services. You’ve had four years to address non sustainable spending and nothing to show for it.

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City seeks collaborators for Guelph’s 200th anniversary

GuelphToday

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How much tax money is being spent on this party? It was removed from the budget only to be added back.

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City in discussions to buy west end school board site

GuelphToday

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Sure, let’s just take more money out of the pockets of tax payers and invest in vacant land at a time when the Canadian economy is on a cliff. How about dealing with all the non performing assets like the vacant Old Drill Hall (security + maintenance = $130,000 yr) before jumping into purchasing more land that will require even more taxpayer money to develop.

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Guelph launches new climate action CBA

GuelphToday

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Just another example of the waste of our tax dollars and why we are facing an 8% tax increase. Time for an independent value for money audit of city spending.

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Four more properties slated for heritage designation

GuelphToday

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It all sounds wonderful until the true cost comes to light. Downtown has just been designated which likely means hiring more staff to administer this program on top of the hundreds of thousands spent on studies.

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Councillors to receive nearly 12% pay hike next term

GuelphToday

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It’s my understanding Coun. Leanne Caron took it upon herself to investigate and bring back to the table rationale to support these increases. Remember this when she formally announces her run for Mayor. These are part time positions that come with the help of an administrator, full benefits and paid expenses. For the councillors that claim it’s more than a 20 hour a week job - please do your full time employer a favour and resign or don’t run for re-election. More than a 60 hour work week means you aren’t doing either job well. Perhaps we need to build some accountabilities and objectives that can be measured so councillors aren’t spending time and money on things that fall outside of core city business. If they do that well and have time, by all means, work on creating by-laws forcing restaurants to accept customers take out containers or any other pet projects as long as there is no impact to the city staff workload..

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Online voting, other at-home options possible for 2030 election

GuelphToday

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I think I’m finally catching on to how Council operates. If a councillor doesn’t like a decision, they send it back to city staff to work on it again, and again, hoping to eventually get their way. This is a total waste of staff resources. The original staff report was clear and should be respected.

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OPINION: How does transit this bad keep getting worse?

GuelphToday

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They speed and then hit the brakes so hard anyone standing up is at risk of a fall. I won’t use transit for that reason (even if it’s free to seniors).

MUST READ: Two councillors won't be running again; one considering run for mayor

GuelphToday

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Oh come on Lee, if she needs to commit to measurable objectives that would take all the fun away. We need all those innovative pie in the sky ideas to keep our city employees busy with research and surveys. Speaking of sky, whatever happened to the dark sky project and all the other work our city employees are asked to do that go nowhere? We don’t need more innovative projects. We need our elective representatives to focus on the day to day running of the city.

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OPINION: It's one week into the election, and I have concerns

GuelphToday

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@RaineyS - I don’t understand your rationale. “ The city is growing, so more streets to plow and more garbage to pick up. Staff have to be hired to deliver services to new developments.”If the city is growing, more taxes are collected. That pays for these services so explain why you think that justifies an additional 37% tax increase over 4 years? Furthermore, if current council is managing our tax dollars so well, why did city staff need to warn council in writing during the 2026 budget process, that our AAA credit rating is in jeopardy due to their failure to maintain adequate reserve funds. Facts matter, so before you dismiss those of us that bring forward concerns please do your research.

OPINION: How does transit this bad keep getting worse?

GuelphToday

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Why is transit free to seniors (and high school students)? Not every senior needs financial assistance. That money should be used to improve transit.

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City of Guelph distributes $543,500 in community grants to 76 organizations

GuelphToday

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Sounds like the bar is too low if 76 out of 82 applications were approved. I’m sure there are some worthy groups here, however, spreading the funding over that many is probably reducing overall impact. I also doubt, due to the high number of applicants, that the city does any checks to ensure funds were actually used as intended.

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Councillors to receive nearly 12% pay hike next term

GuelphToday

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It’s my understanding City staff recommended a 33% pay hike by using questionable comparisons with other Municipalities. There was a motion on the floor to reduce the pay hike to a reasonable 3.95% but instead of voting in favour, Caron wanted time to work with staff on their numbers. (Personally, although I’m sure it was well intentioned, I feel her direct contact with staff is a conflict of interest). Your support of a 12% (above rate of inflation) increase can’t be justified by comparing it to a faulty 33% number. We aren’t talking about Guthrie but if he’s working 60+ hours a week it just proves my point.

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Building a better picture of Guelph’s public trees

GuelphToday

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You sound like someone that thinks money grows on trees.

Four more properties slated for heritage designation

GuelphToday

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Common sense would suggest there will be staffing costs. Their draft plan for the downtown heritage district spoke to requiring permits for small scale changes like replacements and additions of exterior building elements using different materials, like new windows that use different materials or colours, for example. These permits will be issued at no charge to homeowners so who do you think is going to absorb the costs? Then of course the city needs to create the formal heritage policy and guidelines, build capacity within the permits office, deal with decisions that are challenged by homeowners and have by-law officers available to enforce compliance. This is on top of the $500,00 spent on consultants/studies.

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Two councillors want historic McQuillan's Bridge replaced rather than fixed

GuelphToday

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Calling working families cheap with no culture simply because they can’t afford your spending agenda demonstrates a lack of grace and class. We’ve spent millions to support the preservation of the two historic neighbourhoods, the drill hall and library. If you’re looking for more culture perhaps utilize Michael’s suggestion and start a GoFundMe. I’m sure there are many well heeled people in your circle who would be willing to help you.

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No violations to-date of city’s lobbyist registry rules, says clerk

GuelphToday

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To be effective, the lobbyist registry should include both financial and non financial groups since bothinfluence how decisions are made by council. This step would improve transparency, which many have suggested is lacking with current council.

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City of Guelph is in the early days of AI adoption

GuelphToday

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“At this point it’s not known if the use of artificial intelligence will bring down Municipal costs” It sounds like a more disciplined approach is needed, including a cost analysis that demonstrates these AI projects will lead to a reduction in FTE’s. Diverting staff to work on these side projects while our basic service needs are not being met is a problem.