Slip And Fall On The Budgetary Crack

I wish Councillors Lewenza and Brister would sit down and get their stories straight! If there is a problem about both of them being in a room together, then perhaps the Governor's hubby could be invited back to talk them through it!

I had made some suggestions about what I thought the recently adopted budget was: an election budget to keep down taxes in an election year to help get the incumbents re-elected. I didn't make it up. I based my comments on what Councillors were saying. Just check out my BLOGS and read it for yourself.

Well Councillor Budget did not agree with my assessment of the budget when Joe McParland interviewed him on Cogeco a few weeks ago.

I thought perhaps I was wrong in what I said. I do not think I am.

Read what Councillor Lewenza said in a Star story recently ["Trip, fall claims soar as sidewalks crumble] about all of the litigation because of cracks in the sidewalks:

• "But it's difficult to strike a balance between spending money on such projects and holding the line on taxes. Coun. Ken Lewenza said it's easy to come up with a tax freeze when infrastructure projects like sidewalk repairs are ignored. "We can always come in at zero -- it'll come at the expense of sidewalks."
  
  

Given that "The claims filed against the city over the last several years have increased dramatically....203 trip and fall claims over the last five years," it seems like a false economy.

As for me personally, I liked the story....remember I had a bad fall at City Hall about 6 months ago for which I am still taking therapy 4 times a week. I could not believe when I read:

• "About $650,000 has been set aside this year to repair some of the worst sidewalks in Windsor. But it's not enough.
  
  "We should be spending in the order of $1.25 million," Palanacki said...
  
  Windsor has about 850 kilometres of sidewalks, and "funding in this program needs to be increased ... from a risk management point of view," the capital works report says...
  
  Palanacki said the average lifespan of sidewalks is 40 years "and a lot of our sidewalks are beyond the 40 years."
  
  They're cracked. They're crumbling. They've become a menace, especially to senior citizens."
  
  

Now my case is much different than the usual slip and fall...but I think I can base my claim now on "gross negligence" without too much difficulty. Who knows, with Councillor Lewnenza's remarks and Councillor Budget's actions, I better talk to my lawyer about punitive damages too.