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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday February 7, 2007 - 9 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Council abandoned good government in favour of tree Re; Council approves $25,000 to top up save-the-tree fund, Oakville Beaver, Jan. 31. How unfortunate that Oakville Town Council abandoned good government in favour of an emotional publicity stunt. To Alan Elgar, who believed the community outcry against this use of public funds was based on "a lot of misinformation" -- there is no misunderstanding at all. Town council has allocated tax dollars that should be used to provide essential municipal services towards a charity. A charity, I might add, that failed to capture the hearts and imaginations of the majority of residents despite the hysterical, emotional hand-wringing of some. To Terry Smith, who claimed the amount was "pennies for residents" and to Joyce Burnell who claimed that the amount of "about 15 cents per resident" was "not a great deal" -- I certainly hope you'll remember these flippant remarks when Town council allocates your hard earned tax dollars to causes you don't support. To those who launched so called "history lessons" in an attempt to justify saving the oak tree -- here's a fact you must have overlooked -- some of the town's first and most prominent industries were sawmills, lumberyards and timber shipment. To any charitable organization with a head office in Oakville, or engaging in work in Oakville -- Oakville Town Council has declared it is willing to fund charities with public money. With this precedent, there is nothing to prevent other charities from approaching the Town of Oakville for $25,000 donations. To Linda da Costa, Peter Swirzon and others who spoke against this misuse of public money -- thank you for speaking on behalf of the majority of residents who did not support the save-the-tree campaign. Thanks also for letting the Mayor and Councillors know that they will be held accountable for poor decisions that fly in the face of democracy and prudent government. Finally, to Oakville Town Council -- if you have the money to throw away on projects like the save-the-tree campaign, I certainly don't expect to see any tax increases during your mandate. LAURA SHARP What's coming in February Students should be given free ride on Oakville Transit Re: Oakville provided free public transit for children under 18 during July and August. This past summer saw our Town's transit department successfully demonstrate the power of public transit. With the loss of a relatively small amount of revenue, Oakville residents enjoyed the benefit of less traffic congestion on our streets. Oakville Transit should make this program permanent. Recent data indicates that approximately 15 percent of the increased summer youth ridership has been maintained into the school year. We must applaud Oakville Transit management and town council. Our council should permanently increase Oakville Transit's expenditures to allow for this program to become permanent. To understand the affordability of this idea, it is important to note that transit fares provide a relatively small proportion of the combined operating and capital expenses each year. According to most municipal budgets, transit fares provide slightly more than thirty per cent of the total dollars spent on public transit, with youth fares making up a fraction of these revenues. Most of the money spent on public transit is funded through general revenue sources from municipal, provincial and federal government. The benefits of increased transit ridership are substantial. Reduced traffic congestion will lead to better air quality, and lessen consumption of non-renewable resources. Our community's contribution to global warming would be reduced. Additionally, with fewer vehicles on the road, we may expect to see fewer vehicle accident injuries. We pay for our community road infrastructure through general revenues. We almost do the same with public transit. Perhaps it is time to make a relatively small fiscal policy change, with potentially large environmental benefits by removing the fare box from each of our buses. But for now, we should simply start with a permanent no-fare policy for youth riders. Oakville deserves the resulting environmental benefits. HARVEY ROTRAND Living Healthy A series of FREE public education seminars presented by Heart Failure Awareness: What You Should Know Tuesday, February 13, 2007 y, y, 6:30 pm Displays and Refreshments 7:00 pm Presentation by: Dr. Donald Peat, Cardiologist, Nancy Dahmer, RN Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital g p Auditorium 327 Reynolds Street FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT TODAY CALL 905-338-4379 TM Presented in partnership with: Supported by an educational grant from: