Well, after hearing from a number of friends who are participating in Movember this year, I decided to also take the plunge to help change the face of men’s health as well.

http://mobro.co/MikeCluett

There are a number of my co-workers at Ballance Display who are participating in the Movember cause this year so I joined the team recently, so I guess I’ll join the Movember team as well.

From the Movember website:

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in Canada and around the world. With their “Mo’s”, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer. 

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words, they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember. 

If you are participating, please let me know so I can post YOUR page as well.  I’d like to get a good list of Milton Mo’ Bro’s to let the people of our town know why we will be looking so silly this month.

So far the Miltonian’s I know of are:

Mike Heenan

Martin Capper

John Challinor III

Sean Hazlett

Nik Spohr

And of course, yours truly.

I’m still on the fence as to what kind of ’stash to grow so if you have any tips or suggestions, get them to me soon.

You can follow my Movember quest on my Twitter as well.  Help me help others change the face of men’s health in Canada.

The next meeting of Milton Town Council is on Monday June 27th starting at 7pm at Milton Town Hall.

The governing body of the Town of Milton is Town Council, consisting of the Mayor and 10 Councillors who represent Milton’s eight wards.  Milton residents elect members of Council for a four-year term of office.  You can find a link to watch the Town Council meetings here.  The meetings are also broadcast on TV Cogeco (Channel 14).

Town Council deals with:

• Matters requiring policy direction
• By-laws or by-law amendments
• Responses or actions to pertinent issues

Council also makes decisions on the recommendations of Milton’s two Standing Committees of Council:

• Administration & Planning Committee
• Community Services Committee

The link to the agenda can be found here.  Some of the highlites of tonights meeting include:

• Recognizing Yolanda McCann as 2010 Milton Senior of the Year
• An update from staff on Emerald Ash Borer & Black Knot fungus on trees
• A report & recommendation from CSAC on Community Fund Allocations
• Supplementary Report on Region Official Plan Ammendment No. 39

Hope to see you there or watch ONLINE as well via www.milton.ca

Here is the Champions take on the meeting last Monday. When the title says taxes could rise by 4.4%, it means that staff has assessed current services already provided combined with the MPI (Municipal Price Index) could result in a budget increase of 4.4%

This total doesnt include new services that will be debated throughout the year and at budget time by the budget committee/council.

Some of the other items I brought up at the meeting was a request to staff to not only consider the MPI, but also to take into consideration the CPI, inflation etc that is being projected for the next year as well.  The US economy isnt moving forward (in fact in some cases seems to be moving backwards) fast enough and could easily slip into a further recession putting extreme pressures on our economy as well.

There are way too many factors in play to consider Canada’s economy and local economy’s out of the woods yet.  This is why we have to tread carefully in our 2012 budget process and keep taxpayers in mind with potential budget increases and the effects on their pocketbooks.

I also confirmed with staff during the meeting that the hospital tax levy installed on your 2011 tax bill IS included in that amount.  Should the budget committee and in turn town council decide to remove the levy from the tax bill and find other sources of funding for the hospital expansion fund, the overall increase in current services will be lower.

Its important that taxpayers know of all the options available to council during this process and send their input to their respective councillor.  This measure passed with no public input whatsover during the 2011 budget debate and I, along with a number of my collegues heard from you.  Some supported the measure and many opposed it.  The common theme I heard from taxpayers was they were not told about it and they voiced their displeasure.  As reported in the survey 40% of respondents supported the levy (actual number 71) while 38% opposed (actual number 68) leaving 21% (actual number 37) unsure, it by no measure is a mandate for council to continue this levy without extensive feedback from the community.

You will see at the end of the article, an announcement of the informal budget input session slated for Monday July 11th at Milton Sports Centre (Room 4) starting at 7pm.  If you cant make it, please email me your comments, questions and concerns to mike@mikecluett.ca

http://www.insidehalton.com/community/milton/article/1033206

Taxes could rise by 4%

Christina Commisso, Milton Canadian Champin

A 4 per cent tax hike, but no increased services.

That’s the gist of the budget call report presented to the Town’s administration and planning committee Monday.

Town staff have estimated a 4.41 per cent tax hike is needed next year to maintain existing service levels in town.

The report aims to provide guidelines and direction for preparing next year’s budget, and if this week’s meeting was a preview of things to come, the 2012 budget deliberations could be heated.

The first question posed to Town Treasurer Linda Leeds following her short presentation was what the impact of removing the 1 per cent hospital levy, introduced in the 2011 budget, would have.

“The hospital tax levy was a pretty contentious issue,” said Ward 6 Councillor Mike Cluett.

He was one of five councillors who voted against the levy, which narrowly passed by a 6-5 vote in January.

Leeds said the report assumes the 1 per cent levy would continue in 2012 and it wouldn’t result in a tax increase. She said if the hospital tax wasn’t carried forward, it would result in a tax decrease.

Councillor Cindy Lunau quickly reminded those in attendance that funding the local share of the Milton District Hospital expansion, when it’s approved by the Province, is a reality council will have to one day deal with.

“To remove the hospital levy would result in a decrease in the overall tax rate, but we certainly had comments around this table that there’s nothing more important we should be putting our tax money towards than the hospital…As we get to that point, let us hope we have some idea where the money for the hospital will be coming from.”

Added Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo, “I can go down the list and if we remove everything we added last year, every program and service, that would also mean the tax increase would be lower than 4.41 per cent,” he said.

Councillor Sharon Barkley reminded council members the point of the report is to provide Town staff with budget direction, “and I’m not sure if we’re doing that,” she said. She asked Leeds what a 4 per cent increase in municipal taxes would mean on her tax bill. As the Milton share of the property tax bill represents 29 per cent of the total, Leeds said a 4 per cent local increase would have a 1 to 1.2 per cent impact on the total tax bill.

The report points to the Main Street grade separation and construction of the new Milton fire headquarters at Derry Road and Savoline Boulevard as the two highest-priority items on the 2012 capital budget.

The projects, slated for completion next year, are estimated to cost $18.4 million and $2.9 million respectively in 2012 and $35.6 million and $5.2 million in total.

Staff included comments on a budget survey — available on the Town’s website until the end of August — in the report.

Of the close to 200 responses received so far, the majority said they’re satisfied with the current level of service the Town provides and 72 per cent said there are no new services or programs that could be offered.

For new services or to increase existing service levels, 40 per cent of respondents don’t support a tax increase, 38 per cent do support an increase and the remainder of respondents were unsure.

The survey asked about support for the hospital levy — 40 per cent were in favour of the tax, 39 per cent weren’t in favour and 21 per cent were unsure.

Hosted by councillors Zeeshan Hamid, Cluett, Barkley and Di Lorenzo, an informal budget input session is set for July 11 at the Milton Sports Centre (Room 4) at 7 p.m.

As I have mentioned many times in this blog, I feel its important that the community get involved in our budget process.  I cant begin to count the number of times during the last municipal election I heard from residents that they dont know whats going on and want to have a say.

We as a new council wanted to make sure this changed.  The changes started recently with our online survey, which is still active, to get a feeling of what Miltonians want from their local government.

The full budget call report with the summary of comments can be found here.

During the last campaign, I promised to be as open and accountable as possible when it comes to feedback from taxpayers on our budget and along with other councillors in the “Hawthorne Village” area, we have scheduled an informal “Budget Input Session” to hear what YOU have to say.

The date has been finalized and the room has been booked.  Monday July 11th at 7pm at the Milton Sports Centre (Room 4) we will sit down and listen to your opinions on what services you would like to see.  The topics will range from transit, community services, parks, taxes, and the hospital levy that was implemented by council in the 2011 budget.

The online survey gave an overview of what Miltonians were thinking.  A majority of those surveyed felt that council should keep potential tax increases to 1-2%, maintain many services at their current levels and was pretty much split on the hospital levy.  Given the fact the response was down the middle regarding the levy, many of the comments showed that more public input was needed before passing such a measure.

Also, if you have not been able to submit your thoughts through the survey, it is still open at the Milton site for you to complete.  The deadline was for submissions to be included in the Budget Call report, but they will keep the survey online until August 18th.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FNVPFC8

If you have any comments or questions before hand, please email me mike@mikecluett.ca

We look forward to seeing you on the 11th

This coming Monday June 20th is the Administration & Planning Standing Committee meeting at Town Hall starting at 7pm.  

This Committee consists of five Councillors and the Mayor. Committee members review all reports, formulate policy and make recommendations to Council on matters over which Council has authority under the Municipal Act, the Planning Act and other legislation. Recommendations are made in the areas of corporate administration, personnel, legal issues, planning and finance.

The Administration and Planning Committee reviews the operating and capital budgets as well as various financial matters affecting the Town of Milton.

The agenda for the meeting can be found here.

Some of the highlites include:

• Staff report on 2012 User Fees in Milton
• Capital / Operating Financial Statements May 2011
• Staff Report on future development at Derry/Tremaine Road
• Staff Report on zoning change at 8750 Regional Road #25
• Staff Report on development at Whitmer St/Duncan Lane
• 2012 Budget Call Report

As always you can watch online on Monday night at 7pm.  If you have any questions or comments for any of these reports, please email me mike@mikecluett.ca

The Town of Milton has released the copy of the feasability study on the future of Bruce Street Library.

You can find it online here.

There are two public meetings happening June 16th.  One is from 3pm to 5pm at the Seniors Centre on Childs Drive and the other session is from 7pm to 9pm.

If you cant make these sessions, as always, you can email your local councillor (see the “HOW TO REACH YOUR COUNCILLOR” link to the right.

The report will be discussed at the next full meeting of Milton Town Council.

This is just a reminder that you have until June 8th to submit your comments through the Town of Milton’s website for the 2012 Budget Call Report.

Here is the link to the survey.

The survey collects information from residents asking them questions on the priorities YOU would like to see Milton Town Council & Staff focus on for next years budget.  Personal information collected will not be used/sold for any other purpose.

Some of the priorities it will ask you about is fire services, winter control, transit, roadway maintenance, parking, traffic signals, parks, recreational facilities among others.  It will ask for your opinion if we should increase funding, maintain service levels, or decrease them.

Your comments are important and there are options for you to provide your opinions including if you support property tax increases to allow for increase in levels of services or new services.  Another question it asks if you support the dedicated tax levy for hospitall expansion and if you have any additional comments.  This question is very important and we’d like to hear your opinions on the matter.

So please take some time, if you havent already, to complete the survey.  It should take no more than approximately 5 minutes for you to complete but the input is important.

As always if you have something specific you’d like me to bring to council regarding these issues, feel free to call or email me mike@mikecluett.ca

The Town of Milton will continue to ask for input throughout the year as will your councillors to make sure that this upcoming budget represents what you feel our priorities should be.

The Budget Call report will be delivered to council this month and of course, there will be opportunities to meet with me and others over the next few weeks to have more comments submitted.

Democracy is a two way street and we need as much input as possible.  Dont be shy, complete the survey today!

During the last municipal election campaign, one of the most common themes I heard from voters was that they want to be kept informed and have more of a say in budget matters.  That message was heard loud and clear by myself and other councillors and we are happy to announce that there is an opportunity for you to have your say.

The Town of Milton has set up a survey that you can log into here, to have your say and answer questions about the upcoming 2012 Milton budget process.  This is an opportunity for you to tell US what YOU think the town’s priorities should be for the upcoming year and years beyond.

Although this survey is set to finish on June 8th, the town will continue to take input from residents, as well as through your local councillor (yours truly) to come up with priorities you find important.

Public input sought on 2012 municipal budget

Christina Commisso, CANADIAN CHAMPION

This year has yet to reach the halfway point and the Town is already looking ahead to Milton’s 2012 budget.

The public is encouraged to provide their input on the next year’s budget in an online survey (at www.milton.ca) until June 8.

The survey, open to residents and business owners, asks participants if they’d like see increased, decreased or the same level of service in respects to: fire service, winter snow control, transit, road maintenance, municipal parking lots, traffic signals and streetlighting, parks and open space, recreational programs and facility conditions.

The survey asks if there are new services or programs the Town should offer, existing services/programs that should be eliminated and if participants would support a tax increase to increase or add services.

Participants can indicated what per cent tax increase — between zero and five per cent — they’d support and whether or not they’re in favour of the dedicated tax levy for the hospital expansion implemented in this year’s budget.

The survey is one of the first steps in preparing Milton’s 2012 budget. During Monday’s council meeting, the Town’s senior manager of finance Sheryl Hill touched upon forthcoming budget pressures and new capital infrastructure to carried out next year.

The ongoing sports centre expansion and community park development, the completion of the Centre for the Arts, new staff positions, annualizing the 2011 transit enhancement for 2012 and the construction of No. 3 fire station and new headquarters are pressures Hill incited during her presentation to council.

The 2012 capital forecast includes 119 projects worth $72.5 million that are split fairly evenly between growth and non-growth projects. Hill said about 70 per cent of the expenses are pegged for road work.

At the meeting resident Kim Macdonald asked council to include the renewal of community parks in the older areas of town, including downtown, Timberlea and Dorset Park, in next year’s budget.

She said a lack of shade isn’t uncommon in some of the older parks and she often runs into parents from old Milton who drive out of their way to the new parks.

Councillor Rick Malboeuf said he’s heard similar concerns from Ward 4 residents and expects to see some movement in bringing the older parks up to date in the 2012 budget.

A budget call report will be presented to council this month. 

As promised, Im attaching a copy of the 2012 Pre Budget Consultation report to council for tonights meeting.  I havent read through the presentation in detail as of yet, but if you have a few moments click and download for review.

2012 Town of Milton Pre Budget Consultation

I have received a few postings on my Facebook page (Click on the Facebook logo to the right and join up!) about the status of Thompson Road and Louis St Laurent.

During the last municipal campaign, we talked about trying to get a signalled pedestrian crosswalk in front of the Metro mall so it would make it easier for people on the east side of Thompson to go to the splash pad and soccer fields instead of getting in their vehicles, going across Thompson Road, park and enjoy the wonderful area there.  Likewise, people on the west side of Thompson told me that they have to get in their cars, cross Thompson Road and then park to go shopping at the mall.

We were notified by town staff recently that the intersection of Louis St Laurent and 25 will be completed soon and traffic will flow east and west now, which will help alleviate some congestion on Britannia Road.  Paul Cripps brought this up at one of our recent meetings and in response I asked about traffic lights at Thompson and LSL.  He informed us that they are pushing to make sure the lights are installed at the same time LSL and 25 is complete.  Once that intersection is complete, traffic along LSL will increase which will require

At this coming Monday’s town council meeting there is a purchasse that will be authorized to get the materials needed for Thompson and LSL traffic lights, which shows its on the move.

HOPEFULLY this will help pedestrians cross the road safer.  There will be lines for pedestrians to cross at this intersection and I urge EVERYONE instead of crossing mid-traffic to the park to use the intersection and cross there.  I will continue to monitor this intersection after its done to see if it helps the problem of pedestrian traffic.  If not, I’ll be asking town staff to look into the possibility of a signalled crosswalk.

Thank you to everyone who has emailed me their concerns and I hope we can continue the conversation as these changes happen.  I’ll keep everyone in the loop as to the exact date we will have the lights installed, but it looks like late June as a possibility.