First impressions: the grass we leave uncut
The Town can cut your grass and bill your taxes if it passes 20 cm. Its own corners and trail entrances went uncut all summer. Why this is one of the easiest things for the next council to fix.
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Notes
A shelf of work, not a feed
Notes on the public record, each with a permanent link, so they can still be found in October, and after.
Why the audit calendar matters more than it sounds
Cochrane’s audited books used to reach council about five months after year end. The 2024 statements took thirteen. The 2025 statements still are not tabled. Why that matters heading into a new council and the 2027 budget.
Read →Strong mayor powers: what they are, and the question to ask before October 26
Cochrane’s mayor has held strong mayor powers since May 2025. Where they came from, what the Town publishes about their use, what it leaves out, and the questions every mayoral candidate should answer before October 26.
Read →Online voting in 2026: how Cochrane decided, and how common it is
Cochrane votes by internet and telephone this October, with no paper ballot. The council record behind that decision, the dates and help centres, and where Ontario’s other 412 municipalities landed.
Read →Transparency is a decision, not a budget
Publishing the Town’s tax history took less than ten minutes, table, calculator and all. For the basics, transparency is not a workload problem.
Read →The Cochrane truck bypass: what’s in the public record
Forty years of studies, reports, and council decisions on the truck bypass, gathered in one place with links to the original documents.
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