mike cluett

Update to Region Councillor Salary Hike

Mike Cluett

Its gone!

Yep, thats what I said.  Gone.  Halton Regional council, in a last minute amendment to the budget removed the salary raise they would have received (amounting to roughly $17,000 in total) and remains a 0 % increase.

While the amount might look to some as minimal it does go a long way to letting taxpayers know that they should be the primary concern when it comes to taxes.

It looks like they listened to the people who sent them emails, called them and by the comments on my blog entry a few days back, no one was happy about paying them more.  One of the most interesting comments from the article is from Tom Adams, who is a regional councillor for Oakville and former Green Party candidate federally. 

He said that council was second guessing the citizens committee who made the recommendation.  From what I understand, and please correct me if Im wrong, the citizens committee makes a recommendation.  That is not saying its something that has to be done.  So council can at anytime say no to that recommendation.

Dictionary.com defines “recommend” as:

to advise, as an alternative; suggest (a choice, course of action, etc.) as appropriate, beneficial, or the like

Its not second guessing the committee at all.  I appreciate the fact that this committee exists and it should continue in making its suggestions for local governments, but the beauty about it is that council CAN say NO.

As Burlington councillor John Talyor said, its not political games, it’s the taxpayers money.

I for one am very glad this didnt go through.  I could only wish the same could be said for the Town of Milton in the recent budget.

Here’s the story from the Champion.

Zero tax hike budget passed
By Tim Foran, Metroland West Media Group
Dec 18, 2009

The elimination of any salary hike for regional councillors was a last-minute change to Halton’s $1.1 billion 2010 budget approved Wednesday. The changes, proposed by council’s budget review committee Monday, won’t change the overall requested tax levy, meaning there will be no increase next year in property taxes for regional services, which include items such as police, ambulance and regional roads maintenance. There will also be no increases in water rates, which are paid by Halton residents on their electricity bills. Staff achieved the zero tax and rate increases in part by instituting a freeze on tax-supported new hires, except for police personnel, and keeping the number of municipal staff at 2008 levels.

Read more here

Olympic Torch Relay Comes Through Milton

Mike Cluett

 

Get ready to put on your red and white and cheer on the runners for the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay as it heads through downtown Milton tomorrow morning starting at Bronte and Main Street and heading towards James Snow Parkway.

There are a lot of events being held in Milton during tomorrow including a pancake breakfast at the Memorial Arena on Thompson Road from 730 to 10am.  This event is being sponsored by the Holy Rosary Knights of Columbus so head on over for some Christmas cheer and Canadian pride.

I know I’m really looking forward to the event and as weve seen by other places in the GTA, there are a lot of people who show up.  Find a spot early, get warm and cheer the torch on.

GO CANADA GO!

Milton tax increase official

Mike Cluett

Last Monday night at Town Hall the 2010 captial and operating budgets were approved for a total increase in budget of 3.24%.

As Melanie Hennessey of the Champion outlines in her article today, it passed, but not unanimously.  Both Councillor Mike Boughton and Mayor Gord Krantz voted against the budget because the rate of increase was higher than the rate of inflation.

Good for them!

Mayor Krantz also outlined during the meeting that taxes have gone up about 17% in this term of council alone.  This amounts to roughly $120 per household in the last 4 years.  Although Jan Mowbray stated that Milton has something to show for those increases, the amount is still quite high over a 4 year term.

Jan mentioned that she voted for the budget regretably because it didnt include an increase to service for the new library to include Sunday hours.  Mea Culpa….my family uses that library quite often and is a wonderful place dont get me wrong.  Am I or other taxpayers willing to accept even more tax increases to pay for 7 day a week service?  Highly unlikely. 

Im sure if you had put the question to Miltonian’s BEFORE hand if they wanted a new arts and entertainment centre the answer might not have been what they were looking for.  That project was moved up in order to take advantage of the federal/provincial stimulus funding and rushed through.  There are quite a few better places in town for the centre, and Im quite sure that Thompson and Main isnt going to be the best location. 

Overall, I would concure with the Mayor and Councillor Boughton that this budget could have been better and that the rate of increase should have been closer to the rate of inflation.  As our town growns we need to prioritize our spending.  Would it be nice to have 7 day a week service for the library?  Absoultely.  It would be great if we could keep it open 24 hours.  Is it a priority right now?  No its not.  Maybe down the road when the rate of growth doesnt increase as much and there is more of a tax base available we can look at it then, but not right now.

There are a lot of “would like to have’s” in town.  We would like to have a lot of things, but there simply isnt enough money for everything that we want.  We as a town have to look at what is NEEDED and then prioritize those needs and focus on them.

Here’s the article… once again welcome back Melanie!

Council approves 3.24% tax hike

Melanie Hennessey, Canadian Champion Staff
December 16, 2009

Residents will dish out about $25 more for Town services next year now that Milton council has approved a 3.24 per cent tax hike for 2010.

The increase and the Town’s $149-million budget were given the go-ahead by council at its meeting Monday night. This translates into an extra $24.96 in Town taxes for urban residents and $20.82 for those in the rural area on a home assessed at $300,000.

Of the total budget, property taxes will cover between $28 and $29 million. Much of the municipality’s revenue is money collected from developers as well as funding provided by the provincial and federal governments.

About $70 million of the budget will cover next year’s operating expenses, while more than $78 million is slated for capital projects — the largest capital budget that’s ever been approved by council.

Funding has been allocated for 77 new projects, including $36 million in land and buildings, $32 million in roads and $5 million in parks and trails.

The capital program is being boosted by stimulus money coming from the upper levels of government. The Town has been approved for $33.5 million in stimulus cash, which allows it to advance five major projects that weren’t originally scheduled to start until 2011 or later. The projects include a new visual arts centre and central library and an expansion to the Milton Sports Centre. They must be built by March 31, 2011 under stimulus funding rules.

The budget was supported by the majority of council, with the exception of Ward 2 Councillor Mike Boughton and Mayor Gord Krantz.

Boughton told the Champion after the meeting that he voted against the budget because the tax increase for next year is above the rate of inflation.

“I stated earlier this year that I wouldn’t go any higher than the rate of inflation, and I’m standing by that principle,” he said.

Krantz, who has long been a supporter of keeping tax increases at the rate of inflation, shared similar sentiments. He also pointed out to council that it has increased local residents’ taxes by almost $120 in its term of office, or about 17 per cent.

“It’s very easy for us to say it’s only five or 10 cents more on this or that, but it builds up to $120,” he said. “That’s pretty huge, and it compounds itself.”

Ward 3 Councillor Jan Mowbray contended the extra $120 has helped with things like creating a branch library and hiring more full-time firefighters.

“We’ve got something to show for it,” she said.

Mowbray voted in favour of the budget, but with reservations, she said. The budget didn’t include extra library hours, which she said residents were calling for. “The public wants more for what their tax dollars are giving them.”

At last week’s budget committee meeting, councillors were presented with a proposed 2.98 per cent tax increase by staff. The committee voted to include an extra $70,000 in the operating budget for transit service enhancements, bringing the tax increase up to 3.24 per cent.

The transit improvements include a high school tripper program that’s catered to afternoon school bell times and higher frequency service levels on prime transit routes.

The committee also supported advancing construction of Louis St. Laurent Boulevard from Bronte Street to Regional Road 25 — work that wasn’t slated to get underway until 2011. It added about $6 million to the 2010 capital budget.

Motions to include the transit initiatives and the roadwork were made by Ward 4 councillors Wendy Schau and Paul Scherer respectively.

* * *

Top 5 projects

• Milton Sports Centre expansion — $12.7 million

• Arts and entertainment centre construction — $8.1 million

• Main Street grade separation at railroad tracks — $7.9 million

• Bronte Street reconstruction from Louis St. Laurent Boulevard to Derry Road — $6.4 million

• Louis St. Laurent Boulevard construction from Bronte Street to Regional Road 25 — $5.9 million.

Melanie Hennessey can be reached at mhennessey@miltoncanadianchampion.com .

Indoor BMX and Skateboard park in Milton?

Mike Cluett

This is an interesting idea. 

Last weekend, I went down to Burlington to take part in an open house for a skateboard school with Anthony.  You see, hes a beginner in the “sk8ter” world and I thought it would be fun to go.  When we got there, the place was full of kids doing their tricks under the watchful eyes of the schools trainers.  While Anthony was ripping it up (is that really a term…I dont know.  Im just a DAD whos trying to be hip and “kewl”) I had a chance to talk with the schools owner Jody Eagan (Skateboard and Inline Skate School) and I asked him if there was a chance he would expand to Milton.

He’s tried on a number of occasions, unsuccessfully, to get something done in Milton.  There are a number of parents in Milton, who like myself, will be taking their kids to this school to help teach them the basics of skateboarding, and how to do it safely.

As many of the parents in town wonder…what WILL my kid do when he/she gets bigger.  There seems to be very little for kids in their teens to do in this growing town.  Some people have suggested bowling alley’s which are very expensive to start up and trends showing participation in the sport beginning to dwindle.  What will our teenagers do?  Hang out at the movie theatre?  Thats good for maybe one day a week.  What of the other 6?

This type of park is exactly what Milton needs to give kids a place to go, learn a sport like skateboarding and BMX’ing, and hang out with friends in a supervised environment.

Email miltonindoorpark@hotmail.com and show your support!

In today’s Champion there is an article about exactly this. 

Support for indoor park hits promising heights

Steve LeBlanc, Canadian Champion Staff
December 11, 2009

It was an afternoon of chills and thrills.

The latter centred around a burgeoning bid to bring an indoor freestyle BMX/skateboard park to town, an idea that’s quickly gained plenty of excitement from local youth.

Amidst sub-zero temperatures, dozens of youngsters and teens took to the outdoor facility beside Memorial Arena Sunday as Kim Hadfield — who’s spearheading the private endeavour — publicly announced her plan.

The park may not be a full-fledged go just yet, but seems to be much more than just a mother’s pipe dream, based on the ground swell of support received since Hadfield’s Facebook page ‘Who wants an indoor skateboard/bmx facility in Milton, Ontario?’ went up a few short weeks ago.

“My three kids all ride and I was getting sick of taking them to C. J.’s (in Etobicoke),” explained the longtime Miltonian, who owns and operates the Brookville Equine Centre (horse farm). “They (kids) put the idea out there of getting an indoor park built in Milton, but to be honest I really had no idea what to expect when I first put it out there.”

Within a few days the Facebook page had been visited by roughly 150 BMX and skateboarding enthusiasts, while the number of area youths rallying around the proposal is now approaching 600.

“I’m super stoked on this idea. Yeah, I’m in for any kind of help needed for building or anything if it’s needed,” posted one supporter.

Said another, “That would be so sick if we could (get indoor park built in town).”

Even more encouraging is the fact that Hadfield already has some financial backing for her prospective park.

Among those that have made preliminary commitments to the project are Toronto-based Want Beverages, which pledges 15 cents of every dollar made to helping build and maintain these types of youth facilities.

The Hadfield-Want relationship was forged through fellow Miltonian Bryden Tait, who now works for the company after recently selling Main Street’s Gearhead.

“We’re all for this project,” stressed Tait, who brought an ample supply of Want drinks for riders and boarders Sunday. “There’s definitely a big need for this in Milton.”

Echoing those sentiments was Campbellville’s Paul Berger, a 27-year-old pro BMXer who’s agreed to help Hadfield design the park.

“There’s not many (parks) around and it’s something this town really needs,” said Berger, who along with fellow adult rider Kevin McLean will lend his expertise to the project.

Tentatively eyeing a warehouse facility along Lawson Road (near Wal-Mart) as a suitable location for the estimated 20,000-square-foot park, Hadfield has also gained some financial support from Focus Skateboards and FigJam Apparel Inc.

Her ultimate vision for the facility which she hopes to open sometime in 2010 — is for it to be a multi-purpose youth drop-in centre that would be partially funded by a nominal user fee for riders and boarders.

“Hopefully sponsorship will pay for most or all of the construction and then I’ll just have to worry about the overhead,” she said, adding, “Even when the weather’s nice there’s some parents who don’t want their kids coming here (outdoor facility) after the armed robbery we had here this past summer. We need somewhere that our children can go and be safe.”

“I’m really excited about this,” said Hadfield’s 14-year-old daughter, Brooke, the youngest of the family’s riders. “I’ve got a lot of friends who BMX and skateboard so we really need an indoor park here.”

Those wishing to support the project can contact Hadfield at miltonindoorpark@hotmail.com .

Regional Council Salary Increase?

Mike Cluett

Despite the fanfare of having a proposed 0% increase for the Region of Halton, their pay might be going up!

Even though Region of Halton staff has gone through their budget line item by line item finding all the necessary cuts to services and programs to ensure there is a politically favourable 0% increase, they still found an opportunity to have an allowance for their salaries and benefits to go up to 1.5% according to Tim Foran at the Milton Canadian Champion. 

This is what frustrates taxpayers to no end.  2009 hasnt been the greatest year.  Just looking at Milton alone, 3 major employers in the Town of Milton have closed up shop putting hundreds of people out of work.  We have all experienced in some way someone that we know who has lost their job due to the economy.  There are some signs to show we are slowly making our way through this global downturn but we are not out of the woods yet.  Many economists say it will be the middle of 2011 before we get back to “normal” in our ways.

Yet…the public service gets a raise.  As I’ve said in the past many times, I am not against paying someone a fair wage or salary.  Our public officials are probably in the most underpaid/overworked industry in our country.

I hope the elected officials around the table realize what people will think if they approve this increase.  Despite the fact a citizens committee made the recommendation, Regional Council CAN say NO…that will send a message.  That committee can come back and say to increase their pay by 100%, they can still say NO.

Take that increase to salaries for council members and put it to something else, and still end up with their desired 0% increase.

Show some common sense and leadership! 

To see the executive summary of the 2010 Region of Halton budget, go to pages 20 and 22 of the document.  If you’d like to look at the entire budget document for Halton (its a big file) go here.

Tax freeze may not impact raises for Halton staff, councillors

Tim Foran, Metroland West Media Group
December 11, 2009

A zero per cent tax hike budget can be accomplished without freezing wages for Regional employees or council members, according to Halton’s 2010 budget.

The proposed budget, which will go to council for approval this Wednesday, includes money for a possible hike to the salaries and benefits of regional council members of up to 1.5 per cent next year.

That cost-of-living increase, which stems from the recommendations of a civilian committee that reviews council’s compensation, would be about half the average 3.15 per cent salary and benefit increase budgeted for Halton’s own employees.

Compensation for municipal employees makes up a large part of the Region’s proposed $700-million operating budget.

The treasury is budgeting $164 million — more than $1.1 million goes to the 21 regional council members — to cover the cost of wages, benefits, overtime and promotions for its own personnel, a 5.23 per cent increase over this year’s budget.

Approximately half of the Region’s employees, and all of the regional police force, are unionized and the budget includes about 3 per cent increases for their salaries and benefits, based on negotiated collective bargaining agreements and raises given historically.

The City of Toronto, which experienced a strike by its unionized employees this past summer, negotiated just under 2 per cent annual hikes for its staff, excluding police.

Halton Region uses a pay-for-performance system for its non-unionized staff, meaning they generally receive raises in the 0-4 per cent range, according to Treasurer Jane MacCaskill.

The Region has included enough money in its budget to cover about an overall 2 per cent hike for those employees.

Salaries and benefits in the office of Halton’s top bureaucrat, CAO Pat Moyle, are budgeted to rise 8.2 per cent over this year to just under a half-million dollars. The treasurer confirmed much of the $20,000 increase is attributable to the promotion of one of Moyle’s two staff.

As personnel matters are dealt with in private, the salary for Moyle — whose performance is reviewed by a sub-committee of regional councillors — isn’t released until the Province puts out its ‘Sunshine List’ of public service employees making more than $100,000 during the previous year, in the spring.

Moyle earned $250,000 in salary and taxable benefits in 2008.

If the 2010 budget passes, the salaries and benefits for Halton Region’s 20 councillors will have risen an average of 2.4 per cent annually between 2008 and 2010, primarily due to a market adjustment raise they received at the beginning of this year.

Compensation for the current council’s first year in office, in 2007, was approved by the previous council in September 2006. Several of those who approved the compensation were re-elected.

The base salary of a regional councillor before benefits was about $43,000 this year, although they also receive salaries from the lower tier municipalities where they work. The base salary for Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr was about $157,000 in 2009.

Shop MILTON First

Mike Cluett

The Milton Canadian Champion has an interesting editorial on the benefits of shopping local, more specifically Milton.

Despite what some people think, Milton has everything to offer from the smallest of gifts to the big ticket items.  Its worth checking out what Milton has, especially in our downtown core.  Just imagine going Christmas shopping and finding all that you need.  Lets take downtown for instance.

Anyone with a knitter in the family (and there are a lot of knitters out there) they can go to see Carolyn at Main Street Yarns at Carriage Square Mall.  While there you can drop into Coffee Culture and have one of their amazing brews of coffees and teas.  Another good choice is Pasqualino’s Cafe & Bistro.  If youre shopping for a loved one and are looking for flowers….Oceana Whispers is the best choice for quality flowers, excellent presentation and wonderful one on one service.  If youre looking for some high quality leather goods or shoes, you can go to Milton Shoes and Leather Centre.

If youre hungry while shopping there are a number of places to eat along Main Street from The Ivy Arms to Thai House Cuisine.  In the need of a hair cut, you can go to either Mike the Barber or Tony’s Barber Shop.  Your printer run out of ink or need some specialty paper for your Christmas cards, Harris Office Pro.

Endless choices for everyone.  If you need to buy a computer for your kids, or just service the one you have, Crave Systems is a great place for all of those needs.

And Im just hitting the tip of the iceburg.  There are hundreds more stores to go to find exactly what you need for the holiday season.

For the record, no one listed here has paid for anything. 🙂

You can go to www.downtownmilton.com for a full listing of businesses that can serve you.  If anyone has any other companies they would like to promote…let me know.  Feel free to comment as well.

Lets make it a great holiday season for Milton retailers.

Please shop local this holiday season

Canadian — and specifically Milton — retailers are hoping for a ‘green’ Christmas this year after weathering (we hope) one of the worst economic years on record. We also hope that local consumers this holiday season think of Milton first when dashing about for their shopping.

This town has a wide variety of stores. Our local merchants could certainly use your patronage.

While shopping in town, you can pause awhile at the many cafes or restaurants. You can take in old-fashioned Christmas displays and appreciate store owners who are proud of the goods they sell and spend the necessary time answering customers’ questions.

Remember, spending dollars locally helps our entire community. Local businesses are the ones that sponsor your child’s soccer team, contribute to the arts and donate to any number of worthy and charitable causes.

The spin-off effects are tremendous.

Also this holiday season, consumers should be in a better mood to spend (at least moderately) than last year as the economic climate continues to improve while interest rates are at a record low.