Springwater mayor answers legal spending critic

Mayor Bill French’s column in the Springwater News

A look back at 2016 I am quite proud of the accomplishments, new initiatives and challenges our Council experienced over the past year. If you have had a chance to come to a Council Meeting or watch us on line, you will have seen very active and engaged Council Members. A recent article from a former Councillor was critical of the notice of motions and motions initiated by Council Members since this new Council took office. How do you think new initiatives are created and move the Township forward? Councillors are not elected to sit on their hands and nod their head to actions that were planned in the back room and then rubber stamped in the public forum. Yes, we have had our ups and downs but collectively this Council has achieved much and set a clear direction for the future in a decisive way.

There were also comments about legal spending. We do spend money protecting the long term interests of the Township in a responsible manner. Spending a dollar today to avoid spending ten dollars a few years from now makes sense in my book. When the Midhurst Secondary Plan was approved by a previous Council, there were a number of appeals to the OMB by various landowners not just the big developers. Now that the County has revised its official plan, these cases are now being heard. Most have been resolved. That costs money.

By the actions this Council has taken, we have solidified the pace and phasing of development over the next 10 to 15 years and will be able to develop a plan to proactively manage the growth instead of governing by reaction. Even though we were disappointed that the County reached a closed door settlement allowing the additional 3,000 population in Midhurst, after a hearing denied all applications except for one, we have an understanding that if and when this new development does occur, it will be at the tail end of the current approved plans.

And for the record, it was a unanimous decision of council to object to any extra population for Midhurst. At the time, the Province, County and Township agreed that the applications were premature, as the conditions of the existing approvals had not yet been met. The article also suggested that it is the Mayor and Deputy Mayor driving the agenda. Anyone who has served on Council is well aware that nothing is done without the will of Council by way of a majority vote on a resolution. In Canada we have what is called a weak mayor system, which simply means actions are not taken unless it is the will of Council. The Mayor has no executive decision power. If you look at the last two years, virtually everyone on Council has initiated something through a notice of motion or resolution that they have spearheaded. That is called democracy in action. I am proud to lead such an effective group of Councillors.

Simcoe County Inaugural Meeting The County conducts midterm elections for Warden, Deputy Warden and the Section Chairs. Those elections took place on December 13, 2016. Warden Gerry Marshall was acclaimed and I don’t think anyone can contest the leadership he has provided since taking office. I unsuccessfully contested the Deputy Warden position against incumbent Terry Dowdall. I did so, not because I had any criticism of the way Terry was doing his job, but simply because I have a particular interest in a few key areas such as Homelessness, Economic Development and a desire to change the Governance Model of the County. I do congratulate Terry on his re-election as he brings many years of political experience to the table and his involvement with the Board of Directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a definite asset. I also want to congratulate Basil Clarke being elected the new Chair of Performance Management, with Harry Hughes as the new Vice Chair; Judith Cox as Chair of Human Services with Steffen Walma as the new Vice Chair and Doug Little as Chair of Corporate services with George Cornell as the new Vice Chair.

New Year’s Levee We tried something new this year. On Sunday January 8th from 1 to 3 p.m. we hosted a Springwater New Year’s Levee at the Elmvale Community Centre on Queen Street to provide an opportunity to interact with the Council and for us to express our appreciation for what many of you do to make Springwater great. Those that did come out had some light refreshments and chatted a while. I thank those members of Council that were able to attend. We were all pleased to see everyone as we greeted 2017 and the challenges it will bring.

Budget Meeting Our Capital Budget Meeting and final review of the proposed 2017 operating budget was rescheduled from December to January 3rd from 9 to 1 because of inclement weather. We had great debate and discussion and scheduled one more meeting on January 9th. We have revised the budget, made some changes, added some new exciting initiatives, while at the same time, attempting to keep the rate increase reasonable and deliver the same service levels our residents expect. We plan to finalize the budget in late January. If you are unable to attend, we live stream these meeting at www.springwater.ca/live.

Farm Property Assessment Tax Impacts I tabled a resolution at the last Council Meeting requesting a report on some possible options that we can provide on the Springwater Tax portion of the Farm Property Tax Bill to mitigate the cost because of escalating land values. We know farm land values have increased because of urban sprawl. I have been told a number of farm property assessments have increased 100 to 200 percent. That would have a dramatic effect on their tax bills. Currently the agricultural land portion of a farm is taxed at 25% of the residential tax rate. Since the County decides the tax ratios, I have also tabled a similar Notice of Motion this week at County Council which will be debated at the February 24th County Council Meeting.

Farm Business Breakfast In mid or late February we will be hosting a farm business breakfast and inviting some of our key area farmers to participate. Farming is Springwater’s biggest economic driver and as we ramp up our Township economic development activities, we want to make sure we are supporting this key business segment to the greatest extent possible. We will feature presentations from the Simcoe County Economic Development department, the Small Business Enterprise Centre in Barrie, North Simcoe Community Futures Development Corporation and a representative from OMAFRA outlining programs that may assist some of our farm operations to diversify and expand their current business operations. More information will be forthcoming. If you would like to attend just contact me or the office. On behalf of Council, I wish everyone a prosperous 2017 and give a big shout out “Happy Birthday Canada on its 150th”. By continuing to work together, we will make Springwater a better place to work, live and play.