Cash For Concerts and Dandilions

The Halifax Regional Municipality Cash For Concerts scandal gives me a headache....particularly the attitude of Mayor Peter Kelly in regard to his involvement or lack of involvement in the issue.

According to a report The Halifax Chronicle Herald the Halifax Auditor General said:

"an unauthorized payment of $400,000 to a concert promoter was made against a backdrop of "groupthink" and an "overwhelming desire" to host major concerts in Halifax,"

The Auditor General added that acting chief administrative officer Wayne Anstey "should have known better"

I couldn't agree more. At least Wayne Antsey had the fortitude to resign, retire, leave his position in the wake of the release of the information. Kelly on the other hand has held on to his job, saying he will let the voters decide his fate in the next municipal election.

I think that election should
be now. Halifax residents need to have their say in this matter as well as other matters such as the apparent ineptitude of the current Municipal Council, which is led by the Mayor Peter Kelly.

For example, the Council passed a bylaw banning the use of pesticides in the HRM....that has recently been overturned by the same Council who changed their minds when the city became overrun with dandilions and residents and property owners started screaming. Well who didn't know that was going to happen when the ban came into force? Apparently not the good folks on the Municipal Council who don't seem to be very far sighted in their decision making ability. You can read the story in the Chronicle Herald, HRM council resurrects just-banned weed killer

While I applaud their willingness to admit mistakes and reverse their decisions, I'm not sure what these folks are thinking when they pass laws like this in the first place. While I understand the importance of proper pesticide use in terms of our water supplies and the environment, what I don't understand is how the Council can think that the public, the voters in HRM will agree.

If Council is worried about the lakes and rivers,(and they should be) perhaps they should look at other methods of protecting the water like enacting strict green belt regulations and control where developers can build and develop subdivisions around bodies of water.

Another approach might be a reduction in taxes for residents who replace lawns with alternatives to grass, such as pea gravel or trees, shrubs and flowers. Encourage homeowners to replace backyards with trees instead of grass, adding to our city's greenery, offering some refuge for animals and birds and helping to cool the earth as well as reduce our need for pesticides to control dandilions.