mike cluett milton town councillor
Mike Cluett 11 Days Remain
Some Observations As Term of Council Ends
Last night we had our last Administration and Planning Committee meeting for this term of Milton Town Council.
It’s been a pleasure to serve on that committee for the last four years along with the chair Colin Best.
It did strike me as odd that with the election just over 30 days away that there were very few candidates for Milton Town Council in attendance. Over the last few months, the public gallery has had a number of candidates for positions attend on a regular basis. It brings me back to the last election campaign for me, when from early January to the last meeting I attended each one.
The best piece of advice I received when I first thought of running for public office was to attend the meetings and see how the process works. It will give you a better understanding about the job, what it entails and the demands it will have on your time. After I started attending regularly back in 2010, many other candidates showed up as well. The ratio of those who won vs who didn’t is actually pretty good.
It’s because they were able to speak to voters with the understanding of what a local councillor does and that goes a long way. They were able to make promises to voters as to what they could or could not do. Knowing about the job is important for everyone who puts their name on a ballot.
Over this last year there have been a few candidates who attended regularly which is good. Some however have not.
Out of the candidates who are vying for the position of Local and Regional councillor for wards 1,6,7 & 8, aside from one who attended less than a handful of meetings, no one has shown up. Even the former councillor who was ousted from office back in December (see the link here and here) and who made promises to attend meetings has not once shown his face at a meeting.
Some will claim “I watched the meetings online” If you want the job, you make the effort to attend and take part in the conversation. There should be no excuse at all for not wanting to be prepared for the job you’re spending money on trying to get.
None of the candidates for the position I’m running for have spoken on ANY issues they claim is important to them. When it comes to town input sessions on budgets, community services, infrastructure or parks that both myself and the town have hosted…Nothing.
For over the last year I have attended the Regional Council meetings to prepare myself and be ready to start working day one. None of my opponents have.
Their lack of attendance should speak volumes to voters this coming election. Where have you been all this time?
The choice is clear for voters in wards 1,6,7,8. Mike Cluett is ready to start working Day one.
I’ll see you at the doors.
Request A Lawn Sign
If you would like a sign for your lawn, please send an email to mike@mikecluett.ca
Santa Claus Comes To Milton This SUNDAY!
Hang on to your hats everyone. Santa Claus is coming to town this SUNDAY!
Please be reminded that there is a new route this year. It no longer starts on Bronte Street but starts at Scott along Main Street. This is due to the sheer numbers involved in the parade each and every year. The parade no longer ends at Milton Mall but will continue along Main Street to the Milton GO Station.
I know its said every year its going to be the best yet, but organizers of the Milton Santa Claus Parade are telling me, you aint seen nothing yet.
Look forward to seeing everyone out this year. Make sure you bring some food for the Stuff a Bus to assist our local Salvation Army Food Bank….bring your letters for Santa as well.
HO HO HO!!!
2012 Milton Town Council Expenses
UPDATE March 25th
In a report released today for this coming Monday’s council meeting, the 2012 salaries and expenditures have been released. Click here for the detailed report.
Here is a brief outline of the salaries / benefits / expenditures of each member of Milton Town Council.
In case you are wondering why my salary is lower than other local councillors, since being elected I have chosen not to accept pay increases as I feel that any raise approved by council, should be effective the date the next council is elected. I’m opposed to any level of government approving a pay increase for themselves and Ive stood by that from day one.
The column of Professional Development includes conferences that councillors attend on behalf of the town of Milton including AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) and FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) In 2012 I attended both FCM and AMO which explains the PD amount of $3,604.00 for me. For your information, I will not be attending any conferences this current year of 2013.
Our regional councillors Colin Best, Tony Lambert and Mayor Gord Krantz also receive remuneration from the Region of Halton. Their expenses were recently released at an Administration & Finance committee meeting earlier this week.
UPDATE: Here is a listing of the detailed breakdown of Milton council remuneration when it comes to “Professional Development” These are the conferences we attend through the year that members of council can gain further insight into issues that we face, network with other members of local council and meet directly with provincial/federal ministers to lobby for issues we find important. Last year for instance a number of local councillors attended the AMO Conference in Ottawa to meet with provincial government ministers to discuss Milton based issues such as the horse racing industry changes and schools.
Here is the breakdown.
Here you will find the breakdown of each of the conferences for each councillor and how much we claimed while attending. For example Clr Huffman attended 3 conferences in 2012. I attended both the AMO and FCM Conferences in 2012 Our regional councillors who attended claimed some expenses through the region (you’ll find those numbers in the regional council section of this post. Clr’s Malboeuf and Nelson did not attend any of the conferences this year.
If you have any questions of this or any other report, please feel free to leave a comment, share this post or email/call me anytime.
I’ll see you at the doors.