1) Why are you running?
I’m running in this election, a few years earlier than planned, because of my concerns about the lack of efficiencies being practiced, and the high costs associated with that problem. I have many years experience in road construction, maintenance, and snow plowing, and was concerned with the manner our roads were maintained. Some roads were plowed or graded in such a manner as to cause damage to the roads and ditches, and leave unsafe driving conditions.I contacted roads management, who defended the actions, and didn’t want to discuss the problem. As time went on, I researched more of our procedures, and contacted several staffers and councillors about other issues that were being done improperly or inefficiently, again, with little interest in discussing it. Many staff reports to council contained inaccurate or misleading financials, leading council to vote based on incorrect information. Council needs a persistent voice to encourage more scrutiny in the way services are provided: in the most thorough, cost effective way possible. Taxpayers foot the bills here; they deserve transparency and full, honest answers from staff and council.
2) Are there any steps municipalities can take to help ease cost of living concerns?
Meaford needs affordable housing. Those with the ability to pay inflated prices for housing have options, while those with fixed incomes (retirees, young people starting out) don’t. We need to attract multi-residence building by developers, such as small single bedroom apartments, so our seniors are able to live within their means and our young people aren’t forced to leave the area. There are many developers and contractors in the area who refuse to build in Meaford, or do so at a premium cost. Some have told me that the reason is that our planning department is time consuming and difficult to deal with, something we should be rectifying, and quickly. Some local developers are already approved builders for geared-to-income housing, which right now, is our biggest need.
3) What are your ideas for economic development in your municipality?
I’d like to see our Chamber of Commerce, or other interested groups, conduct a brief online survey. I’d rather the municipality didn’t do this themselves, because government has a way of adding expense and difficulty to such things. Ask three questions: Is the respondent a business owner or resident? What does Meaford need for products or services that are currently underserviced? What products or services do we never want here? Give the results of the survey to our local realtors. Opening a new business, or expanding an existing one is a huge risk, but if you have a documented need for your service, the risk is reduced dramatically. If we can fill our vacant commercial properties, existing businesses also benefit from increased traffic. Also, the municipality needs to treat business activity with expedience and respect.
4) Do you think a municipality has a role to play in the recruitment and retention of physicians and other healthcare workers?
I would be presenting a motion for the municipality to start an online petition, and have our county representatives ask other municipalities to join, asking the federal and provincial governments to act on our shortage of medical professionals, in the following manner: In the short term, we have many immigrant professionals here whose qualifications are short of Canada’s. Make it a priority to provide the required training to bring them up to our standards. If they contractually agree to practice here for a minimum of ten years, their tuition would be free. A similar program could be utilized for university students. Upon graduation, sign the ten year ‘staying in Canada’ contract, and their student loans disappear. This is a small price to pay to prevent a medical system meltdown, which isn’t far away. Closer to home, advertise five year property tax breaks for any doctors willing to move to Meaford to practice.
5) Should the municipality pursue more shared services with neighbouring municipalities?
Solid waste is high on my list of what should be a shared service between municipalities. More specifically, we need to explore incineration, a project which must include several municipalities together to be viable.The environmental destruction of burying our garbage should never have continued this long. Environmental concerns are making landfills increasingly difficult to get approved, as it should be, and I would expect that in my lifetime, we’ll be forced to find other methods, again, no argument from me. Let’s get to work on this now, rather than experience an eleventh hour panic when our options are running out.
6) What issue do you believe is a top priority for Meaford to tackle during the next term?
One of our top priorities in the next council session should be cost trimming. We have a huge infrastructure deficit on our hands, and the current economic condition, and the likelihood of a recession will exact a painful financial squeeze on the taxpayer, without unnecessary and high property tax increases adding to the pain. There are obvious inefficiencies being ignored, and many areas where our necessary services could be provided at a lower cost, either by chasing efficiencies. eliminating little-used heavy equipment, or sub-contracting. Our staff has nearly tripled since amalgamation, and comparatively is double that of neighbouring municipalities, primarily in administration. Office efficiency has suffered from the effects of multiple managers in the same departments. There is quite a lot of fat to be trimmed, and we owe it to the taxpayers to start trimming.