Twenty-nine City of Hamilton employees were fired for allegedly not being on the job, using city vehicles for personal use, or selling asphalt.

This conduct is not exceptional to any workplace. I don’t condone it and am sure no taxpayer does.

The city says the investigation will now focus on the workers’ supervisors. My query is why weren’t the supervisors targeted first? One would think supervisors should know of their crew’s work performance. If not, then they are not qualified to be a supervisor.

City council stated that trust and truth is needed for our city to operate properly. Yet in 2011, our mayor got caught in a lie about a 33 per cent wage increase, when he put the blame on others.

In 2003, eight Hamilton councillors and the mayor were caught using city credit cards for personal use. They made restitution, no penalty, kept their jobs and some were re-elected.

Then there is the loss of tens of thousands of dollars in property taxes due to the unnecessary expropriation of property at the west harbour site; the $90,000 a year on Wi-Fi providing free Internet service for a few users; the $376,00 wasted on Our Voices Our Hamilton run by an Ottawa company. How much asphalt would all these needless expenses buy? No one has lost their job over these fiascoes yet.

Can anyone honestly say they have never cheated in the work place? Never left work early; never lifted pens, tape, paper, materials, or tools; never attended to personal matters during working hours?

Do politicians attend every meeting, return phone calls and emails? All of the above is a form of theft. The city employees should not be fired. They should be reprimanded and asked to make restitution. Recall a passage in the Bible: “Let one who is without sin cast the first stone”. I don’t think there would be many throwing stones, especially among politicians.

John Vesprini

Stoney Creek