As I mentioned a few posts ago (here) I mentioned that I was beginning a new program on our local community television channel from Cogeco YourTV Halton. This is where I meet with other local politicians and community leaders and discuss issues that are important to Milton and its residents.
I will be posting some clips from previous shows soon but here is the most recent program.
This episode I spoke with Ward 4 Councillor Sameera Ali and we talked about life as a new councillor and her ideas for the future. Enjoy.
Growth has never paid for growth, and with MPP Parm Gill and the province supporting this legislation, the Town will have less to provide for new infrastructure in high growth areas, slower development of parks and trails and lowering the quality of services to residents in Milton – our place of possibility.
One of the outcomes of Bill 108 now that it has passed is that what little local control municipalities gained when the governing body changed to LPAT has now been taken away by going back to the OMB rules.
We as a town agree that red tape must be eliminated, but we can’t do it simply by putting more financial pressures on municipalities who have no choice other than reduce programs or further increase taxes. This law now puts fast growing communities like Milton under even further financial pressures.
The people of Milton understand that growth is happening but what they want the most is more local control of HOW their community is growing. By reverting back to old OMB rules, it ensures that the residents of Milton will have an even smaller voice on how we grow going forward. Any reduction in the amount of development charges Milton and Halton Region can collect puts further financial pressures on both levels and eventually will lead to further tax increases.
Growth has never paid for growth, and with MPP Parm Gill and the province supporting this legislation, the Town will have less to provide for new infrastructure in high growth areas, slower development of parks and trails and lowering the quality of services like public transit to residents in Milton – our place of possibility.
Sadly this government didn’t listen when we asked to be at the table to discuss these changes. The bill has passed and its now the law and we are going to have to figure out how to keep up with a lot less.
A week has gone by since our visit to Quebec City for the annual FCM Conference and I realized I haven’t posted an update of any kind.
Last week myself along with a number of my fellow town and regional councillors attended the annual FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) conference. FCM is an advocacy body that is made up of muni’s from across the country and they advocate for important issues we all face, plus focus in on regional items that don’t quite get the press they should.
These conferences can be both exhausting and invigorating at the same time. Packed days of workshops, meetings, seminars and informal gatherings can lead to sore feet and the occasional cat nap in the afternoon. What CAN come out of these sessions is a good idea if we’re on the right track when it comes to how we’re building our community.
I will say there were a number of sessions that before hand I was quite excited about attending, like one on asset management & flood mitigation (I’m sure I am the first person to say the words “excited” and “flood mitigation” in the same sentence.) but was a bit let down as it was more of a “here is what happened” as opposed to “what can be done to solve it.”
There were other sessions that let to some disappointment including the session on “engaging youth through social media” where for the first 15 minutes we did not hear the word “youth” once and when they did talk about engagement they brought up Facebook. As we all know Facebook is not where youth are engaging themselves…its Instagram or SnapChat but it is NOT Facebook.
That is what the feedback function from the conference is about. Some were just not up to what was advertised as myself and many of my Milton and Halton colleagues were looking forward to.
There were some informative sessions on public transit, modernizing the fiscal toolbox, cannabis retail implementation and others, so it was worthwhile. Many of the speeches throughout the week focused on important items like the future of 5G, rural broadband internet, affordable housing and economic development.
This being an election year brought out all the major party leaders for their chance to woo municipal leaders and let them know what they would do if elected or re-elected to office. All the leaders did a good job essentially with the standard “we will listen to you municipal leaders” if elected lines “you are the front line leaders of our communities” etc.
All in all it was a productive few days with sadly not enough time to see Old Quebec the way it should be experienced but that’s an addition to the bucket list for another time.
My colleagues Clr Sameera Ali & Rick Di Lorenzo did a video of their experience at FCM with a little more detail on sessions and the schedule plus their thoughts on speeches. You can find that link here (self plug – Psst there’s a special guest at the end.)
To say the next conference we attend this year will be important is an understatement. The Associations of Municipalities of Ontario conference is coming up this August and will be filled with announcements and probably will have the most impact on us here in the GTHA. I’ll do a post soon on what we can expect with regional government review, upcoming 2020 municipal budgets and how the provinces decisions will be affecting what services you will or won’t be getting plus more.
Statement from Mike Cluett, Halton Regional Councillor Ward 3 Town of Milton
The provincial government has heard the calls of municipal leaders in Ontario for more time to discuss these changes. I do believe we all have the taxpayers best interests in mind. I welcome the Premiers announcement & look forward to working together.
Many thanks to Mayor Cam Guthrie and the LUMCO group for their solid advocacy for municipalities with the province. This couldn’t have happened without your hard work. Thank you!
Had a great time yesterday at YourTV Halton’s HQ filming a new program that I will be hosting called Local Matters. I wanted to ensure that Milton was getting the full story on what is happening in our great town. From the regional government review (our first show) to Bill 108 to intensification and interviews with local and regional councillors giving updates on whats happening in their wards.
The first episode should be airing soon on YourTV Halton (Channel 14/700) on Cogeco. My guest Colin Best, who in addition to being Regional Councillor in Milton, also sits on the board of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) representing the Regional and Single Tier Caucus, provides his insight as to where we might be headed later this year.
The program will be uploaded to the YouTube channel as well so you can share with everyone in Milton.
Im really looking forward to doing this and I have to thank the crew over at YourTV Halton for getting this all put together.
The federal government recently announced some additional funding for municipalities that included an additional “municipal infrastructure top up fund”.
Halton Region will receive $16 million in total and the Town of Milton will receive roughly $2.7 million. In the past these funds will be used for transit, roads and other infrastructure projects that are ready to go.
This funding is a good news story for Milton as it doesn’t come with the usual restrictions from gas tax funding and can be allocated to other projects that are ready to go. We welcome all opportunities to work with the other levels of government when it comes to additional much needed infrastructure funding.
