Author: Mike Cluett

Doing What I Said Id Do

Mike Cluett

lisa round tableContinuing with my meetings with senior staff at the Region of Halton and other levels of government. Earlier this month I was able to take part in Halton (Milton MP) Lisa Raitt’s pre-budget round table.  In that meeting I brought up a number of concerns for the Town of Milton.  Many of them included infrastructure issues and looking at getting some financial support from all levels of government, including the feds.

As a fast growing municipality, we are faced with many issues and restrictions that other “slower growing” regions do not.  Minister Raitt seemed very enthusiastic about some of the ideas brought forward that will help in the moving of not only regular traffic, but to help reducing gridlock on the highways, where most of our good and services are transported through.  

There were also a number of other Milton area stakeholders in attendance from both the business community and important social services as well.  I look forward to hearing back from Minister Raitt on future proposals from the federal level of government.

Today’s meeting was with Public Works to discuss issues that have been brought up to me over the last 4 plus years on council as well as during the campaign.

The number one issue I brought up was Fairness for Milton and the breakdown of Halton Region and the number of councillors per municipality. All have agreed so far that this is something that needs to be addressed in this term and we’re working on ways to bring this to the forefront.

I also talked about improved synchronization of the traffic lights along regional roads like Derry and Britannia, blue box improvements, waste collection-bag limits, park dumping and of course working on regional road projects to ensure they are on time and limited displacement of Milton residents.

After every meeting I hand them a copy of my platform piece so they know where I and the voters of wards 1,6,7 & 8 are coming from.  So far they have all been in agreement with the priorities you raised during the last election campaign.

I’ll be providing some more updates as these meetings continue and if anyone has feedback or concerns, dont hesitate to email me mike.cluett@milton.ca or call me on my cell 647-888-9032.

This coming Wednesday is the public roundtable for the Halton Region Strategic Plan at Halton Region HQ.  The meeting begins at 630pm so if you haven’t already RSVP’d please do so here.

The strategic plan sets the course for Halton Region council to help build a Complete Community.  As you will remember during the election campaign, a Complete Community is something that we all need to work towards.  We need as much input from the public as possible and its meetings like this that are very important.  If you can’t make it, have a look on the site about the questions that will be asked and send me your input.

mike.cluett@milton.ca

I’ll see you at the doors.

Sign Up For My Newsletter

Mike Cluett

newsletter-iconIf you havent already done so, please sign up for my newsletter.  I’ve had to update my list of those who had signed up previously and in case you wanted some great information about Milton, future plans for growth, happenings around town….this is the one you need.

So sign up today.

http://mikecluett.ca/contact-2/

 

Miracle On Main Raises $200,000

Mike Cluett

10896952_988787594467946_6568683247136496681_nThe Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation’s 6th Annual Miracle on Main Street was a complete success raising over $200,000 in donations made up from toys, food, life essential products and corporate sponsorships.

From the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank everyone for their participation in this growing annual event.  Each year it gets bigger and better and its all because of you!  THANK YOU!

2015 Bell Ringing at Milton Town Hall

Mike Cluett

It was a little chilly to say the least.  Canada’s Most Famous Hockey Dad Walter Gretzky along with Mayor Krantz and close to 50 others rang in the new year at Victoria Square in front of Milton Town Hall this past new years eve.

Happy New Year Milton!!

 

Looking for something to do New Years 2015 in Milton

Mike Cluett

Plans for New Years Eve in Milton?  If you don’t, why not head down to Milton Town Hall and ring in the new year….literally!

Here is some of the action from 2011.  You, your friends and family can come down and help ring the big bell to launch into 2015.  All the fun starts at 11:30pm on New Years Eve.  We hope to see you there!

As well, dont forget to come to Milton Town Hall on January 1st 2015 beginning at 1pm to share in fellowship and meet Mayor Krantz and my fellow members of Milton Town Council for the annual New Years Levee.

This is a day where Milton Town Councillors literally serve the residents…tea, coffee, cookies and good cheer.

So whether its New Years Eve and bell ringing or having some holiday cheer with your council members, we hope to see you there.

All the best for the holiday season and a happy, healthy & prosperous 2015!

Municipalities STILL Waiting For Ice Storm Assistance

Mike Cluett

TOMevent-9595Its now been over a year since Milton and other surrounding municipalities dealt with the most incredible ice storm of a life time.  Lives were put on hold and hundreds of thousands of dollars damage done.  There are some areas of the province which still show the effects of Ice Storm 2013.

At that time, town resources were stretched to the limit.  Milton Hydro staff as well as many others were working around the clock to restore power to affected areas.  Most of the residential parts of Milton were back up and running rather quickly.  However, our rural area was left in darkness and cold for several days.

It was at that time there was a stampede of provincial representatives, including our Premier, who pledged support and assured municipalities they would receive the financial support they needed.  That was 2013 … mere weeks before 2014.

As we get closer to New Years Eve for 2015…nothing has happened.  With the exception of one municipality, no other town or city has received the assistance it was promised.  The clock is ticking on the deadline for filing paperwork.  December 31st is the deadline and according to the Milton Canadian Champion article and our Milton staff, we will be getting those applications in.  But what happens after that?

At our first council meeting of this term, we received a report from staff on a number of budget items and the projection of a deficit for the Town of Milton in 2014.  In that report it mentions the lack of financial support from the province for the ice storm costs.  Total costs from the ice storm for the Town of Milton are estimated at $2 million and any support promised by the province would be helpful in improving our financial position in this fiscal year as well as the next one.

In a few weeks, Milton Town Council will be reviewing the 2015 budget and we will be making decisions based on our current position as well as the outlook for 2015. It would be good if we had this information before making those decisions.  Here is an article from The Milton Canadian Champion and Rachel Williams with more details.

Town of Milton seeking ice storm compensation as application deadline approaches

By Rachael Williams

December 21 marked the one-year anniversary of last winter’s vicious ice storm and Milton is still waiting for compensation from the Province.

Trees were toppled, thick ice damaged hydro wires and streets were inaccessible as more than 20 cm of freezing rain and snow dumped on Southern Ontario around this time last year. The Town of Milton incurred more than $2 million in damages and to date, hasn’t received any funding from the Ice Storm Assistance Program to assist with the clean-up.

“So often governments are first in line to the podium to say they are going to help but when it comes to the details it’s another story,” Councillor Mike Cluett told the Champion.

The $2 million includes damage to municipally-owned equipment, equipment rental costs, clearing and removal of debris and wreckage, overtime for employees, emergency communication measures, the repair and restoration of parks, roads and infrastructure and operating costs for the Milton Sports Centre to operate as an evacuation and warming centre.

The reason for the delay, according to Linda Leeds, the Town’s director of corporate services and treasurer, is that the application process is “extremely onerous.”

Leeds said the Town needed to supply complete documentation to the Province, including all source documents substantiating any costs incurred. This includes log sheets, time sheets and individual pay cheques to show that employees were paid for their work. The information then needs to be cross-referenced, put into a certain type of file format (PDF), encrypted because the data is confidential and sent away to the Province.

Staff have already dedicated 325 hours compiling and completing the application, Leeds said.

The provincial government hired a consulting team, Landlink Consulting Ltd., to train municipalities on how to fill out the applications — a process that just took place in November. This alone cost $2.8 million.

“There is nothing wrong with being accountable, but when you hire a consultant just to have all the municipalities in Southern Ontario jump through hoops, I question the mentality of that,” said Mayor Gord Krantz.

The deadline for submissions is December 31.  

“Staff are actively making sure we meet the deadline. The Province is getting some of the money from the federal government so a lot of these requirements are necessary in order to meet federal auditing standards,” said Leeds.

The Ice Storm Assistance Program requires the Province to cover municipal costs and then apply to Ottawa to receive compensation, according to the office of Ted McMeekin, minister of municipal affairs and housing.

The Province has allocated $190 million to the Ice Storm Assistance Program.

“It has not been clearly communicated how the applications will be evaluated, nor do we know how the funds that are available will be distributed so the timing and quantum that the Town may receive in aid is unknown,” said Leeds.

Cluett pointed out that with a deficit forecasted for Milton in 2014, these funds would go a long way in helping the Town’s financial position.

“We can only wait and see if we get anything from the Province,” he said.

Leeds predicts the Town won’t have any answers until well into 2015.

Rachael Williams can be reached at rwilliams@miltoncanadianchampion.com and on Twitter @MiltonReports.