The candidates speak: mayor, deputy mayor

Bradford Topic October 20 2010
The Topic sent a list of five questions to all of the candidates for Bradford West Gwillimbury council and asked them to respond via e-mail.
The candidates were given 200 words to respond to each question.
Here are the responses of mayoral candidates Jim Corneau and Doug White and deputy mayoral candidates Rob Keffer and Dennis Roughley.
1. Public transit is an issue that has been raised by many candidates and members of the public during this campaign. Do you support a public transit system in Bradford West Gwillimbury and if so, what form should it take?
Corneau: We need to establish an innovative and affordable transit plan.
Your new council will work with existing transit providers such as GO Transit, school bus operators and others.
We will work with CHATS and other groups that provide transportation services.
We will talk with other towns of our size that already have transit solutions.
We will consult with our citizens, who are in need of transit.
When we all work together, we will be able to come up with an innovative and affordable transit plan that will serve most of the transit needs of our residents.
White: I do support the idea of public transit, but we need to recognize and understand the costs involved.
All public transit systems cost money — they do not make money — so we need to design a system that the people of BWG both want and can afford.
Council is already funding a study that will be undertaken next year and will recommend, among other things, the most efficient bus routes, the number of buses that would be needed and the hours of operation.
I look forward to receiving it and inviting public comment.
In the meantime, we can partner with the banks and other west end businesses to have a shuttle similar to the biweekly service Upper Canada Mall provides.
Keffer: Start with putting taxpayer money into action, instead of another study.
I would have a special committee of council in charge of having public meetings, listen to the public’s input and best make the transit system useful and efficient.
Have an accessible transit vehicle on the road in Bradford West Gwillimbury in less than six months.
Roughley: I support public transit and I supported council’s decision to fund a study next year that will examine the costs and options involved in providing bus service in Bradford West Gwillimbury.
Expansion of York Region Transit should be explored as a possible option of the study.
2. How would you keep taxes under control in Bradford West Gwillimbury?
Corneau: As your mayor, the new council’s objective will be to lower your taxes.
Bradford West Gwillimbury has higher taxes than Newmarket, Barrie and Innisfil.
We will restore line-by-line review of all budgets.
We will scrutinize all department spending.
We will change and restructure the town administration to restore efficiency, accountability, transparency and customer service.
Town managers and department heads will quickly learn to do more with less.
We will provide improved customer services while spending less of your hard-earned tax dollars.
We need to increase our industrial base not only to provide jobs for our people, but to balance our tax base and keep residential taxes affordable.
We will use the methods that attracted a number of industries to Bradford West Gwillimbury when I was on council with mayor Frank Jonkman.
We cannot sit back and wait four or five years to land a big fish.
We need industrial growth now.
Your new council will gain control of the town’s finances.
We will manage the managers — no more massive budget overruns.
White: By treating the dollars we collect from BWG taxpayers with respect.
That means getting the best value for the dollar, which as mayor, I have always aimed to do.
Our town is much too reliant on residential property taxes.
We need to ensure our tax base expands along with our economy and to do that, we need to press ahead with attracting businesses to our key employment lands along the Hwy. 400 corridor.
We are looking forward to having more good corporate citizens, like Toromont, take up residence there and lessen our dependency on residential taxes.
We will continue to bring new commercial businesses to town, providing you greater opportunity to shop locally.
Keffer: In the budgeting process, we need accurate forecasting of tax income that includes new homes coming on stream and paying taxes.
In the past, these new taxes were not accounted for and every year there was a surplus that was spent at the end of the year, without the oversight that was required.
The amount of money spent on consultants and studies has to be reduced. Use the expertise of councillors to plan for the town, instead of consultants.
MPAC has to use market value assessment on all development land that has the top soil taken off.
The town is losing tax dollars because of slow and inaccurate valuation of development land.
Roughley: By continuing to be fiscally responsible in our decisions.
By making sure we have strong, rational business plans that outline both the need and the cost of any proposed spending of the hard-earned dollars of the citizens of Bradford West Gwillimbury.
By working hard to strengthen our industrial, commercial and institutional tax base, which means attracting more business and industry to BWG, particularly along our Hwy. 400
employment node lands and expanding our commercial, institutional and agricultural related business opportunities.
3. What steps would you take to help make Bradford West Gwillimbury more environmentally-friendly?
Corneau: We can make the town more environmentally-friendly by using green technology, such as solar panels, on our town buildings.
We can promote green technology to all industrial, commercial and residential construction.
We can move toward reducing all our municipal waste and encourage our residents to do the same.
We can build our trail system and make our town pedestrian friendly.
We need to plant more trees that will not only green our town, but also help in carbon dioxide reduction.
We need to educate and promote environmentally-friendly practices in all sectors of our economy: agriculture, industry, commerce, government and home owners.
White: If we can lessen our dependency on cars by attracting more businesses to BWG, turning us into more of a live-work community, that would help a lot.
We are already developing a trails system under the recently completed BWG trails master plan.
We also need to decommission some of our old, energy-inefficient buildings once the new sports and leisure centre opens.
Keffer: We need to have more bicycle paths.
All the new road construction and yet no allowance for bicycle paths is a lost opportunity.
We need to use less concrete and more water infiltration materials in road medians.
We need all bridges, including over the canal, to be pedestrian friendly.
All new development must use the latest technology in storm water management, with no exceptions.
An anti-idling bylaw should be in place and put recycling bins on town property.
Roughley: By making sure our town saves green spaces for the enjoyment of all, as we are doing with the trails system master plan.
As chairperson of the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Board, I know how important healthy communities are to us and how important green, environmentally responsible planning and development is to the overall health of our community.
We need to do more to encourage walking, cycling and all forms of physical activity.
I urge you to visit www.simcoemuskokahealth.org for information on healthy community design, which I support.
4. How would you improve downtown Bradford?
Corneau: We need to lobby the Ontario government every day, along with our partners in Simcoe County and York Region, to get the Hwy. 400-Hwy. 404 link built now.
We need to solve the traffic chaos in our downtown.
The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury must repair and improve our downtown infrastructure, which is the town’s responsibility, especially sidewalks.
The town should invest in our downtown.
We need to establish a downtown revitalization fund, as Alliston did.
We should look to towns that have restored their downtowns, such as Bracebridge, and learn how they accomplished their downtown revitalization projects.
Our downtown should be a destination that reflects our rich heritage, our unique history and is a vital part of our future.
White: We need to have more people working and living there.
This requires redevelopment.
The town is studying the feasibility of locating a new administration building in our core as well as increasing the quality and density of downtown housing by encouraging more apartments and condominiums suitable for seniors and others.
I am looking forward to the recommendations of the revitalization study, due in December, suggesting tools the town can implement to encourage private sector investment.
We should then put a group in place, modeled after the Holland Marsh Drainage System Joint Municipal Services Board, to drive our downtown revitalization.
Keffer: The town must first concentrate on making the downtown safe and then focus on the way it looks.
Sidewalks need to be redone and more crosswalks, wheelchair parking and parking spaces should be available.
I would have tough urban design guidelines in place for new commercial buildings and allow payment in lieu to go into a downtown revitalization fund.
Alliston has done this and has $480,000 in a fund to help the downtown merchants compete with the new big box stores.
Have enhancement grants available for downtown merchants to make their establishments more appealing.
Roughley: Improvements will be made through the power of both partnerships and individuals, property owners, the Bradford Board of Trade and anyone who cares about our town.
The town held two public consultation workshops on this subject and I look forward to the recommendations of the revitalization study, which is nearing completion.
They should be available in December.
I think we need to be encouraging more residential development downtown to support and strengthen our retail sector.
This would also meet the requirements and expectations of the provincial government’s growth policy.
5. Another issue that has been raised frequently in this campaign is the possibility of a family health centre in Bradford West Gwillimbury. While health care is a provincial responsibility, many municipalities take an active role in bringing health services to their communities. What would you do to improve health services in Bradford West Gwillimbury?
Corneau: The town should meet with all the health care providers to our town.
We need to talk to our town doctors and explore their ideas on how the town can help them to improve our health services.
We should promote a healthy lifestyle for our town residents.
We should encourage our citizens to make better use of our walking trails, our recreation facilities and our parks, including Scanlon Creek Conservation Area.
Improving our health services starts with improving the health of the population: our youths, our families and our seniors.
We know than an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (a gram of prevention is worth a kilogram of cure).
White: We deserve top quality, effective health services in BWG and that will be a priority of mine if re-elected.
I completely support Deputy Mayor Dennis Roughley’s plan to convert our existing library into a health centre once we move into the new library building.
I suggest we set up a physician attraction and retention committee to ensure we have the doctors we need.
Keffer: The doctors we have in town now are the backbone of our health care community and they have to be consulted and partnered with to bring new health services to our area.
We need to entice more doctors to our area and use Southlake Regional Health Centre partnerships to our advantage.
I am keenly aware that health care is a provincial responsibility.
If town-owned facilities are used, there must be a proper business plan and full consultation with all members of our health care community.
Roughley: There is no doubt we are an under-serviced community.
That’s why I supported council’s decision to convert our existing library building to a family health centre once the new library is completed.
Our last application to the provincial Ministry of Health and Long Term Care for funding to support the family health team was not approved.
I am firmly committed to re-applying and making sure we get the funds our community needs.
I also requested, with council’s concurrence, that staff look at other potential options, including social service needs, that would benefit and improve the overall health and wellness of our residents.