Budget, aging infrastructure, two challenges for town council

PARRY SOUND – The New Year marks the halfway point for Parry Sound council’s term of office.
The North Star asked the mayor and councillors to share their resolutions for 2013, while outlining their direction for the coming year.
The upcoming budget as well as service levels seemed a common theme throughout their responses, as seen below:

Mayor Jamie McGarvey

“So far for 2013 with the strong efforts of the Habitat for Humanity group over the last couple of years, it looks like the first Habitat for Humanity home in Parry Sound will be built this year. The home will be built on a piece of property that the Town of Parry Sound donated to the project.
“In 2012, the town put out a request for proposal for an assisted living facility. (Council chose a proposal for a new complex for seniors on January 8.) There has been a committee formed to plan the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Charles W. Stockey Centre and the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame. There is another movie that has commenced shooting in Parry Sound, which will help local businesses and if the signs are right, there should be some further commercial development coming our way.
“It is the collective efforts of all our residents, volunteers and local organizations, that make our community what it is. As far as I am concerned, we live in one of the best areas on our planet and we get to call it home. Our continued efforts towards growth will see increased opportunity. It is my hope that the community and the area will co-operatively work together for the benefit of all our residents so that we can achieve our goals.”

Coun. Brad Horne

“New Year’s resolution for me is one in the same every year, pretty simple, ‘do what you love, love what you do.’
“As for the town, my goals have always been to attract new development, grow our economy, jobs, and population through thoughtful reasonable business decisions.
“Challenges for our town is how to plan effectively for replacement of our aging infrastructure. Budgeting is always first and foremost in terms of responsible use of ratepayers’ dollars that ensure accountability and good governance.”

Coun. Bonnie Keith

“Goals and challenges: I personally believe it is unwise to choose too many goals or challenges to tackle, as you can lose your focus. Therefore, I will briefly address but a few goals and challenges both present and on the horizon. I believe these are all in keeping with the current strategic plan.
“It is both my goal and a challenge to support a town budget that ensures quality core services for the taxpayers while taking into account the community’s practical needs for the present and the future. I personally believe that it is not a wish list at a time when money is tight. To keep the tax rates low is difficult when one must contend with such issues as: the rising cost of contracted services as well as provincial legislative requirements which require the municipality to provide certain standards for its citizens regardless of the tax base. In addition, the budget needs to take into account the future needs, concerns and probable increased costs for anticipated needed projects. Therefore the importance of increasing the town reserves is the same as having a nest egg for unforeseen happenings. To me it is being proactive for the future. If the town budget can meet that goal then I personally believe the taxpayers are more likely to have money in their pockets, which enables them to spend in our local businesses, and this helps our town to flourish. Only then do we have a true partnership with our taxpayers.
Another challenge: Encouraging creativity in how we provide services to our ratepayers and how we try to recuperate some of the operating costs for our facilities is a challenge in this economic climate. I personally believe that we need to use the Bobby Orr Community Center more fully -year-round. We sunk a lot of money into this building and people should be enjoying it for more activities. It costs our community, whether people are attending the arena or it’s empty. I realize that rental rates were established by council, but I personally think more innovative ideas are possible. I would suggest that when a meeting room or the ice has not been booked on a specific date then nearer the date if the spot is still not booked that we offer a cheaper price described as “roll back the rental price”. We would at least recuperate some of the operating expenses and enable people to utilize the facility. I personally believe that enjoying the building and having people gather here is the purpose of the building. Thus the challenge is becoming more creative and encouraging more thinking ‘outside the box’ as to how we can get the most value out of our assets. This is but one idea I have come up with lately and I personally believe there are other avenues that can be explored.
“Challenge: Continuing to maintain the two public transit systems in this town will be a challenge. It would appear that there has been limited ridership and in addition the provincial legislation requires that public transit and accessible transit to be treated equally. This is turn has been expensive to operate. I personally have to ask myself at what point does one say the community cannot afford such a high subsidization? If we can’t afford to continue this form of subsidization then we must examine our options of finding an alternative to the present system that can assist people with obtaining their groceries, and attending medical appointments and getting out in the community. Whether there is a viable alternative will again take innovation and a practical look at the matter. In addition it will require buy-in from the citizens.
I personally believe if we can address such challenges in innovative ways we are demonstrating that we are a vibrant community and “the place to be”. In the year of 2013 I am up to looking at novel solutions to the challenges we face.”

Coun. Keith Saulnier

“My goal is to finish what I started, stay at it, and stay focused. Keep a weather eye and steady on the course. Remember to laugh and love a little bit more.”

Coun. Dave Williams

“We enjoy a very nice community here in Parry Sound and yet many people still cannot find meaningful employment, families still cannot find suitable housing and budgets still cannot be balanced. My goal is to collectively inspire this very nice community to be a thriving and self-sustaining example to our neighbors throughout the province; an example of reinvention and cooperation that would motivate and develop future leaders in government, education, industry and faith.”
Councillors Paul Borenman and Dan McCauley did not respond by press time.

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