Can De-amalgamation Save Wingham, Blyth and East-Wawanosh Or Is It Too Late?

Amalgamation has failed on a monumental level. Several streets in Wingham cause damage to vehicles on a regular basis and are unsafe for cyclists. Our Town Hall Theatre is closed for want of a fire suppression system because the other two wards don’t want to pay for it. Howson Dam leaks, and the low water level negatively affects tourism and Community spirit. It leaks because kelly church stopped doing regular maintenance on the dam, and the Blyth and E-W councillors refuse to spend any money on it, even if it would only cost a few thousand to level the sills so it didn’t leak when the boards are put in.

Blyth and E-W councillors rubber stamp the Wingham Police budget and laugh openly because their wards don’t have to pay for it. They do this despite them knowing we are paying 2X more for policing than we need to, and it’s crippling effect on Wingham. Just like ordering 50 pizzas to your neighbor’s house and sticking them with the bill, just so you can sit on your front porch to watch the fallout. Now the joke’s on them as the Wingham Police are set to expand into Blyth and East-Wawanosh. The men with guns usually get what they want, and they want to expand starting with the rest of North Huron then Morris-Turnberry.

We all know amalgamation has failed and our Community lay in ruin, but can de-amalgamation get our Communities back on the right track? Below are some examples of what could happen if/when de-amalgamation happens.

Public and Press Questions and Input:

Each Community could decide if the Press and the Public are allowed to ask questions at council meetings. A council that is so terrified of scrutiny they ban the Press and Public from asking questions must be doing something criminal, highly immoral, or planning on doing so. An open and honest government does not fear scrutiny, it welcomes it.

Arenas and Ice Surfaces:

Each Community would decide if they kept their arena open. There would be no chance of one Community shutting down another Community’s ice surface, starting with every other year. Volunteers could return to running concession stands, or the Community could decide if taxpayer money should be spent staffing the booths.

Blyth Witches Walk

This event could be restored and thrive once again. Complete control over the event would be in the hands of Blyth and they wouldn’t need to call Wingham every time they wanted to store a picnic table, or rent a facility.

Return to Volunteerism:

After the 2001 amalgamation, scores of volunteers were fired and replaced with town staff, right down to concession booths and some grass cutting. Staff claimed it was an insurance issue, despite NH paying over $100,000/year in insurance premiums. Staffing expense has ballooned since, meaning our taxes keep going up and that money goes into wages and benefits for town staff. WFP knows several people that are eager to volunteer to run the sidewalk snow blower to keep all our sidewalks clear in the winter. There is no doubt each Community would have scores of volunteers step forward again, if they were allowed.

Policing Costs – OPP vs North Huron Police

Each Community could decide if they want the cost effective OPP, or to pay double for their own municipal police force. Wingham could switch to OPP and save $500,000/year and start saving to fix our roads, Howson Dam, and to get the lead pipe out of our water system. Blyth and East-Wawanosh could switch to the Wingham Police and have even less money to fix their roads or infrastructure.

Town Manager instead of $100,000/year CAO

Currently it cost taxpayers about $100,000/year for our CAO. Instead of listening to complaints and issuing corrective measures, she tells the Public to go home and print out a form from their website, fill it out, and then drop it off at town hall. She could be replaced with a stack forms and a small paper sign saying “Please fill out and hand in at front desk”. In the old days if a stop light fell to the ground the other lights would be inspected and corrected immediately. We still have two stoplights ready to fall, they are about 6-8 inches out of their socket. The CAO was notified MONTHS ago about this potentially fatal condition, it still exists today. No standards or work ethic.

Economic Development

It is clear North Huron’s Economic Development Department which cost taxpayers $275,000+/year has failed. All the new development in the area has absolutely nothing to do with our Economic Development Department. Each Community could decide if their BIA is “enough”and if they need/want a separate ED Department.

Garbage, Recycling and Yardwaste Drop Off Points

Each Community could decide if they want recycling, yard waste or household garbage drop of points in their Community. Each Community could decide if they want garbage pickup, or to drop it off at a landfill or designated dumpsters. Each Community could also decide if the Public is “allowed” to drop off tagged bags of trash at the landfill without paying a $10 minimum fee.

Roads and Sidewalks

Each Community could decide if road surfaces are to be maintained properly, if safety rails are installed and maintained, if sidewalks are cleared or blocked in the winter.

Theaters

Each Community could decide the future of their theatres, and if taxpayer money should be spent on a fire suppression system.

Howson Dam

Winghamites could decide the future of the Howson Dam, instead of letting Blyth and E-W councillors stonewall any attempt to fix our Community.

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