1) Why are you running?
I have always had an interest in politics and felt now was the right time to run, the issues that are facing the municipality need a fresh perspective and I feel with my business/sales background I would be a good fit to help guide us through the next 4 years.
2) Are there any steps municipalities can take to ease cost of living concerns? If so, what measures would you support?
I am a big proponent of fiscal responsibility and being prudent with spending is the main source that we can limit or negate any tax increases for the taxpayers.
Families are finding it hard to make ends meet and as a municipality we owe it to the taxpayers to be prudent and possibly even reduce our spending in trying times.
We have quite a large fleet of pickup trucks, with at least 3 purchases this year, when smaller more economical vehicles would have suited, thus saving on fuel costs as well.
3) What are your ideas for economic development in your municipality?
Promoting Georgian Bluffs as business friendly is a great start and we need to focus on new and emerging trends in business to stay on top of this. The green initiative has been what is driving business development in other municipalities and we need to make those businesses look at Georgian Bluffs. One way we can do this is cutting red tape for development and speeding up zoning changes to allow these businesses to come in.
4) Do you think the municipality has a role to play in the recruitment and retention of physicians and other healthcare workers?
We definitely have a role to play, since we don’t have a hospital in Georgian Bluff, we have to rely on ones in other municipalities and we need to be seen as supportive of the recruitment drives. Having a good relationship with the neighbouring municipalities is a great start, we also need to push the higher levels of government for more money for our health care systems, having emergency rooms close due to staff shortages is unacceptable and as a municipality we have a bit more pull with the provincial and federal governments to help push for more funding.
5) Should the township pursue more shared services with neighbouring municipalities?
More shared services is something that we can definitely look at, when it would benefit Georgian Bluffs, other municipalities have a few more services that would be a benefit to residents as long as its not too costly.
6) What issue do you believe is a top priority for Georgian Bluffs to tackle during the next term?
Dealing with short term rentals, they have become a very hot topic and many other municipalities have already put policies in place to deal with them. I feel that they not only need to be licensed, regulated and taxed properly similar to any other business, but there also needs to be consequences and fines for non compliance and complaints against them, with a 3 strike rule in place that after 3 fines the license is revoked. They would also need to reside within an hour of the property or have a property manager within that distance that can deal with any complaints when they happen. If this doesn’t solve the problem then a possible ban on them or far stronger fines may have to be looked at.
The Bio Digester is also something we need to look at, its too costly, needs repairs often and just simply doesn’t work for a municipality the size of Georgian Bluffs.
Protecting farm land and green space from future development is also something council needs to look at quite seriously as once its gone we can never get it back.