We Are NOT A Tag Team

Now some of my readers (and a few souls at City Hall I suspect) may think that Councillor Halberstadt and I had this all worked out in advance. First a Halberstadt interview on Face-To-Face, then a "More Catch-Up Please" Blog, then a Star Story ("Costs kept under wraps") and then another Blog ("Why Are Legal/Consultant Bills Hidden"). I wish it was that easy to accomplish a good result.

Then the Star story yesterday---"Council to disclose border expenses." Someone who is advising Eddie finally had enough sense to tell him to come clean before this got all out of hand. After all, one just needed to look in the past to see what Eddie had said before and how inconsistent it appeared he was now. As a reader wrote to me "I thought your research on Councillor Eddie's lobbyist questions in your Blog was illuminating."

But now there are more questions. Councillor Postma suggested the expenses are $2.2 million, hundreds of thousands more than Councillor Halberstadt thought. The Mayor denied rumours of the fees being $4 million...the highest rumour I ever heard was $3.5 million.

In going back in history again, I note that on Augsut 25, 2005, the Star reported that "Toronto lawyer David Estrin, the city's border traffic expert, outlined a $2.2-million legal game plan for himself back in September 2003 after council asked behind closed doors what he could do for Windsor. The high-profile solicitor has since racked up $1.7 million in payments to himself and his experts with much more to come, according to city estimates." What is the truth?

I should point out as well, that, other than the by-law issue which is a 4-5 week hearing starting in May, we have not seen any major litigation which could rack up big bills too or any major Environmental hearings.

Of course we know that there is going to be a further battle over fee and consultant disclosure and eventually a Municipal Freedom of Information Act application if the City does not act in a meaningful way. We will get some lump sum figure that will be totally useless. City solicitor George Wilkki better be careful when he says the City will not provide a breakdown of costs since "a breakdown remains under solicitor-client privilege." That is not necessarily so.

Moreover, Councillors Postma and Halberstadt already said in the story that "I'm concerned about transparency. There has to be a certain level of detail available to council and the public." and "She wants to see an itemized breakdown of the expenses and to see it released." Previously, Councillor Jones had said,"There is a need to look at where this is going. I think the direction for council is to go to the public and ask, 'what do you want?'" I am sure that the Budgeteers will have to support openness since otherwise it makes a mockery of the Budget process doesn't it?

We need to know at a minimum:

1. which law firms have been involved, including US law firms, Ottawa, Toronto and Windsor firms, not just the Gowlings firm
2. which "lobbyist," stratetgic and consulting firms have bveen used (and let us not play games with words describing their titles either)
3. which polling and survey firms have been used
4. which technical and engineering firms have been used and which transportation planners, air, health and noise experts, land use planners, government/media relations expert, social impact analyst and an environmental assessment expert
5. what costs have they charged us in a way that is meaningful so that we can see if we received value for money on a particular file or part thereof
6. which firms billed the City directly and which ones billed through our law firms or other parties
7. what work did they do for the fees incurred
8. we definitely need to see all disbursements including those paid out by the City for trips for the Mayor, Councillors and staff.
9. we need assurance that these are ALL fees and expenses to every City Department including the Mayor's office and through his budget through certification by the Mayor and the CAO.
10. it should cover ALL border work, not just under Francis but under Hurst as well including bu t not limited to the Rail lands by-law, Tunnel plaza

Does it sound like I am not trustful----You betcha! And if Windsorites do not get the information, then it costs only a few dollars to get it formally!

Just one other comment in passing. It looks like we have spent $2 million in developing a strategy. Wilkki stated "itemizing costs...would betray the city's strategy." Without being, sarcastic about it, I would like to know what the City's REAL strategy is because I cannot figure it out. I mean it...I would like to know what our end objective is and why it has cost us $2 million or more to get there when we had everyone eating out of our hands when this Council was elected. But that is for another day.