Driving progress in the Municipality of Meaford has been a passion of mine for 5 years now. Beginning with Economic Development work for the Chamber of Commerce in 2006, the creation of the Farmers’ Market in 2007, volunteer work with the Chamber’s Business Development Committee, the Economic Development Committee and Task Forces in 2009 I have had the opportunity to live and breathe the corporation of the Municipality of Meaford.
Having spent a majority of my childhood in St. Vincent, and attending school away from home and our farm, Meaford has been the one true rock that I can come back to and call home. I currently own and operate 3 businesses within the Municipality focused on agriculture and food, and I still volunteer my time to projects aimed at bringing positive attention to Meaford.
Although it is challenging for someone of 30 to live full time Meaford and make a living it is the opportunities that exist here that are far more attractive than anywhere else in Ontario; they just need a little fostering.
Continuing on the work that has been done there are many items of importance that need to be brought forward, discussed and resolved before we can begin to reap the benefits presented by these opportunities - opportunities that all citizens of the Municipality deserve.
Taxes are first and foremost a concern for all of us. While it is fiscally irresponsible at this time to promise lower taxes, it is possible for us to consolidate and fortify our finances over the next 4 years while still maintaining the current levels of Municipal services.
We must investigate creative ways to generate new revenue streams by enforcing existing by-laws and creating fees for value added public services, such as vendor permits for retailers on municipal property.
We also need to enforce the Noxious Weed by-law in our rural areas, as it is an issue affecting many of our farmers. Farming has a bright future and we must work to preserve and encourage our diverse local agriculture sector to ensure that it survives through these tough times.
We must also continue to find creative solutions to conserve spending on non-essentials and create operational efficiencies in the functioning of every Municipal department and gain better value for each and every staff member.
If elected I will put forward recommendations to improve employee engagement, create operational process maps of corporate functions to assist staff in finding workplace operational efficiencies, including improved segregation of duties and internal control points. This is part of empowering staff to be able to do the jobs they are paid to do without micro-management by Council. Included in this will be operational goal setting and incentives for meeting and exceeding targets for each and every staff member and department.
Part of these targets should be the implementation of recent yet shelved plans to encourage downtown preservation, beautification, and property standards. This will play a very large role in any upcoming economic development work.
Indeed economic development is crucial to the ability of Meaford to control future tax rates, and to maintain the Municipality as an affordable and attractive place to live, work, and play. Beyond any doubt we need to diversify our current tax base, and increase the proportion of taxes generated through new businesses… We need to be business friendly and support new business growth.
We also need to ensure that economic growth is conducted in a manner beneficial to the citizens of the Municipality, and that all growth is done in a conscientious and bridled manner. We have too many assets that must not be sacrificed cheaply on the alter of Economic Development.
A significant issue is improving maintenance to rural roads. Much can be done to save money in the long term by keeping culverts, drains and roads in good condition. If elected I will push rural road maintenance as a priority. Not only do properly maintained roads save us from emergency repair costs, but they are important in creating a positive appeal to visitors, and potential business investors to our community.
I offer new creative energy and ideas in addressing these items and the many more that will arise through the day to day business of Municipal Council. The foundation of my platform is to provide the Municipality a solid basis for improving Municipal circumstances and to set forth with our economic development projects in order to realize positive change. It is imperative that we work to prepare ourselves to properly deal with the increased demands that will be placed on the Municipality and its staff through these next 4 years.
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