Town of Cochrane Councillors, shame on (most of) you! You were voted in with campaign promises of change from the old council, yet you have perfectly moulded yourselves into apparent puppets of the old regime. The problems we faced as a town are simply being continued, particularly more unwanted growth, with your cries of “we need the growth to cover the bills” simply not appeasing the majority of Cochranites. We all know that growth does not solve our shortfalls, it simply allows you to cover your continued fiscal mismanagement for a year or two longer until the true costs roll in. Then we foot the bill, as shown in your proposed budget. So, despite the growth we still are facing heavy tax increases when many cannot afford them. But one group, it appears, is safe from tax rises, you! I was disappointed to hear that you intend on using our money to cover the difference in your take home salary because you now have to pay taxes on your income like the rest of us. It seems like it is easy to spend other people’s money, especially to line your own pockets. So, if you cannot keep your other promises to get this town back on track, you can at least do the decent thing and not award yourselves a significant pay raise, when the people of this town who are paying your wages are often struggling to put food on the table, partially as a result of policies of your making. Remember, you, and all civic employees, work for us, not the other way around. That seems like a prudent reminder for many of the attitudes and policies of this town council and administration, whom often act like our lords and masters, rather than public servants.
