Coun. Candidate refuses to pay fine

Dear Editor

This past week I received a notice from the Town that I was being charged a total of $340 for violation of the town's bylaw regarding my election signs.  With two exceptions, I was never notified that my signs were in violation or where they were located.

Earlier this month, I lodged a formal complaint about a large portable sign that was obstructing the view of drivers wishing to enter onto Hwy 50.  In order to enter the highway at Simona, drivers had to edge into the lane on the highway in order to get a view of southbound traffic due to the placement of the sign.  I simply asked the town to have the owner of the sign moved slightly back from the highway so that drivers could get an unobstructed view and safely enter the highway.

After three weeks of my notification, the sign was eventually removed from the location, yet merely hours after the 72-hour period for removal of election signs, I was told that I was responsible for sign violations and removal to the tune of $340!  No previous warning, no prior notification of violation, no proof of where the violating signs were located and no option to appeal.  It would have been a lot more efficient and less cost to the town to notify violators of any sign infractions and have the candidates remove or move them.  However, some bureaucrat told an employee to go out, seize the signs store them, and then notify the owners of a violation(s) and then return or destroy them.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of signs throughout the town that are and have been in violation of the sign bylaw for years, yet the Town has the audacity to go after a political candidate that has just spent thousands of dollars in an attempt to bring his knowledge, expertise, dedication and competence to council for the betterment of the town.

The Town already has my $150 sign deposit, so I am still on the hook for another $190 which I simply refuse to pay. If the Town wants to add it to my tax bill, then let them try.  One of the significant issues during the campaign was the image that the village of Bolton and the Town of Caledon has suffered.  It is mickey mouse moves like this that just serves to prove a point.  If the bylaw department had any common sense, they would refund all the candidates sign deposits and do a proper job of enforcing the bylaw.

Joe Luschak,

Unsuccessful Ward 5 Area Coun. Candidate