Communication on waste strategy should go both ways

CORRECTED Comments made by O-M DM Ralph Hough were incorrectly attributed in an earlier version. AWARE Simcoe apologizes for the error.

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe March 23 2011

Simcoe County councillors expressed frustration yesterday at the public’s failure to comprehend their waste management strategy.

“The complaint is about this being a tax grab,” said Oro-Medonte Deputy Mayor Ralph Hough. The county’s communications department has issued two news releases, he said, suggesting that neither emphasizes clearly enough that  the waste levy is to be reduced. “That point has not been made.”

County news release February 25 

County news release March 22       

Media releases need to be “almost elementary” in their wording, said Springwater Mayor Linda Collins, who added that the first media release should have explained that the mechanics of the user pay system still needs to be worked out. 

“We need to have clear alternatives for our residents,” Severn Deputy Mayor Judith Cox said. “If we try to rush this through without alternatives, this will not work.”

Innisfil Mayor Barb Baguley warned of the contradiction between giving the public the impression they can influence the decision, while at the same time making decisions too soon in the process.

Warden Cal Patterson (Wasaga Beach) countered that implementation proposed for July 2012 does not amount to rushing things through, and argued that there was extensive consultation on the waste strategy adopted last June by the previous council. “We did have six public meetings about how we move forward,” he said. 

Patterson failed to mention that the decision to hold public meetings was the result of a campaign by the Site 41 group, with 180 citizens signing an open letter asking him to open up the process.

CAO Mark Aitken proposed that a workshop on the waste strategy be scheduled to educate councillors.

It should not be forgotten that meetings of the waste strategy steering committee, chaired by former Innisfil deputy mayor Gord Wauchope, were an exercise in frustration. County councillors on the committee used their majority to push through options favoured by waste consultant Stantec, while the public members who had a more creative approach (led by Gord McKay, now mayor of Midland, and Oro-Medonte resident Nicholas Rowe) were regularly outvoted.

A key problem with the waste strategy is that it was not subjected to scrutiny during the election. Did any candidate say that they were going to push for 100 per cent user pay? Or clear plastic bags? 

That debate did not happen. So it has to happen now. 

That’s where two-way communication comes in. It’s not just a matter of councillors communicating to us what they’ve decided to do (or rather what Stantec and the past council decided to do). 

It’s a matter of having ongoing consultation as the process moves forward, so the public is informed and can inform councillors of what will and won’t work. As a public member of the steering committee, McKay urged setting up a waste strategy citizens’ committee to do just that, but his proposal was voted down.

Now councillors are receiving the brunt of the frustration McKay predicted if the waste strategy is imposed in a top-down process. 

Essa Deputy Mayor Sandie MacDonald said her residents say removing the present one-bag limit at curbside is a step back. Essa Mayor Terry Dowdall, who has rental properties, pointed to the unlikelihood of any tax savings being passed on to tenants. 

And Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Doug White questioned the premise of the user pay system – that “the less you produce, the less you pay. That’s not true.”

He urged adding to the range of materials that can be diverted. Some municipalities accept pet waste, diapers and the trays on which meat is sold. Simcoe County needs to move in that direction, White said.

-Golf courses have scored big time in a recent little-publicized settlement of a legal dispute between the National Golf Course Owners Association and the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. Final details haven’t been worked out but significant tax refunds are in the works. Golf course owners appealed MPAC assessments, arguing that their properties had been overvalued. The impact could be significant in Simcoe County, where there are a number of valuable golf courses, a consultant told county council. 

-Tay Mayor Scott Warnock urged council to allow Dr. William Shotyk of the University of Heidelberg to make a presentation to all of council on his proposal for a water innovation and research centre at Site 41. Ramara Deputy Mayor Basil Clarke supported the request. Councillors met in camera to discuss disposition of Site 41. Coming out into open session, they voted to defer action on sale of the property and to hear from Dr. Shotyk at the May 24 council meeting.