The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Trustee Norman Eby, who made some sensible proposals to freeze tax increases, understands this reality. He knows you cannot spend more than you have and he also knows you have to squeeze more out of the sysâ€" tem so that everybody gives more and takes less. It has been that way in restructured Canadian businesses for several years now and it is time for school boards to pick up a lesson or two from them. Yes, of course less money is coming down the tube from the provincial government. But that is because the province is strapped for cash. It‘s sending out a message that it can‘t afford to spend as it has in the past. Why can‘t the local board of education understand that message and cut accordingly? After all, the same taxpayer is footing the bill; it‘s just com:â€" ing from a different pocket. Then there was Cambridge regional councilior Doug Craig‘s proposal to cut 30 jobs from staff at Waterloo Region. It was a sound idea, well thought out and it would have saved the region about $1 million a year. But here too, the big spending mentality prevailed: despite admirable support from Waterioo Mayor Brian Turnbull, the idea was defeated. All of this illustrates very nicely just how insulated the public sector has become. Instead of responding to reality by adjusting to a marketâ€" place that does not have room for tax increases and that is bent on downâ€" sizng, regional government refuses to take the knife and make some deep cuts . Its politiians have, for the most part, failed the test. But good for Mr. Craig; it was a courageous start. The really strange twist, however, comes with what is happening at Cambndge City Hall. It is a place that you should watch carefully in the next few months because of the revelation earlier this week that certain members of council were having their messages and mail monitored by the administration without their consent. All of this of course, has prompted the same Ald. Craig to call for an investigation by the Ontario‘s privacy commissioner Mr. Craig is upset. He should be. And so should every other member of councail. If it is true that the secretary who did the work for every council member was required to post copies of what she typed and transcribed in a folder for the administration to see without the consent of the councilâ€" lor, it is an outrageous act. Why? A simple respect for privacy. If each and every councillor was never told that this was happening and they assumed, rather naively, it now seems â€" that their correspondence and strategy notes were comâ€" pletely confidential, then there is a good deal to be said about Councilior Craig‘s position. What was done with all of this material? What instructions were given to the secretary who transcribed the telephone calls, notes and docuâ€" ments? Who knew about this? And why didn‘t somebody say something about the fact it was going on? All of this will provide plenty of food for thought as Ald. Craig‘s request for an investigation by the provincial priâ€" vacy commussioner winds its way through the corridors of government. It will be an interesting time in Cambridge. So there is the new twist. First we had tax increases at the school board, then we had a ref...«. to cut some administrative costs in a responsible manner at regional government. And now we have Cambridgegate. Meanâ€" while, the taxpayer keeps absorbing all of this nonsense. Will it ever end? But the argument is a false one. We already have the second most expensive school system in the world and it is mediocre at best. Throwing more money at it won‘t accomplish anything for students; it will just fatâ€" ten the massive bureaucracy more than ever. And this is a prime examâ€" ple. Politics in Waterloo Region took on an unexpected new twist last week. First there was all this business of the Waterioo County board of educaâ€" tion raising taxes again. That wasn‘t a particularly surprising move since it‘s well known that this school board cannot live within its financial means. It will use every excuse under the sun to justify why it needs to spend more and more By dipping deeply into reserve funds yet again and by pushing up taxes by 3.5 per cent, the board refuses to acknowledge financial reality. It will keep increasing costs in the name of educational standards because it says it doesn‘t want our children‘s schooling to suffer. PAGE 6 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 1995 Waterloo Town Square 75 King St: South, Suite 201 Waterloo, Ontario NJ 1P2 News Line 886â€"3021 Politics at its best Meanwhile 0 _ 0 Fred Sagel Melodee Martinuk (Sports Editor) Deborah Crandall Heather Mitchell Major Accounts: Bill Karges Sheri Gervais Linda Howard Denise Tucker If you‘re an average taxpayer you‘ll be forking over an extra $35.46 in education taxes, an increase of 3.5 per cent. This at a time when most taxâ€"levying bodies are holding taxes to no increase, or an increase within the cost of living The trustees just didn‘t get it. In fainess, the shortâ€" fall wasn‘t their fault alone, but to make it up they should have cut, cut and cut. Instead they made token cuts, took a much bigger bite out of the taxpayer and again waded into the reserve funds. They bowed to most of the specialâ€" interest groups (including the ohâ€"soâ€"vocal backers of d\edcmentarystnngspmgrmn'mdleftaumesys- tem‘s bells and whistles intact. Easy Way Out: The Waterloo County board of eduâ€" cation has set its budget â€" you‘re going to get the feeling t._hat somebody just flushed your wallet. What‘s that you say? Whatll happen with Kitchâ€" ener‘s downtown? It1] look much the same only more so. Time may be a great healer, but it‘s a lousy beautiâ€" The 0.J. Simpson ,l-u}y will ultimately sit for shorter hours. It‘s to permit them to do their Christmas shopâ€" ping. And scientists confirm that persons with an obsesâ€" sive interest in the Simpson case tend to have doubleâ€" digt IQ. Ontario goes to the polls and the NDP is third in total vote. Bob had an identity problem everyone knew him and what he‘d done. Daylight saving time is throwing everything off schedule. This morning, three worms mugged the early bird. But hey, we‘re a quarter way through the year. And as yet another handyâ€"dandy public service, we hereâ€" with predict major events in the rest of the year. To wit: The Grandview probe goes on and on. The costs, too, go on and at midâ€"year are just a few bucks behind the tab for investigation of the Kennedy assassination. The summer in Kâ€"W brings average rainfall which mutes the morons who believe no one should have a green lawn. By the way, a man described as a green thumb may not mean he‘s a great gardener. It could also mean he‘s a lousy painter A peek in the crystal ball shows ... Other public bodies hav;made agonizing choices, w o sid ‘ CX \‘ rfSreq ‘ &\\?&@ S Ww Circulation: Mary Baycroft Jerry Fischer Andrew Pearen Rick Campbell Paul Winkler Circulation * & w s eR ~ is iars RUNNING, T5 RUNNING BACKWARDS The views of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the newspaper. ME Waterloo Chronicle is published every Wednesday by o L "aut The Fairway Group 215 Fairway Rd. 8., Kitchener, Ont. a tall order. . | B)’t-hew.!hefihuulbdmutymxul; spend32.5mfllionb$8flimenda_yearfor *Vflnlmnsmmn-mbwmmmwi“ Gosh, at first I thought they were buying solve anything; neither â€" although it‘s dramatic â€" would be moving the market. Granted, the solution lies not in one thing, but in & number of things. But what the downtown needs is a safe, secure, inviting ambiéence and the kind of busâ€" nesses that will draw scads of people to it. And that‘s omdaldvicm The recent downtown Kitchener fires must have depressed Christy who wants to be the mayor who did To be blunt, he shouldn‘t be overly confident about the task force‘s recommendations. Free parking won‘t but somehow the trustees felt they were exempt. They seemed not aware that it‘s the same way you make a household budget work: you do without a lot of things you don‘t need. "Better Late...": Last week was National Procrasâ€" tination Week and I mention it only because you may want to celebrate it eventually. Still, procrastination has its good side; you always have something to do tomorrow. Out of the Ashes: Mayor Christy is an academic and | presume he knows some Latin. Sometimes when he‘s pondering the future of Kitchener‘s downâ€" town he may be tempted to muse, "Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus." In case the translation doesn‘t leap readily to mind, it‘s "We hope for better days; it shall arise from its ashes". The words spoken by Pastor Gabriel Richard after a fire destroyed all of Detroit in 1805 became the nce over 0 Tioily Sandy Baird Subscription rates $45 yearly in Canada. $80 yearly outside Canada. +G81T. Ak.... K