This city council doesn’t deserve a second chance

By Letter to the Editor on October 6, 2017.

When the sitting council was first elected four years ago, there was much optimism in Medicine Hat and we expected big things from them. They certainly made some big waves!

One of their very first priorities was to fly a rainbow flag over city hall in order to persuade residents of the wonderful benefits of alternative sexual lifestyles. Next on the agenda was to reject a seniors’ centre in the Flats, ask seniors for their opinions, reject those opinions, and then belatedly return once more to rebuild in the Flats after intense backlash.

It is no surprise then, to see council make terrible cuts to public transit, and then waffle back and forth on whether it was a good decision to drastically cut many people’s only means of getting to work.

Finally, regarding the police budget, this council has not managed to bring it in line with other Canadian cities our size. Granby, Que., and Caledon, Ont., are both larger than us, and police salaries run considerably lower, at roughly $180/per resident. Norfolk County is also slightly larger than us, and yet police salary budgets are roughly $239/per resident. Council in their wisdom approved Medicine Hat police salary budget of $315/resident.

I dispute council’s claim that they deserve a second chance.

Davar Broeckert

Medicine Hat

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