At the 21Feb2023 North Huron council meeting 3 of the 6 councilors tried to block the Public, Press and councilors from having access to budget information. Numerous members of the Public and a couple on council have accused senior town staff of withholding information, “making them feel dumb” and dereliction of duty.
Director of Finance Chris Townes was caught live on YouTube “tampering with reserves” at the council meeting. Townes claimed all the reserve funds needed to be consolidated. This tampering with North Huron’s reserve funds should be fully examined before they disappear completely. If you think North Huron can’t afford to maintain its infrastructure now, wait until there isn’t a cent left in reserves and we will wish for the days when the tax increase was only 20%.
Townes noted that he provided some colorful charts and graphs, and that should be enough. It was also stated that councilors, the Press or Public asking questions only impedes town staff. Graphs should be enough, and stop asking questions. It is quite clear that the council is not in charge and is taking direction from staff.
🚩 Councillors had to take the extraordinary step of passing a motion to force staff to release budget information.
NOTE: Only 3 councilors wanted access to full financial information before approving the budget. Click the previous link, or video below to skip ahead to the vote.
Many suspect the motivation for withholding this Public information is that it will shed more light on the recent real estate scandals that have crippled Wingham.
The next council meeting is 06March
