Both the Town of Cobourg and Northumberland County are using online surveys to solicit input from residents. Participation is not especially high but in this Covid-19 era, how else can input be obtained? From my experience, live Town Hall meetings don’t have a great record of success anyway – typically 30-50 show up at Town meetings and around 10-15 at County meetings. Does this mean the majority of citizens don’t care what is decided or do they have faith in councillors or perhaps Municipal staff? The County use one day Zoom sessions as well as surveys while the Town uses “Bang the Table” software to do surveys lasting several weeks. The topics covered range from how to design the East Pier (Town) to asking for comments on their Elgin Street subsidized housing project (County).
Recent and Current Surveys
In order of date launched. Click “Title” to go to relevant municipality page. Click “About” description to go to relevant Cobourg News Blog page – if available.
| Title | About | Launched | Type | Status | |
| County | Community Safety and Well-Being Plan | Priorities to improve Safety | 17 Jun 2020 | On-line Survey | Closed |
| County | Northumberland County Archives and Museum | New Archives/ Museum | 17 Jun 2020 | On-line Survey | Closed |
| Town | Body Worn Cameras | Police Cameras | 23 July 2020 | On-line Survey | Closed |
| Town | Service Delivery Review | Review Town’s Services | 11 Aug 2020 | On-line Survey | Closed |
| County | Financial Framework Survey | Financial Priorities | 13 Aug 2020 | On-line Survey | Closed |
| Town | East Pier | Design review | 4 Sept 2020 | On-line Survey | * 2 Oct |
| Town | Affordable and Rental Housing CIP | Process Review | 9 Sept 2020 | On-line Survey | * 5 Oct |
| County | Northumberland Next: Official Plan Update | Official Plan | 15 Sept | Zoom – 28 Oct | Pending |
| County | Elgin Park Re-Development | Subsidized Housing | 29 Sept | Zoom – 15 Oct | Pending |
* Scheduled close date – may be extended.
Municipal Engagement pages
- Northumberland County – Join in Northumberland
- Town of Cobourg – Engage Cobourg
Links
Town and County public Meetings listed here.
Print Article:
I tried to join the East Pier survey, but it needed so much personal information and then it didn’t work even after 3 attempts.
I guess that the people who design these surveys are overly picky about their requirements.
Maybe somebody should start a Facebook page where local taxpayers can state their genuine candid feedback about such matters.
That’s a shame – I was able to access the survey with relative ease. Normally my computer issues reside somewhere between the keyboard and the chair…. 🙂
Yes I agree the real facts need to get out there — I think its all about Filtering and Censoring to achieve the response and the Goals & Political correctness they want to achieve .
There has been quite a bit of that lately . on this site as well as others .
Looks to me that these “surveys” are just another waste of money in this town…just like many of the costly consultants reports done by big city people for our town.
I find these opinion surveys are self serving and purposeful the questions are slanted to achieve the desired out come .
Many time s I have found that I can not complete the survey and it will not allow me to either complete or submit my responses . This is usually a purposeful method that can be built into a survey that is simply triggered should you not answer a question with a simply yes or no that may achieve the desired out come or direction they wish the proposal to demonstrate .
The major problem is with the electronic version of the Town Hall meetings is that the content for the surveys are concocted by the consultants or the whizkids in the communications dept.. Most options are basic and appeared to be dumbdowned just look at the latest one for the Pier. We were asked which option did we choose. I do not like any of them and would answer none of the above. Would my opinions/options be taken into account when there are three options already baked into the survey.
I have been to, and chaired, many public meetings of the Town Hall type and they appear not only to disseminate information and gather opinion but give accurate feedback to the Councils of the day. Options are given, opinion is expressed and all is recorded.
When one considers that most of the public meetings are designed to tick off a box on a consultant’s Gannt chart one realises just how meaningless most of them.
And don’t even start me of on the most useless of them all – “Open Houses”
…or Gantt Chart, possibly.
In the 17 years we’ve lived here I have attended innumerable municipal meetings and workshops and county workshops as well. I fill out every survey I can and have made many presentations at these events. My perception of my input is, that in almost every case but one, my suggestions have been ignored as seems to be the case with many other members of the public who share my views such as the CTA. Fiscal responsibility and intelligent use of our tax money is number one and I almost never see this happening. I was one of many voices who spoke for a senior’s centre many years ago even though I am still not a senior today. Look what we got: a hockey palace where town staff does not have the wherewithal/ ability to turn off the ice maker. I have listened to so many presentations fighting for the Dragonboaters and Canoe and Kayak club and I am so happy for them that after 4 long years they finally are allowed to continue operating. Members of the public asking for protection of west beach: shot down by Dean and council. More transparency of Holdco and LUCI requested by the CTA: shot down. How long have the taxpayers of Cobourg been saying no to more boat slips and no to a travel boat lift. Yet both keep raising their ugly heads every couple years. I requested to speak at county council and was told no as it was not an item on the agenda. It also appears on the county website to be near impossible to contact each councillor individually and all emails are now scrutinized by county staff first. Why is that? Doesn’t sound like democracy to me. So how to get more people to fill out surveys: listen to suggestions and act on them so we feel as if our views make a difference.
Cobourg taxpayer,
you are right on so many of your statements.
I have just recently really tried to listen and learn about our municipal governance and have learnt quite a bit from this site.
The one topic that sticks out to me is this LUSI/ Holdco debacle, how can our municipal leaders justify hiding senior management wages and the day to day business affairs??
We as citizens do own this company don’t we?
Please don’t give up your/our fight!
Not sure about that Ownership the share holders ??
Show Me as they say !
Yes Leweez, the Town of Cobourg owns HOLDCO and its subsidiaries LUI and LUSI. However, because HOLDCO, LUI and LUSI are each corporate entities, they govern their own affairs for the most part, subject to shareholder direction.
The Town is a shareholder in HOLDCO only, not LUI and LUSI. HOLDCO owns those. As such, the Town, not being a shareholder in LUI or LUSI, has no direct say in their affairs.
HOLDCO and LUI have no employees, therefore there is no compensation to report. All of the employees reside in LUSI.
Financial and other corporate reporting requirements are set out by the Ontario Business Corporations Act. The act requires financial reporting but not compensation disclosure. The various accounting/financial reporting standards boards do have compensation disclosure requirements for those that exceed the specified thresholds.
LUSI does not.
The North Bay Ratepayers Association has had some success in getting North Bay’s “LUI & LUSI” to provide financial and other information.
Perhaps HOLDCO/LUI/LUSI reorganization/policy/reporting is something that the new CAO may take on.
We as citizens can only hope
In Cobourg, surveys are used as a weapon to fight public opinion and common sense. Consider the infamous Waterfront Needs Survey. The survey was not about “needs” but rather “desires” of a few. Our surveys offer grandiose plans with no indication of cost. There is never an available multiple choice answer of “Stick to the basics and lower our taxes”.