more than once every The reason people are angry about the new trash amendment regarding alleys is the way they found out - in the Windsor Star AFTER the by-law had already passed.
A by-law such as this should not be passed by Council in the 1-2-3, we're done mode.
When issues have a direct impact on a large segment of the population, especially when it's monetary, the City must make a least some attempt to engage with it's citizens. Seek out written submissions. Use some of those Ward Fund dollars to have a community meeting or two.
Time seems to be found for ad hoc Communications Committees to find a way to spend another $250,000 or Council Services meetings to finalize the feed budget for the year but nary a moment for the beleaguered taxpayer.
If we can have update meetings for the Arena and Recreation Centre, issue press releases and hold events for WWE wrestling or Grand Prix racing, surely a moment or two can be spared to engage with people in Windsor who might be affected by by-laws such as this.
Were front-line employees who actually deal with trash consulted? They actually travel our streets and roads each day, there might be an idea or two there. Was a waiver of the tipping fee considered for households backing on alleys? Could we learn anything from neighbourhoods like Monmouth Road? Their annual Street Sweep event is a fantastic example of what engaged citizens can accomplish. Their efforts saw 900 kilos removed this year and a whopping 1.2 tons in 2006. How did this start? We'll never know unless we ask.
The end result most likely would have been the same regarding this by-law, as it is a difficult situation to resolve, but we'll never know for sure will we?
