1. The primary reasons for my decision to seek election as a councillor for the Township of Whitewater Region are:
• Ensure accountability by council and staff by ensuring proper policies are in place and are followed according to council’s direction
• Road maintenance was an issue this past winter and I would like to see steps are taken to ensure that is minimized
• Muskrat Lake rejuvenation
• Economic development to ensure sustainability and the future of Whitewater Region
• Decisions based on the best interests of the ratepayers and the municipality
• Over the next few years there will be great strain on our tax dollars with the implementation of the new OPP billing and the reduction in the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund that will affect some of the services that are now provided to residents. Informed decisions will need to be made in order to keep our municipal taxes affordable.
It is my hope that with my municipal finance experience I will be able to help make those decisions and contribute in an informed way.
2. The role of a councillor as I understand it is
a) To represent the residents of the township and to consider the best interests of the municipality when making any decisions
b) To ensure accountability and transparency of the municipality not only for council but for senior staff as well by ensuring there are policies and practices in place
c) To maintain the financial integrity of the municipality when making decisions
d) To review services that are provided to the municipality
3. Over the last four years I have been involved in:
• Dr. Kim Armstrong Memorial Turkey Trot – Treasurer
• Raising money and purchasing equipment for the Pembroke Regional Hospital ($65,000 to date)
• Bursary of $1,000 to a Fellowes High School graduate and a Panet High School graduate in Dr. Kim Armstrong’s name each year
• Funded two homes in Guatemala
• Renfrew County Harley Owners Group – Treasurer
• Through our charity rides we have raised money for the following:
• Petawawa Military Family Foundation
• Renfrew Hospice
• MRI Campaign – Pembroke Regional Hospital Foundation
• Robbie Dean Family Counselling Centre for Suicide Prevention
• Treasurer for the Township of Laurentian Valley
• Member of the Municipal Finance Officers of Ontario
• Member of the Association of Clerk/Treasurers of Ontario
• Member of the Ontario Municipal Tax Collectors of Ontario
• Member of the Renfrew County Clerk/Treasurers Association
• Member of the Eastern Ontario Treasurers Association
4. I have the following skills to bring to the Whitewater Region Township council as follows:
• 19 years municipal finance experience
• Budget experience
• Policy review and implementation experience
• Financial review experience
• Council meeting experience as a staff member
• Direct experience dealing with all departments of a municipality
• Problem solving and analytical skills – how to get to the bottom of an issue and try to help resolve issues by looking at the advantages and disadvantages
• Team player
• Common sense approach to decisions
5. In my view the top priorities for Council in the upcoming four years are as follows:
• Review of all services
• Review of road maintenance
• Review of policies to ensure proper accountability is in place
• Muskrat Lake rejuvenation
• Economic development
6. The Township of Whitewater Region would gain from a sustainability plan that would cover the five most important aspects of a community.
• Economic Prosperity
• Social Equity
• Cultural Vitality
• Environmental Responsibility
• Accountable Leadership
Through innovative thinking and the participation from the community a sustainable plan could be created that outlines where the community is prepared to be in the future. Questions will need to be answered and ideas will need to be defined to determine that future. At what cost to the ratepayer and at what service delivery to ensure that as a community of four former municipalities we come together as a whole to make those decisions. I am prepared to work towards a plan and ensure that all aspects of the community are involved and are at the table which include farmers, commercial owners, industrial owners, residents of the township along with the Provincial and Federal Governments. We all need to work together to shape the future of Whitewater Region and to ensure that it has a prosperous result.
7. Repairs and maintenance are part of the operating budget and should be budgeted for on a yearly basis. There is no simple strategy for funding these types of repairs and maintenance costs. Several different approaches would need to be reviewed starting with the review of the budget, identifying the priority deficiencies and complete them in sections, identify the service requirements for each road, determination of when roads will be replaced, and other possible options to extend the life of the road itself compared to the cost of patching. A proper maintenance schedule is important to ensure the longevity of the roads, ignoring them is no longer an option and is not cost effective. As we have seen the longer we ignore the repairs and maintenance of the roads the earlier the roads need to be replaced. If a schedule of approximately when roads would be repaired (by area not by former municipality) and posted for the public would greatly reduce the overall complaints to the roads department as often it is wanting to know when repairs can be expected (frontline staff knowing the schedule would also benefit to address these complaints).
8. Safe passage of large farm equipment is essential to the farming community. It is important to understand the traffic needs of each individual road to determine what design best suits the roads in question. I am prepared to support this initiative if I become a council member.
9. There has been an increase in larger more modern farming equipment utilized in the township. It is important to understand the needs of all the people that travel the roads and I would encourage and support council to become involved with the farming community in order to be able to bring to the table the concerns of a large portion of the population in the township.
10. Agriculture is a vital part of our community. The municipality needs to ensure that the agriculture community is supported to ensure the continued sustainability of the farming industry within our municipality.
Innovative ideas by farmers need to be supported through planning decisions of council. A council representative should be involved with the farming community to ensure any issues that council could support are brought back to the council table. The municipality needs to ensure that the provincial and federal governments provide support through the decision making process and need to bring that message to the table at the provincial and federal levels.
11. Unfortunately during the initial process of amalgamation there were some aspects left to continue prior to amalgamation and they include the recreation and fire departments. There will always be some residents that continue to take ownership of the former municipalities with regard to roads, fire and recreation. It will be important to ensure that these groups have the support of council in moving towards the goal of becoming one. It will be important to find out from these groups how they feel it could be achieved and help guide the end result of a more inclusive municipality instead of continuing with exclusivity. The recreation facilities have had great support from their individual communities through volunteers and to be successful you will need to ensure these volunteers are appreciated for what they have done and hopefully continue to volunteer in the future.
12. I do not agree with returning paved/tar and chip roads back to gravel. It is a step backwards. The cost of maintaining gravel roads annually is much higher than maintaining paved/tar and chip roads. I would only agree with returning roads to gravel if there was a plan in the near future to ensure that the road was repaved in the foreseeable future.
13. No I do not feel we need five fire halls. The fire budget comprises a large portion of the budget and could easily be reduced by reducing the number of fire halls and the number of volunteer fire fighters. How many fire halls or volunteer fire fighters the township requires would need to be determined by council with information from a service delivery study.
14. Over many years the provincial government through its ministries have made and encouraged decisions to be made that had drastic results in the health of Muskrat Lake. It is important to continue to pursue the provincial government to force the clean-up and I would support this initiative.
15. Currently the priority is the Muskrat Lake and while resources are being rallied towards that lake the other water bodies should not be ignored.
• Testing at all lakes should be a priority to determine what the levels of contamination are at this time to determine if any remediation can be done prior to a situation like Muskrat Lake.
• Activities and land use practices on any watershed area should be monitored and restricted when required.
• Partnerships with Algonquin College, University of Guelph and the Ministry of Environment to better understand and monitor all water within the watershed area.
• Education of the residents in the watershed area to make better decisions with regard to phosphate-free detergents and cleaners (currently there are two science nights being presented – October 9th and November 20th)
• Encourage natural growth at the water edge to create minimal drainage run-off
All water bodies have the potential of forming blue-green algae and it is important to educate everyone to ensure we are not faced with this problem in other areas.
16. Whitewater Region has an abundance of opportunities to become an adventure community in co-ordination with existing recreational businesses. Currently the township does not have the resources to support any large investment into recreation but I believe a partnership with the current recreational businesses with the support of council and small investments when needed would go a long way. Through an economic strategy and promotion this municipality has the potential to become more of an adventure destination.
17. The cost for OPP services will be phased in over five years with a cap of $40 increase per household per year.
• The waste collection budget does not balance and should be based on a rate per household to encourage use of the waste site instead of by the bag cost. A cost per household would increase the revenues as well as encourage recycling and proper collection of waste. There are a number of areas of the municipality that no garbage is put out on collection day yet the cost of collection is off set through the tax rate. Currently the municipality has budgeted to collect $383,000 in revenue. If we charged $150 per household (including seasonal) per year based on 3,516 households the township would increase their revenue by $144,400. This would have to be balanced with the fact the waste sent to the waste site would increase and at what increase to the cost of maintaining the waste site.
• The reduction of fire halls and volunteer firefighters.
However an overall review of service needs for the municipality would be required to determine how best to reduce costs in the above noted areas along with other areas.
18. Smaller municipalities are forced to complete the same testing as larger municipalities for water and sewer. Through borrowing and a replacement plan the overall cost of replacement could be spread out over several years. The need to follow an asset management plan is essential in mitigating the increase over time. Newer pipes should also decrease the cost of maintenance of these water and sewer lines.
19. I am committed to helping the municipality to continue to become sustainable and prosperous in the future through dedication, open mindedness to new initiatives, and the willingness to help come together as one municipality to move through these challenging times ahead.
