Mike Cluett

Today marks the end of my 12 years on Milton Town Council.

Today November 14, 2022 is my last official day of working for Milton residents in the role of Town and Regional Councillor.

It has been an incredible honour and privilege to have been one of Milton’s voices around the council table and what I’ve said before was a dream job of a lifetime. Public service called me to this role and it’s also public service that will keep me active in our community. In short, I’m not going anywhere.

I could write forever about the amazing times I’ve had over these past 3 terms of council. From being a part of council that took a risk and approved a vision for an innovation centre that has been so successful in helping businesses start up and grow right here in town to the discussion and approval of the Mattamy National Cycling Centre / PanAm games debate that brought us the prized Milton Velodrome to the challenges of the last 2 years dealing with the pandemic and public health issues at the Region … it’s been quite a ride.

There are obviously more successes to talk about and I’ll probably go into detail on them in future updates. But the one thing I am happy for is something that the province announced last Friday that I’m very excited about.

This last term Halton Region had been planning growth for its official plan up to the year 2051. It was a lofty goal and huge challenge that was mandated by the province. After weeks of public input and intense debate at the Region table, Milton was prepared to put forward a vision .. the Halton Balanced Growth option … for approval. Sadly politics from other municipalities in Halton got in the way and a ten year freeze on urban expansion was placed on Milton and Halton Hills. Milton councillors were resolute in our assertion that our vision, one that our community created through consultations and discussions – in person and virtual – was the way to go, opposed the Regional Growth plan with Oakville and Burlington in opposition to our vision.

The province reversed that plan and instituted the Balanced Growth Plan the Town of Milton put forward. This means we don’t run the risk of losing tens of thousands of jobs as we continue to grow and assures us the opportunity to build a variety of housing options to meet the needs of our growing community and be sustainable at the same time.

I’m happy that I was around on council to see that decision brought forward. For that I’d like to thank some of my regional council colleagues Zeeshan Hamid, Rick Malboeuf, Mayor Krantz, Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette and Halton Hills Councillor Clark Somerville. We stood strong in our belief that this was the way to go and we were proven right.

I want to thank a number of people publicly as I move on to the next chapter in my life and career. First off I want to thank all members of council that I’ve worked with over the last 12 years. We’ve disagreed at time but more times than not, we had the same goal in mind … making Milton a better place to live and raise a family. Mayor Krantz is someone who I’ve learned a lot from before and during my council tenure. He’s been consistent in his views, again we might not have always agreed but he’s never wavered from his beliefs. Thank you Mayor Gord for everything.

I want to thank Milton staff. For as much flack as they seem to take, there isn’t a better group of people to work with that truly believes in Milton’s vision and making things work. Council hasn’t been giving them the tools they should have but I’ve never once doubted their resolve and dedication to Milton and our community. Pound for pound they are the best group to work with from our senior staff all the way to our part time crews. Thank you all.

I want to thank the people of Milton for the confidence and support for me over these last three terms. We all share the same love for this town and building our community through charity and giving. Every fundraising event that happens, you deliver. From the Hope in High Heels walk to the Miracle on Main toy drive to the Townsend Smith Foundation to the United Way. The Milton mindset is community first and you always go above and beyond to make things happen. To Milton residents…thank you.

Ok…what’s next!

And finally to my family. (This is where I get emotional so I’m glad I’m typing this instead of a video) You have been my rock for these 12 years. Pat, Anthony and Miranda through their support have let me do what I do. From late night meetings to fundraisers to being up all night reading reports … they have been there for me. Words can’t express how much they mean to me. Thank you isn’t enough. I love you all.

There’s going to be more for me to do going forward and as things happen I’ll be letting everyone know. This website will still be around as I will to keep serving Milton and Halton Region and doing what I can to make it an even better place.

Thank you all for your support and love. The new chapter begins and I’ll be for sure, as always, being seeing you at the doors and around town.

The dust has settled after a long election campaign and the results are in.

Congratulations to all the members of Milton Town Council – new and returning – for the term of 2022-2026. There are many difficult challenges to face in not only the coming months and years, but in the next few weeks dealing with the 2023 budget.

Congratulations to the new regional councillor for Ward 3 and I wish him well representing our ward, Town and Region.

The one thing I can honestly say is I am truly disappointed with the voter turnout in this election. That low turnout had a huge impact on a number of results and with all the challenges our growing community will be dealing with here in town and at Halton Region, I am disappointed with the turnout at the polls.

I do want to thank a lot of people that have been with me since the start of this back in 2006 when I ran my first Milton campaign. But the ones I want to thank the most is my family…Pat, Anthony and Miranda.

They have been my rock since day one and I wouldn’t have been able to do what I do without them and their encouragement and support. They have helped me reach for the stars and also help keep my feet firmly on the ground. I love them all more than words can even begin to express.

And finally thank you to the residents of Milton. The outpouring of support over the years has been incredible and I’ve met some amazing people that have touched my families lives. Thank you for everything.

I’m sure I’ll be able to get some more thoughts out over the next few days. Next job is to pick up all these signs

Take care Milton and once again thank you for everything.

As the time quickly approaches to begin thinking about the third election in less than 2 years (yes we’ve had a federal and provincial election recently so deep breath…one more to go) I have been asked by a number of people of what each position they will be voting for.

To keep this brief, I’ll just be talking about Milton Town Council. I’m not dismissing my friends at the Halton School Boards (Public and Catholic) and the French school boards because their names will also be on the ballot for October 24th.

Your municipal ballot will have selections for the following positions:

• Regional Chair (Halton Region)
• Mayor
• Local / Regional Councillor
• Local Councillor
• Halton Public School Board Trustee
• Halton Catholic School Board Trustee

As I mentioned earlier, I’m just going to concentrate on Milton Town Council for now and use other posts for the other positions.

To get an understanding of the different positions, you’ll have to know that the Town of Milton is what’s referred to as a “lower tier government” and is part of the Regional level of government … Halton Region. Halton is comprised of 4 local municipalities – Halton Hills, Oakville, Burlington & of course Milton.

Each level of government has different responsibilities and services provided for residents. To keep this brief, the local level of government is responsible for a number of services but not limited to things like, roads, transit, parks maintenance, libraries, recreational services and snow plowing in the winter. There is much more to your local municipality, but we can go into more detail later.

The “upper tier” of government or the Regional government has other responsibilities for residents, including but not limited to, water & wastewater management, waste collection, public health services (vaccinations and mask bylaws come to mind) regional road maintenance and construction (Britannia Road comes to mind), children services, paramedics and much more.

There are other levels of government like the school boards but in this post we’ll deal with just the local and regional ones.

Milton is divided up into 4 wards with the centre point at the intersection of Derry Road and 25 (Ontario St). For Milton Town Council, the voter in each ward will elect (1) Mayor (1) Local & Regional Councillor (1) Local Councillor.

The Mayor position is referred to as the “Head of Council” and in some municipalities they’re referred to as the CEO of the town/city. The Mayor chairs the Milton Town Council along with the other 8 councillors and has one vote at the table on each issue. In addition to the local council here in Milton, the Mayor also represents Milton at Halton Region Council, which is comprised of 24 councillors in all 4 Halton area municipalities. (Oakville, Burlington, Halton Hills & Milton) and is headquartered in Oakville on Hwy 25 (Bronte Rd) just north of the 403.

The next position (the one I currently hold) is the Local and Regional Councillor. Its also commonly referred to as Halton Region Councillor (the other is kind of a mouthful if you ask me) in each ward. The Regional Councillor sits at both the Milton Town Council & is also a representative for Milton at Halton Region Counciil.

Of the 24 councillors at Halton Region, Milton has 5 representatives (Mayor, 1 Regional Councillor for each ward = 5)

The other position at Milton Town Council is the Local Councillor who represents each ward at Milton Town Hall. Like the Mayor and Regional Councillors, they have one vote each.

So as we’re going about town discussing local politics this summer and fall and you hear someone saying “I’m running for Local council” or “I’m running for Regional council” you’ll have a better understanding. If you see a candidate who is running for “Local & Regional council” it doesn’t mean they are running against the person seeking the “Local Council” position.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, let me know in the comments and I can add more answers to the post to help make it a complete FAQ for voters as we approach October 24, 2022.

I’ll be seeing you soon….at the doors 🙂

As of the time of writing this blog newsletter, we are roughly 100 days away from October 24, 2022.

This will be the day when Milton residents will choose the next Halton Regional Chair, Milton Mayor, regional and local councillors along with public and catholic school board trustees.

I can tell you the last 3 terms of council, which has totalled close to 12 years has been an incredible experience for me. Not only have I been living my dream of public service to Milton residents, I have also been involved in many decisions that have shaped and will continue to shape the vision of community for years to come.

Over these past years, I pride myself on being accessible to everyone and to ensure your voice has been heard when making these decisions.

I have communicated with you via this website, which includes entries from my first run at Milton Town Council back in 2006 all the way up to today.

I’ve kept all those entries for one reason … transparency to the voters.

Lots has happened over the three terms of council and I have learned a lot … and I am not afraid to saying my views on a few things have changed. More on that later.

Over the next few posts, I will outline a number of items that I have worked on with council, with Town staff and especially with you in these last four years and how I believe it has and will make us a stronger more complete community.

I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to so many people for their support, their input on issues, sharing their opinions and yea at times changing mine.

As I said before this is a passion of mine. Being able to works with so many incredible people in the community, those on the Town staff and the amazing people I sit with around the council table.

While there have been times this council has seemed divided on some issues, I can assure you all – everyone … all nine members of council have the best interests of this town in mind.

These last 4 years have been a struggle. From the moment we were sworn in we had to deal with and continue to deal with financial pressures and tough budgets. This council and especially Halton Region had to deal with what was called a “Regional Government Review” Do we remain 4 municipalities or to we band together to be one.

Then March 2020 came at us and as the saying goes “life changes drastically”. We were dealing with a virus that was spreading worldwide and information was coming at us from every direction and we were making decisions based on that changing information at both Halton Region and the Town council.

We stayed home with our families. We struggled as to what was coming next. Masks or no masks? Gloves? We closed playgrounds because the information at the time couldn’t confirm if this virus was transmitted via air or touch.

We banded together as a community to look after each other. Groups were formed at a moments notice to help those in need, our small businesses and restaurants and these efforts continue this very day (Shout out to #MiltonStrong for example)

It took awhile to get to the point where a vaccine was developed and all levels of government had to roll out a plan to get it those people who needed it the most and the general public. Frustrating beyond all words to say the least but we all based together to get it done and now over 90 plus percent of Halton residents have received 2 doses and the booster numbers continue to rise.

And all while this was going on both Halton Region and the Town of Milton had to develop and plan for growth … official plan reviews … community consultation in the new normal of Zoom/Teams/Skype. Challenges still came at us and we worked through them.

It wasn’t without its frustrations on my part. At Halton Region we have to deal with many and some conflicting visions for growth that didn’t match what Milton residents have been working on for many years – many of those frustrations I’ve shared here on this website.

There were many times I grew frustrated with a lack of spark to represent Milton at Halton Region. The coming term is so important to the vision of Milton, I can’t begin to express in words other than this election is probably the most important one in recent memory.

Milton needs to step up and change the ways we have done things in the past. This past 4 years we have done many service delivery reviews of each department to highlight our strengths and weaknesses and develop, along with members of council and town staff, a roadmap to getting better.

These studies have highlighted many good things that Milton does – being a lean operation is something many municipalities strive for but can’t reach. It has however, highlighted a lot of weaknesses and areas for rapid improvement – to modernize the way we do business and service the taxpayers.

In order for this to happen the right way, we need to change the way things are done from an administration level to ensure the effective delivery of services that you want. We need a strong voice to lead this process … one that will step up and get things done and change the ways of the past.

Milton is approaching 150,000 residents – a huge difference from when I first moved here with my wife and family back in 2003. We need to ensure that we keep our eye on that future for all of our families. It’s likely that we will be a town of close to 300,000 in what will feel like the blink of an eye.

Let’s continue to set that course for the future working together.

As I mentioned earlier, there is more to come before we head into the official campaign time … less than a hundred days away. May seem like a lot but as we’ve figured out these past few years … time is flying.

I’ll see you at the doors.

Britannia Road Closure Notice

From Friday July 22nd at 7pm to Monday July 25th at 6am, Britannia Road will be closed from 4th Line to RR 25 for work on the widening project.

Please follow the detour routes shown. #Milton #MiltonON #Halton

Last nights council meeting was the first time in over 2 years Milton Town Council has met in person. It was definitely different as an hour or so before the meeting my instincts took over and I headed to my home office to launch Zoom and get ready all the while I should have been getting dressed to go.

Our staff had done an incredible job getting the council chambers ready to accommodate a hybrid option where councillors can attend in person or still online via Zoom. It will be a layered approach and the public will always be able to watch the meeting online via YouTube or participate as they have for the 2 plus years on Zoom.

As more improvements are made we should be able to have the public be able to attend the meetings in person as well but right now it’s a staggered approach. We will keep you posted.

Lots of things we’re accomplished last night and I can update what was done on a separate post but after the meeting during our Regional Council update, a request from Councillor Challinor for an update as to what happened at the recent regional council meeting and in this video clip I provided what a majority (but sadly not all) of Milton councillors at the Region felt.

The video I got doesn’t have the ability for CC”ing but I’ll get a transcript of what I said here very soon.

Thank you for your continued support on this. I have heard from so many of you from all over a Milton that you are concerned about our future growth, housing affordability, sustainability and our vision for the future. A future that WE want to decide, not a land tribunal, not someone from the province, not an outside group who isn’t concerned about Milton’s needs, and certainly NOT councillors and Mayors from other municipalities who bow to special interest groups and “clever” political plans. We want to decide what this town should be and we will.