1) Why are you running?
Since arriving in Walkerton five years ago to lead the Walkerton Clean Water Centre into a bold future, I have made a point of working with the community to position Brockton for a successful future as a community. For four years I have sat on the Economic Development Committee, and we have made significant inroads to position businesses to prosper, even during Covid. Facade improvement grants (retaining heritage), expansion and marketing grants, and enabling small business to succeed digitally, to name a few. Last year I founded Saugeen Hospice Inc with a group of like-minded professionals, and our initiative now has charitable status with the CRA and has close to $1 million in the bank to build a hospice closer-to-home. This sense of community led me to run for Council so that I might apply my decades of CEO and Board experience to Council, including strengthening our work with other levels of government to minimize tax increases and plan for the future. Council is like a Board of Directors with the citizens as shareholders. Teamwork is the key, as is respecting our professional staff, and I make that a point in anything I do.
2) Are there any steps municipalities can take to help ease cost of living concerns?
Municipalities have a limited but important role in minimizing cost of living increases, both directly and indirectly. Directly, the budget is supported by both tax and non-tax revenues. Water, for example, is not part of your tax bill. It is collected separately on a cost recovery basis in your water bill. We need to stay focused on asset management and controlling the costs of third-party water management to keep those costs at a minimum. On the tax side, close scrutiny of the many infrastructure projects, and the RFP process that awards them to contractors, is critical. Indirectly, ample housing leads to stable rent and/or stable house prices from our community. Brockton needs to forecast housing needs, and most importantly work with the other higher levels of government – county, provincial and federal, to take advantage of the many opportunities to partner with them, lessening the cash requirements for us. The federal government recently announced some $72 BILLION to be made available for additional affordable housing. Brockton needs to position itself to take advantage of the funds better than it has been.
3) What are your ideas for economic development in your municipality?
Economic Development is absolutely critical for the future of any community. First, it brings significant cash flow to the municipality from land sales and development fees. Second, it lays out a steady stream of tax revenues from both new businesses, and the team members that will be employed. These revenues are spread across the overall budget, and help keep both business and individual homeowner tax increases to the lowest level possible. Without economic development, cities and towns stagnate and die, and the infrastructure that keeps farms and rural communities getting products to market crumbles. That being said, it cannot be done at all costs and requires thoughtful planning to ensure that development is sustainable. We only need look at municipalities close to Bruce Power, and their rents, housing prices and lack of industrial/business space to ensure that what we do in Brockton is both manageable and respects our existing community members. This includes heritage buildings and assets of historical ad cultural value.
4) Do you think the municipality has a role to play in the recruitment and retention of physicians and other healthcare workers?
Brockton has a role to play but also needs to respect the individual corporation that runs the infrastructure – it reports to the provincial Ministry of Health. I have already been involved in current recruitment efforts, and they are proving to be very successful. Health infrastructure is key in attracting new residents and new businesses. Retention draws on the amenities and community factors that have people stay in a community. My answers above will contribute to those factors. We need to advocate more strongly with the Ministry of Health directly, and need to partner with Arran-Elderslie, West Grey, and Kincardine in that advocacy – we have not done that to date and have gone it alone as Brockton. Unified voices mean stronger voices. I sat on the Board of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre from 2018-2020.