PLATFORM
"I know what it's like for a family to struggle to get ahead, and I'm grateful for the blessings I've received and for the love and sacrifices made. I also know that there are good people around us who haven't been as fortunate. They have been a big part of this community's past and present. They deserve to have a future here as well. The policies that govern Central Frontenac should reflect that as well."
ISSUES
Taxes
Every dollar we spend comes from you, and it's a dollar you can't spend toward your home or on your family. Coming out of the pandemic and entering a period of high inflation has just made a tough situation even more difficult.
We levy taxes to cover services important to the community, but most ratepayers and residents in Central Frontenac Township simply do not have the ability to shoulder large amounts.
Turmoil on the other side of the world feeds economic downturns, inflation. We can't change those things, but we can set priorities that help us do what we need to for the lowest possible cost.
I believe that we must always find the balance between what you pay and what we need. That is why I will continue to fight for affordable government for our Township, and a 'Back to Basics' agenda where we focus our attention for the next four years on improving infrastructure and work on essential projects already in progress.
Infrastructure
Public Works expenditures make up fully 50% of what your Township spends. This translates to two major things - roads and waste management. In the absence of provincial grant support, major road work must be funded solely through the Township budget.
Fixing potholed and washboarded secondary roads is an ongoing challenge, and our roads need continual work, such as proper ditching and the replacement of culverts.
A focus on preventative measures, like proper ditching, culvert maintenance, and microsurfacing of paved roads needs to be a priority for Council at budget time, so that we can extend the lifespan of these routes.
Value for your Tax Dollars
Like other small rural municipalities, we contract a number of services. We sign multi-year contracts for everything ranging from snow removal to maintaining lawns and upkeep on facilities.
While the majority of the time these services are delivered well, and in a cost-effective manner, problems will arise. Grass doesn't get cut, or a hall isn't fully clean for renters.
Contracts spell out the responsibilities of both parties - the Township and the service provider - and if there is too much ambiguity in the language, confusion comes about. Just what is meant by 'as needed' or 'as required'? Who decides?
I will continue to call for the inclusion of specific 'performance guarantee' clauses in our external contracts. These clauses will spell out in precise language what our expectations are, and what penalties will incur if those standards are not met. If both the Township and contractors are fully aware of their obligations to each other, we can improve service to you.
**Please visit the 'Policy Backgrounder' page for more details**
Emergency Services
The men and women who take on the enormous commitment to protect lives and property deserve all the support they can get. In the past term of Council, I have done my best to do just that.
Over the last eight years, we have seen the opening of a new, modern Fire Station in Parham, as well as investments in new equipment - including a new medical response vehicle for Parham, breathing apparatuses, new personal protective gear for our crews and increasing compensation for firefighters. These were good decisions - and long overdue.
For those of us who have experienced a house fire or medical emergency, we appreciate all that these unsung heroes in our community do for us. Making sure they have what they need to do their job benefits us all.
Economic Development
Economic development must be a priority if a community is to survive – and thrive.
From 2018 to 2022, I chaired the Township's Economic Development Committee, including the Sharbot Lake Downtown Revitalization work. I am proud of that work and the colleagues who helped make it happen.
But we need to do more - and not just for Sharbot Lake.
Central Frontenac will only succeed economically if the engine is firing on all four cylinders - Hinchinbrooke, Kennebec, Olden and Oso.
The Township needs to review how it regulates business - whether our by-laws help or hinder the local economy. Council needs to review the laws we have on the books and ask "Is this necessary?" If a by-law is not protecting public health and safety, or established community standards, but is scaring away investments and potential jobs, then we need to act.
Government does a lot of high-level activity to create the conditions for business to thrive. But economic development, in its truest sense, comes from people who invest in an idea, who invest in themselves – with hard earned money and sweat equity. They are the ‘experts’ in economic development, and they prove their expertise with every morning opening, every customer served, and every employee they hire.
I will advocate for the Economic Development Committee to set to work laying the foundation of a new ‘Central Frontenac Chamber of Commerce’ – a group run by local business, for local business. Like other Chambers, it would elect its own officers, control its own membership, and develop ideas and proposals for growing our local economy – ideas that speak to their experience and knowledge, ideas that speak to the reality of meeting a payroll and keeping the lights on.
**Please visit the 'Policy Backgrounder' page for more details on this proposal**
I will also continue to advocate for changes to the structure of the Economic Development Committee that give us the tools and opportunity to take the 'Downtown Revitalization Plan' we did for Sharbot Lake and create similar plans for Parham, Tichborne and Godfrey/Piccadilly.
**Please visit the 'Policy Backgrounder' page for more details on this proposal**
Planning Services
As a Councillor, I saw people represented at the Committee of Adjustment by a paid consultant or project manager. A lot of the time this was because of the red tape and various steps you needed to take to get an approval. If people have to pay someone thousands of dollars in order to navigate the Township's planning process, then we are applying an indirect tax on development - to say nothing of the extra time and lost weeks when you're trying to line up contractors.
Many people who have taken driving trips have first gone to CAA for what is called a ‘triptik’ – a customized map that shows your start and destination points. It outlines the route, identifying each road, rest stop, the distance, as well as the estimated travel time. It was the printed paper version of a GPS setting.
Like a long-distance road trip, or scoping out a possible career path, the municipal planning process is a long journey with a lot of details and ‘points of interest’ along the way. Whether you want to build a house, open a business, or renovate / expand an existing one, there are a number of steps along the way – zoning by-laws, codes, permits, etc.
If I want to build a house, renovate a cottage, or open a business in Central Frontenac, what rules do I have to follow? What permits and fees do I have to pay? In short, what steps do I have to take to get to the point where I can move into my home or cottage, or celebrate the grand opening of my new business.
I will push for the creation of an online ‘planning triptik’ – a page where based on what you want to do, you can get a full itemized list of all the rules and steps in the approval process, as well as a basic total of all the fees and charges for it. It will help people better plan their work, and also help the Township process requests faster, as more complete and detailed submissions equal less follow-up for missing or inaccurate paperwork.
**Please visit the 'Policy Backgrounder' page for more details**
Environment
Our Township relies heavily on agriculture and tourism - both of which depend upon maintaining our natural habitat. To grow our local economy - and opportunities for our ratepayers and residents - we need growth, but it needs to be responsible.
I support the new Official Plan for Central Frontenac that places particular attention on development of our lakes and waterways - especially those particular lakes that have been identified as 'environmentally sensitive,' including limits on new development and increased setbacks on those specific bodies.
I am in full support of our Official Plan as it pertains to waterfront development, the pilot project to develop 'communal services' for our settlement areas, and continue to support financial support programs for low-income families unable to afford the full and immediate cost of replacing old or faulty septic systems.
Affordability
We all know people who struggle under the burden of high costs - for food, clothing, housing, and getting to and from work.
Whether it be the taxes we charge, or the rules we bring in, decisions at the Council table can have an impact on family budgets. Sometimes changes are necessary, but we need to find a balance, where we can do the right thing, but do right by the people who call this place home.
That is why I fought to ensure that our mandatory septic re-inspection program also incorporated an 'affordability plan', where financially vulnerable households would be able to do what was right for the health and safety of the community without facing a burden they could not reasonably bear. I believe that when given a chance to do the right thing, people will make good choices - but those choices are impossible to make if they make daily life too difficult.
As we transition into a post-COVID world, and with sharp increases in prices and interest rates, we need to be ever aware of the impact of our decisions on households in this Township.
We need to create an 'affordability litmus test' for all new major programs - the inclusion of measures that take into account the financial situation of members of our community. I believe that every initiative the Township brings in must contain measures that give working families a path forward - so that they never have to choose between complying with a rule and staying in their home.