region of halton

New Years Levee a Huge Success!

Mike Cluett

In what was described by Regional Councillor Colin Best as the highest attended levee, hundreds of people flowed into Milton’s Town Hall to be entertained by some amazing performances and served coffee, tea, and cupcakes by Milton’s Town Councillors.

You remember back in October, councillors were elected to serve the people of Milton…many didn’t think it was so literal.

Nine out of the eleven councillors (two couldn’t make it unfortunately being out of town on family holidays) did their very best in hosting this years Mayor’s New Years Levee at Town Hall.  This event has always been put on by the Milton Historical Society and they did enjoy being on the other side of the event this year.  Many people were amazed at how us councillors were able to serve up these great snacks.

I can tell you from personal experience, although tiring, everyone of us enjoyed doing it.  I was even joking with the other councillors that we could almost form a company and set up a side business in catering 🙂 (Yes we ARE kidding)

It was great to see so many faces, young and old, at the levee (quite a few from Ward 6 as well) and answering questions and exchanging some holiday cheer.  In the Milton Room (the West Wing of Town Hall) there was a presentation on upcoming projects that the town is involved with.  I know for certain Councillors Colin Best and Cindy Lunau were quite busy getting people up to speed on how Milton will change in the coming years.

There was no shortage of entertainment in the lobby as well.  The Milton Seniors “Song Spinners” were a huge hit with the crowd with holiday songs and many in attendance sang along.  “A Capella Showcase” started off the afternoon with renditions of some traditional carols and it was a great way to celebrate a fantastic day.

This event couldn’t have been pulled off without the efforts of Councillor Cindy Lunau.  Many thanks goes to her for coming up with the idea and getting us all organized and ready to serve.  Other thanks goes to our gracious sponsors (I hope I get them all) Troy’s Diner, Tim Horton’s, Flour Girls – great cupcakes – & La Rose Bakery for their treats.

I can honestly say that council members are really looking forward to doing this again.  It definitely adds a personal touch and really exemplifies what a levee is all about…meeting members of council and socializing with fellow residents.

Happy New Year everyone and thanks for coming out.

Anthony with Mayor Gord Krantz
Join us in a song?

Halton Police Update

Mike Cluett

File this one under REALLY?  So far this year Halton Police have laid almost 300 impaired driving charges. 

“Halton police report that since Jan. 1, 2010, 295 drivers on Halton roads have been arrested for impaired driving. A total of 123 impaired charges have been laid in Burlington followed by 87 in Oakville, 49 in Milton and 36 in Halton Hills. Police say that of the 13 traffic fatalities recorded in the region this year, alcohol was a contributing factor in four of them.”

It seems that with the increased awareness of the problem and more RIDE programs set in place, some people are not getting the message.  13 people in Halton died unnecessarily in my opinion.  Drinking and driving is totally preventable.  Just dont do it!

After our Milton Community Policing Committee meeting earlier this week, Const. Floyd said that Halton Police will be starting the RIDE program for this holiday season and will be out in full force.

It doesnt take that much of an extra effort to do the right thing.  The Champion article outlines a number of things you can do to help make our roads safer.

• If you plan to drive, don’t drink

• Choose a sober designated driver before partying

• Take public transit, a taxi or ask a friend to drive you home

• Spend the night where the activity is being held

• Immediately report impaired drivers to police

• Always wear your seat belt

Do the right thing…and help make this holiday season safer for everyone.  There are very few people who have had their lives affected by drinking & driving.  Either you know someone personally or know of someone who has lost a friend or loved one due to this totally preventable crime.

If you see someone who shouldnt be driving, try to stop them.  If not, call 911.  You could be saving a life!

And continuing with my previous post on Lock it or Lose it here is another article from the Milton Canadian Champion on unattended vehicles being stolen from peoples driveways.

Unattended, idling vehicles become stolen vehicles: police

Don’t let that warm car result in a cold walk this winter.As the Christmas season and the cold weather have returned, Halton Regional Police are issuing reminders to residents about precautionary measures they can take to prevent their valuables, including their vehicle, from being stolen.

Police say that between Nov. 3, 2009 and Jan. 14, 2010, 25 vehicles were stolen in Halton that had been left unattended and idling by their owners. Fifteen of those thefts occurred in Milton in the Derry Road community.

In Milton, leaving a vehicle unattended with the engine running is illegal under a town by-law and could result in a $75 fine.  An unattended running vehicle that is locked, even if it is in your driveway or in your garage, is still a target for thieves.

Police also warn about leaving car doors open or any items in plain view wherever you park your vehicle.

“Crimes of opportunity occur when we don’t take the necessary precautions such as locking our vehicles and placing items out of sight,” said a Halton police press release.

While there is no guarantee against becoming a victim of vehicle theft, or having your vehicle broken into, Halton police offer the following safety tips:

• Park in well-lit and attended areas

• Never leave your vehicle unattended with the engine running. Turn off the ignition and take the keys with you

• Always lock all doors and windows

• Never leave personal identification or valuables in your vehicle. Lock all valuables in the trunk. Don’t tempt thieves by leaving packages, cameras or purses in plain view

• Remove GPS navigation and cellphone devices when not in your vehicle

• Mount CD and MP3 players inconspicuously

• If you have a garage, use it and lock your car

• Never hide a spare key in your car

For more crime prevention ideas, visit www.haltonpolice.ca and follow the link to Community Policing.

And to illustrate this even further, here is this weeks Milton Police Blotter from the Champion.

BMW stolen while left warming

A 2006 BMW 325 valued at $30,000 was stolen from a driveway after the owner left it idling before his drive to work.  The incident on Huffman Crescent took place at 5:15 a.m. Monday.

Computer equipment taken from school

Overnight Monday, a portable classroom at St. Peter Catholic Elementary School on Dixon Drive was broken into.  During the incident a laptop computer and two Alpha Smart keyboards were taken.  Their estimated value is $2,200.

Car stolen during the day

A 2008 white Ford Edge was taken between noon and 9 p.m. November 17.  The car had been parked on Main Street East.

UPDATE: 4th Line CLOSED NOVEMBER 29 TO JANUARY 31 2011

Mike Cluett

I had made an error in my post.  I stated the intersection of LSL and JSP will have an all way stop.  JSP traffic will NOT be required to stop at that intersection.  LSL traffic will have stop signs.  Notices have been posted at the intersection and many thanks to Joseph Choi from the Region of Halton for pointing that information out to me.

NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURE TO ALL MILTON DRIVERS

4th Line South of Louis St Laurent will be closed by the Region of Halton to instal watermains starting Monday November 29th and will remain closed until January 31, 2011 (approximately) Local access only will be allowed.

The detours will be marked apparently as James Snow Parkway south of Louis St Laurent is now open to Britannia Road. 

This will result in heavier than normal traffic at the intersection of James Snow Parkway and Derry Road and south on JSP as well.  A reminder to motorists who use Clark Blvd to go north on JSP to be extra cautious when making a left hand turn with the increased flow of traffic.

Another reminder that the speed limit on JSP is 70km/hr and there is only a two way stop at the intersection of JSP and LSL.  JSP traffic going north and south will NOT be required to stop, and traffic coming eastward on LSL WILL HAVE to stop at the stop sign.

Please email me if you have any further questions.

mike@mikecluett.ca

Speed Limit Change on James Snow Parkway

Mike Cluett

There are a lot of drivers in Milton who use James Snow Parkway south of Derry as a route to get home and around town.  That road didnt even exist a year or so ago but has now finished its construction but the effects are still being felt.

While this road was under construction the speed limit was reduced to 50km/hr, as most roads under construction are.  Recently reported in the Champion back in December, that stretch of road was approved for an increase in the limit to 70km/hr by Halton Regional Council.  When changes are made to the speed limits, the Region or the municipality in charge of the road should, within a reasonable amount of time, put new signs up showing the different limits.

Many drivers who take that road found the limit difficult to change as most were coming south on James Snow Parkway from the 401 and the speed limit dropped from 70 km/hr to 50 rather quickly.  Halton Regional Police responded to a number of complaints from drivers who speed excessively down that stretch of road took it upon themselves to set up “speed traps” as a way of educating drivers and of course, hit them in the pocket book.

Problem is, according to a new article in the Milton Canadian Champion by Tim Foran, the police force were informed of the speed limit change but yet this past week, held a speeding blitz where a number of drivers were hit with speeding tickets.

Over at the Hawthorne Villager forum people were speaking out how unfair this practice was and it also raised a few issues legally speaking about the validity of the speeding tickets.  Sure the limit was legally 70km/hr but the posted speed limit was still 50km/hr.

I consulted a good friend of mine and paralegal extroridinare Dave Sokolowski of Sokolowski Legal Services for an answer.

He said, “A law or a by law may be passed at any time, but until it is enacted it is not in effect. The councils decision to increase the speed limit on this stretch of road although passed in December technically was not in effect until the signs were changed.

The Highway Traffic Act is clear that all drivers must obey the posted signs, much like if you were travelling through a construction zone and the speed limit is reduced. You may have driven on that road 900 times at the speed limit of 80, but once the signs go up that its 60, that is the rate of speed that you must travel at.

Although I cannot speak as to why the officers were running the “speed trap” before the signs were changed, I can say that they were not doing anything wrong at the time.

Everyone who has recieved a ticket does have the right to be able to fight it. I cannot say that the Crown involved that day would have the charge withdrawn, but they may have it reduced so that there are no points against your license. “

If you found yourself to be one of those people with the traffic tickets and would like to get some legal advice or representation, I recommend speaking with Dave at Sokolowski Legal Services to find out what, if anything you can do about the tickets.

This of course provides me an opportunity to remind everyone that the limits you must drive at are the posted speed limits.  Please take your time around town and obey the speed limits.

I’ll see you at the doors.

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

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.