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Use it or lose it

Mike Cluett

0x0_637853That was the message last week by town councillor Mike Boughton regarding the state of Milton Transit.

“Use it or lose it.”

Nothing really of note came out of this meeting from town councillors on how we can make the transit system better or find ways of saving money, or encouraging people to use the buses more.  Does the lack of attendance show that people don’t care about our transit system?  Hands up to those people who knew there was a meeting at town council discussing Milton Transit?  I thought so.

I recently heard someone joke about the contest Milton Transit had a couple of years back when the new buses were unveiled.  People were encouraged to take a picture of the bus if they saw one driving around town.  The contest should have been if you can see a bus driving around town WITH people in it.

Maybe town council should have thought about it more before they decided to invest over $3 million in buying new buses for the town.  Maybe they should have realized ridership was lower than they expected before they sent the cheque for several brand new, state of the art buses, to drive around town on a daily basis…empty.

Every year the report on Milton Transit came out and it showed what they called an “increase in ridership” for Milton Transit.  This report didn’t take into consideration the “free days” throughout the year.  If the buses are free, more people use them. 

The main problem with our transit system is convenience.  For instance, it’s not convenient for someone in the south eastern part of town to take the bus to go to downtown Milton.  If someone from Hawthorne Village wants to go downtown Milton to have a meal at the Ivy Arms or Pasqualino Cafe they would have to take at least two buses there and two buses back.  Or if someone who lives at Bronte Street and Ontario wanted to go to Montana’s or shop at Walmart at James Snow Parkway and Steeles, they would again have to take two buses there and two buses back.

Convenient?  Check the maps and see where you would be able to go if you were to take the bus.  I live at Thompson and Yates Drive and I wouldn’t even be able to go to one of my favourite places to get a coffee, Cafe Deda at Trudeau and Derry Road by bus.  If I wanted to go downtown Milton to Main Street Yarns to buy something for my mother, I wouldn’t be able to without taking two buses.  That means that during the day it would take me close to 45-50 minutes to go downtown Milton where I could take my car and be there in less than 10 minutes.

Has town council actually gone to the Milton Chamber of Commerce or the Milton DBIA to ask them what they think would help get people to take the bus?  I’m sure that the DBIA would love to see more people walking the streets of downtown Milton. 

The main reason why people take public transit is for work related travel.  So if you work and live in Milton there’s an option right?  Not likely.  Lets say you work at the new business park at the top of Hwy 25 and 401 and you live south of Main Street…you have to take two buses there and two buses back.  I don’t think there has been any study in town to find out how many people work and live in Milton but the numbers would definitely be interesting.  My guess, and that’s all it is, would be roughly 15% of people work and live in Milton.  As its been described before, Milton has become a bedroom community with a majority of people working outside of town.

There’s a trend forming here and it didn’t take too long for me to figure it out.

The focal point of the Milton Transit system is the GO Station and people who need to take the GO Train out of town SHOULD be encouraged to use the transit system.  Its perfectly set up for them.  Where is the advertising from Milton Transit to those riders?  Why don’t we see any programs available for these individuals like reduced rates, free days, etc to help promote the ease of taking the transit to the GO Station instead of trudging up Thompson Road first thing in the morning to complain about the number of lights and how slow it is.

If I had to take the GO Train out of town, Id be taking the bus believe me.  Problem is that aspect of the convenience of Milton Transit isn’t being talked about.  They just went ahead and spent millions on new buses and thought people will come in droves.  That kind of thinking reminds me of the movie FIELD OF DREAMS… “If you build it they will come.”

Not the case in the real world.  So instead of making comments like “use it or lose it”, we need to see some leadership and out of the box thinking.  Maybe the routes need to be changed in order to accommodate people who would like to shop and eat downtown to take the bus instead of a car.

Just imagine if they could go back in time and do some market research to find out if the system that was in place was acceptable to the potential transit rider.  Imagine if they surveyed people who drive from all parts of Milton to the GO Transit station and informed them of the routes in place, and offered an incentive for them to use.

There is a current promotion right now for free rides to the Milton Library for people under the age of 14.

Read and Ride Program for Summer 2009

Milton Transit and the Milton Public Library are teaming up for the Read and Ride Program. If you are 14 years of age or younger, you can ride the bus for free to the library to enjoy special summer reading programs, books, magazines and more, courtesy of Milton Transit. (Ride all over town for free, too!)

Visit the library as of mid-June to obtain a transit sticker for your library card. Ride Milton Transit all over town for free by presenting your stickered library card on the bus. Stickers are valid from July 6 to August 28; parent/guardian fare still applies. For information on summer reading programs at the library, visit Milton Public Library or call 905-875-2665.

Great idea but…people are still going to be required to take a bus, then transfer to another bus in order to get to the library no matter what part of town they are coming from outside of Route 2 on the map.  If someone from north of Main Street along Route 1 or Route 4 or Route 5 wants to take advantage of this program, transfering buses WILL be required.  Also, the fare is free for the child under 14 but not the parent or guardian taking the child to the library.

Will this promotion work?  Will having this available to students under 14 years old intice a parent or guardian to take their kids to the Milton Library on Milton Transit?  What do you think?

Our town has grown rapidly in the last several years and will continue to do so in the near future.  A new campus of WLU is being built shortly and there will be lots of students with or without cars who will need the convenience of a transit system to get about town.  Hundreds of homes are being built on the west side of town which means more congestion on the streets for people travelling around town.

Given these future changes, I think its time for our local government to take a long and hard look at the transit system that’s in place, admit that its been a colossal failure and the millions spent on the new buses was a mistake, and try to find a way to fix it before any more money is wasted.

This goes back to something I talked about during the last municipal campaign…door knocking.  Everyone, including myself, knocked on doors during the campaign.  What I talked about was continuing that in between election campaigns.  How do you know what the people are thinking if you don’t ask them.  You can continue to hold meetings that a majority of people wont attend and then say “see…no one cares.” or you can get out there and talk to people directly.  You can ask them face to face what they think and what advice they might have.

Democracy is a two way street.  People expect that their elected representatives wont forget about them the 3 or so years in between votes.  Problem is, no one is seen going door to door to get peoples opinions.  Maybe they’re afraid of what they hear?

Street Festival this Saturday June 6 2009

Mike Cluett

Logo_final_street_party_feb

The list of the entertainers is out for this weekends 3rd Annual Street Festival.  All the details can be found at the Milton DBIA website .

One of my personal favourites The Randalls will be playing again along with dozens of other entertainers and bands throughout the day.  If you were there last year, you’ll know what I mean that there is no shortage of things to do.

The fun starts at 3pm and goes until midnight.  Milton Transit will be free that day, courtesy of Mattamy Homes, so if you can avoid taking the car it would be great as parking in and around will be pretty tough.

milton transit sched

Here’s a copy of the bus schedule for the day.

Whether its to take a nice walk down main street and partake of the vendors or if you want to kick back and listen to some good entertainment, it is really a great way to spend an afternoon taking in what makes this town as great as it is.

Hope to see you there!!!!

Common Sense

Mike Cluett

If you head on over to the Hawthorne Villager site, you will see the results of my completely unofficial, unscientific poll regarding the salary increase for town staff and Milton Town Council.

As of today the results were…

Should Councillors be able to vote themselves a pay increase?
Yes…they deserve it for the hard work they do.
7%
 7%  [ 2 ]
Yes…but it should be effective when the next council is elected.
33%
 33%  [ 9 ]
On a case by case basis … maybe.
18%
 18%  [ 5 ]
Nope…not at all.
40%
 40%  [ 11 ]
Total Votes : 27

Im really glad the discussion on the forum isnt “hang them all” or “they are all crooks” because that would take away from the real issue and thats common sense and accountability.

No one is denying the right for our elected officials to having a fair salary for the work they do.  Milton Town Council is a part time council, meaning that most of the individuals around the council table, with exception of the Regional Councillors and Mayor, are part time.

You can not compare their salaries to those in other municipalities such as Mississauga, Brampton or even Oakville or Burlington.  The population of each of those areas are not comparable to Milton, yet. 

Generally the work thats involved for a local town councillor is they have to attend council and committee meetings (3 meetings in 4 weeks…one full council meeting and two committee meetings).  Of course they have to look after the concerns and questions of the community.

Some attend training courses (which can be debated at another time) and other municipal events throughout the months.  Im sure there are a few more items of interest that they work on, and the door is open for any current councillor to post what they do on this blog. 

With that being said, its hardly a full time job.  Some treat it as such, but in the end they dont need to be full time.

As Ive talked about in many blogs in the past, is that municipal government and our elected officials need to be more transparent and accountable to the people who elect them.

The current system of pay evaluation is faulty.  Right now, along with many other municipalities, there is a citizens committee who meets and discusses how much the elected councillors should be paid.  These committees are picked from volunteers in the community and are reviewed on a regular basis.  From there, the committee comes up with a recomendation as to how much etc, and its brought before council.

As the Mayor and other councillors have said in the past, they dont have an issue with accepting the pay increase because it is not THEM who makes the decision as to the amount, but an impartial citizens committee.

Here’s where common sense should enter the discussion.

Here in Milton, manufacturing jobs are disappearing faster than snow in June.  Retailers in the downtown core and other parts of Milton are feeling the pinch.  In some areas, spending is the same or going up, but in other areas they are barely holding on.

You cant go a day without some economic report showing how fragile our economy really is.  Am I a “doomer and gloomer”?  Not a chance.  I think the Canadian economy is on the mend and improvements will be shortly following.  This should be taken into consideration when making decisions like pay increases and prioritizing spending.

Council passed a pay increase shortly after they were elected in 2006.  Here they are again, getting a further increase of 2.5% right when we have fellow Miltonians feeling the pinch of losing jobs or wage cutbacks and manufacturing plant closures.

With many reports showing that our economy is on the mend an option for this council would be to at the very least postpone the increase until the new council is elected.  The term of council is 4 years (up from 3 years until Dalton changed that) and the salary for that position should be frozen for the term of council.  Some argue that the increase is rather small, so if thats the case, put it off for one more year.

I, along with many others, ran for town council in 2006 and we knew then what the salary would be.  For a part time position, the salary is fair and some former councillors say its too fair. 

The salary should remain the same for the duration of the term.  If any pay increases are to be made, those increases should be made effective the date the new council is sworn in.

Just makes sense.  This way, the optics of politicians making and raising their salaries is improved.  They can focus their efforts on improving the infrastructure of the town, making sound financial decisions regarding our taxes and help make the Town of Milton better.

I dont know the legalities of the pay grids that town employees are classified under, but a seperate one should be made for elected officials therefore when town staff salary increases are improved, the optics of elected officials direclty impacting their pay is gone…and problem is solved.

Am I wrong here?  Doesnt that make common sense to you?

Milton Councillor's Give Themselves a Pay Increase

Mike Cluett

I thought I was in a time warp when I read this…but alas its real and recent.  The pay increase being talked about isnt a cost of living adjustment but rather an annual review of the salaries. 

As Ive talked about in the past, ad nausem apparently, the optics of this is off the chart.  I understand that town staff’s salaries need to be reviewed.  When youre talking about union adjustments, thats fine, seeing how theyve been negotiated in the past.

Where MY problem comes in, town council is put on the same pay grid as town staff.  WRONG!  Plain wrong!

Added to that, town council has already increased their pay just after they were elected in 2007.  Only one councillor at that time voted against it, and that was someone who attending their first council meeting after a bi-election.

Town councillors should not have the opportunity to increase their salary by votes.  Most municipalities, like Milton, use citizens advisory committees to come up with what their increases should be.  But, in the case of the councillors, the pay increase should take affect the when the NEXT council sits. 

Politics is perception and this wont sit well with Milton taxpayers.  The last 3 years we have had higher than normal increases in our mill rate with what to show for it?  More Milton Transit buses that run empty throughout town that we spent over $3 MILLION dollars in the  last 3 years?  Have there been more roads developed for that money?  Who knows.  But its wrong for town council, not shortly after their LAST increase, to have their salaries increased….AGAIN.

When will it end?  What council needs to do (and maybe someone can help me with the legality of this) is have councillors taken OFF that pay grid and into a grid seperate and distinct from everyone else.  This way, they WONT be able to vote for increases in salaries that would benefit themselves.

Does there need to be an automatic increase in town council’s remuneration?  Should it be on performance based rankings?  IE  They do they job they say theyre going to do?  Hard if not impossible to do that.  But changes on how our elected public representatives need to be made. 

Some might say these increases are minor and they would have an arguement.  Problem is, in case no ones noticed, we are in some pretty tough economic times right now and municipalities need to focus on saving taxpayers dollars not spending more when they can wait.

Here’s Tim’s article in this weekends Champion!

Councillors, staff to get 2.5 % pay raises in June

 Tim Foran, Canadian Champion Staff

Published on May 29, 2009

Town council voted Monday to give themselves and the municipality’s 183 non-union staff, including managers, a 2.5 per cent raise at the start of June.

The pay hike isn’t a cost-of living hike but rather a market adjustment, which is done annually and is based on comparable increases given to non-union employees at other similar municipalities, according to staff. The Town’s non-union staff have received an average 2.7 per cent market adjusted raise over the past three years, slightly below increases negotiated with unionized workers.

Generally, such increases for white-collar municipal workers fly under the radar, but due to the economic recession the issue has received more attention from the media. The City of Toronto’s Mayor David Miller announced recently that municipality would be freezing any hikes to non-unionized staff and he, along with some other councillors, would be returning their own pay increases to the City.

Only one Milton councillor decided to discuss the issue Monday night. Ward 3 Councillor Jan Mowbray responded to an e-mail she received from a local resident asking her to vote against the council and staff salary increase.

“I do believe we have an obligation to approve this report because the unionized staff have already received their raise in March,” said Mowbray, arguing she didn’t want to create a problem of inequity between the Town’s workers.

The councillor was referring to three three-year agreements recently bargained by the Town. The 29 unionized staff of the Town’s fire department will receive annual 3 per cent pay hikes this year and the next two years. The 27 staff in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers negotiated annual 2.5 per cent hikes over the same time period, as did the 37 library staff represented by CUPE.

Tim Foran can be reached at tforan@miltoncanadianchampion.com .

Somebody Likes Thompson Road

Mike Cluett

You cant read through a Milton web forum on the internet without stumbling over someone complaining about the roads, and more specifically Thompson Road.

There are usually a variety of complaints about it, but the one that stands out the most is that there are too many traffic lights in a short period of time.  Personally, I find that its hit and miss.  There are somedays I stop at every one of them, while most times, its clear sailing.

Reading a letter from the Champion this weekend, there is another person who likes Thompson Road.

Here she is.

DEAR EDITOR:

At last, the Thompson Road work is done. What a beautiful job.

My only hope is that it’s kept that way. I would like to see more garbage cans put along Thompson, at least at the bus stops. I walk my dogs along the path and find more and more garbage being tossed along the way.

While I attempt to pick it up, I think more garbage cans would reduce the trash being tossed.

This summer, enjoy the beautiful sod that was laid because by next spring it will be all weeds without weed control. Too bad.

Here’s to a quieter summer along Thompson.

TERRI-LYNN PROCENKO, MILTON

Downtown Street Festival June 6th

Mike Cluett

Its that time of year again.  Milton will be holding its annual summertime tradition of the Downtown Street Festival. 

There have been many festivals in the past, but this incarnation came directly from the work people did (including myself…shameless plug) from the Town of Milton’s 150th Anniversary Committee.  Back in 2007, the committee and MANY Town of Milton volunteers pulled off a fantastic family funtime event which was only going to be a one time deal.  Thing is, people LOVED it, so the Town decided to make it an annual event.

Lots of activities for the kids are planned and no shortage of things to do.  FAS Milton will also be holding events by St. Pauls United Church that day as well.

Miltons favourite painter, Ann Kornuta might be there as well.  She is a fixture in downtown Milton on Main Street painting up a storm.  You can see Ann each and every week at the Farmer’s market as well. 

Oh ya, thats on too.  Gotta love Milton in the spring and summer.  There is SO much going on.

If you want to get involved as a volunteer for the Downtown Street Festival (and I know they are looking for lots of people to help out) … here’s how you do it.

Tuesday, May 26 OR Wednesday, May 27
6:30 – 8 pm, Milton Sports Centre (Meeting Room #4) 

 Volunteers must attend one of the above sessions.

Sign up today!

Volunteer Application Form

Additional Information

Call 905-878-7252, ext. 2620

See you there!