March 2018
The Toronto Star’s Campaign for Transparency identifies how decisions about transportation are being made in our city. This presents condo corporation directors with a prime example of how not to operate.
The term is evidence-based decision making – an approach Toronto appears to have abandoned when it comes to transportation decisions. There are no winners here.
The Toronto Star reports that politicians are building new rail transit as a way to get re-elected. Political ambitions are been financed by the city’s transportation infrastructure. The result is a yet unproven allegation of spending billions of dollars to support political aspirations of some candidates.
Available analyses of these plans appear to have omitted known relevant details, meaning that decisions were made without access to these details. This transportation infrastructure includes subways and transit stations. Once built, even more money is needed to maintain the infrastructure.
The same “mistakes” get repeated when the ultimate goal is to be re-elected rather than building a transportation system.
One result of the Toronto Star campaign is that Metrolinx has now chosen to provide notice of closed-door meetings and provide minutes of these meetings.
Like politicians, condo corporation directors should be relying on advice from consultants. Making decisions based on resident beliefs … is not the way to ensure money is spent wisely in maintaining one’s condo home.
A failure to rely on evidence-based decision making has been blamed on the province’s failure to build transportation infrastructure at a pace that keeps up with population growth.
So it is with condo corporations. Those that fail to demand evidence-based decision making suffer the same outcome. Everyone loses. Condo fees and/or special assessments will increase because condo corporations have taxation authority to collect funds necessary to maintain their infrastructure regardless of how much money has been wasted on ill-advised expenditures.
Like politicians, condo corporation directors should be relying on advice from consultants and data provided to them. Making decisions based on resident beliefs, opinions and preferences may be an effective way to be re-elected to a condo board. It is not the way to ensure money is spent wisely in maintaining one’s condo home.
