Milton blog

Mike Cluett
Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog

Halton Regional Chair, Gary Carr is putting pressure on the Provincial Government to freeze development in Halton.

Flipping through the Milton Canadian Champion and the Toronto Star I noticed one issue that did stand out. Gary Carr, the Regional Chair for Halton, along with Ted Chudleigh MPP for Halton have expressed concerns about the amount of development in our area compared to improvements to infrastructure. One of the areas of concerns is the hospital. Milton for example is growing closer and closer to 80,000 residents while not one major improvement has been made to our hospital. That hospital was designed for a town of 35,000 residents and as the years go by, Milton will approach 100,000 and no plans in sight to expand or improve the hospital.

The hospital has made some improvements. With the help and generosity of the public and other individuals and companies, Milton Hospital now has the CT scanner that was so badly needed. Now Milton Hospital needs more than that to adapt to the changes in the region. With Mattamy Homes pumping out new homes by the day and hundreds of moving trucks bringing the belongings of many happy families, excited with the opportunity to share with us, the beauty and the wonderful community we call home, something has to be done with our hospital.

For months Ted Chudliegh has been fighting with the Provincial Government to get this problem noticed by Premier Dalton McGuinty but so far nothing has happened. Everything seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

What do our local leaders need to do to fix the problem? To date we’ve really heard nothing from Town Council. I know its not their area of responsibility but they do speak for the people. Our municipal leaders are on the the closest to the residents. Many times you can pick up the phone and give them a call to let them know how you feel. Some chose to respond quickly and others chose not to. I know that after talking with many of you during the last municipal election and afterwards, the hospital is a vitally important issue for many of you. As the town and the region grows, so should its infrastructure.

The only problem is our municipal leaders dont seem to have a vision for the future. There doesn’t seem to be a five, ten or twenty year plan on the horizon. Maybe at best a one year plan, and then a plan for re-election. In Milton, we see daily the result of decisions that were made in the past with no foresight as evidenced in their decision to close off 4th Line before they opened up James Snow Parkway a few years back.

They should have realized by now that is a growing problem that wont go away. This is what our leaders at all levels; from the member of parliament for Halton, to Ted Chudleigh, to Milton Town Council and to the Region of Halton; should be talking about endlessly to the provincial government…

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Mike Cluett
Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog

Did the Town of Milton suffer from the “chicken and the egg” syndrome?  Did they spend millions of dollars unnecessarily to get brand new buses that could fit more people BEFORE the people actually take the bus?

Mike Cluett says that while we will need a transit system in town, it has to be economically viable.

As I’ve stated in the past, I do beleive Milton needs a transit system for its increasing population.  There has to be a way for someone to get downtown Milton from lets say Hawthorne Village for the Farmers Market on Saturday instead of getting in the car, trying in vain to get up Thompson Road, turn left at Main and head on down.  We all know the downtown area isnt meant for lots of vehicle traffic and the bus would be the preferred way.

Only problem is that no one is taking advantage of it.  Recent Milton Transit reports show that the only time ridership on the buses increases is when there are FREE TRANSIT days, sponsored usually by corporate citizens like Mattamy Homes, Fieldgate etc. and go back down to almost non existant levels when Miltonians have to pay.  While we will need a transit system in town, it has to be economically viable.  We cant just keep throwing money at the issue and hope someone will take the bus.  We cant have a program if no one is using it.  The town can throw money around and try to educate people that taking the bus is the better way.

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Mike Cluett
Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog

Those of us who like Milton the way it is, may be in for a fight

With the changes that are being made and expanding the province’s green belt (ie. “cant build here” legislation) it could definitely throw a monkey wrench in municipalities’ plans for further growth.  Just a couple of years ago, Dalton McQuinty made changes to the “Places to Grow” quotas for population growth and places like Georgetown, Oakville and Milton among others made changes to their development plans.

Now it seems the province wants to change the rules again without making amendments to the other legislation. This esssentially means that the province wants more people in smaller areas.  Seeing how they’ve laid the ground work for more people or population density in a specific area, they have now made that specific area much smaller.

Those of us who like Milton the way it is (minus all the highrise apartments that dot the skyline of places like Toronto and Mississauga) might be in for a fight.  WIth Premier Dalton and the Ontario government making these changes, it will force municipalities to make more changes to their official plans for growth, change bylaws that are in place for height restrictions on buildings like we have here in Milton, and before you know it, Dalton and his boys have just erased the view of the escarpment for 90% of us. 

And its not just that.  Milton, for all its good and bad, has a certain feel to it.  We can drive in along Derry Road or Britannia Road, enjoy a bit of farmland (at least for the time being) and have our view unobscured by large apartments and condo developments.  Things are definitely in for a change.

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Mike Cluett
Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog

A number of friends have sent me an email to let me know about a letter to the Milton Canadian Champion editorial department which was printed in the paper. Thanks to everyone who noticed.

The letter is pretty much word for word what my last posting talked about and I’ve received a number of emails from people all over the town supporting my thoughts. What seems to get me the most is that there doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency on council to say “Hey…this is wrong. We need to fix this now!”

Some councillors in the past have been very vocal about what council is doing with budgets and spending. Where are the voices now?

There haven’t been many voices on council talking about this. After this story was printed I had expected to read a few responses from councillors around the table with their views on the potential increase. Nothing.

Another week passes… still nothing. Why is the question? Why wouldn’t these individuals, trusted by the votes of Milton residents for a four year period NOT want to say something? Why isn’t there any outrage or a showing of concern at the impact this potential (and some would say inevitable) tax increase on people in Milton.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that things aren’t going swimmingly for our economy, and those of our neighbours to the south the United States. Gas is at all-time highs and bouncing up and down on a weekly basis, putting incredible pressure on our budgets. The cost of food is increasing for many items in the store which lead to a further tightening of the belts. It just seems no one cares. It’s all going to work itself out and the council will accept whatever town staff dishes out.

Some councillors in the past like Paul Schere and Colin Best (among others) have been very vocal about what council is doing with the budgets, spending and other programs. Where are the voices now?

Is this catastrophic? Will this lead us down into the depths of dispair? Not likely. From an email I received last week, I was told I was being a bit too melodramatic with the potential impact of high municipal tax increases. 

Not so, because the Town is just one portion of the tax bill.

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Mike Cluett
Mike Cluett’s Milton Blog

I was having a coffee at Tim Horton’s recently when a self professed “old timer” in Milton walked up to me to say hello.  Apparently he remembered me from the campaign way back in 2006 and he wanted to say hello.  In his hand was the Milton Canadian Champion with the headline “HEFTY TAX HIKE COULD BE COMING!”

At last Monday’s council meeting, Town Staff put forward their recommendation for almost a 10% increase in taxes to cover “needed” expenditures for the fiscal year 2009.  As its been said here on this blog, here we go again.

We talked about the same things last year. Town Staff recommended close to an 8% increase and we came out with less than that but still a pretty hefty increase of around 6%.  Looks like history is repeating itself or as a neighbour mentioned, broken record. 

The mindset of the municipal government seems to be year to year instead of long term

Now this increase isn’t written in stone.  Council still has to have some public meetings to discuss these recommendations and pass the final budget in December of this year.  Just like the gentleman I spoke with at Tim Horton’s said, and many other conversations with other Miltonians I have had over the last couple of years… when is it all going to end?

Looking back on the people who ran for council back in 2006, there were many people who ended up being elected saying that they would do their “best” to keep Milton taxes low.  Judging from the responses we heard at the council meeting, it seems those individuals should check their campaign literature, as well as their constituents.  Last years budget meeting was long on the wind and short on the “doing their best” to keep taxes low.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have an increase.  This town is growing rapidly and needs funds to keep up with the demands for infrastructure and programs.  I’m not saying the town should never increase taxes.  But after last years increase of over 6% (1% of that ended up being the equivalent of their pay increase, after only a year on the job) you would think they might have done some “forward” thinking for the future.

The mindset of the municipal government seems to be year to year instead of long term.  Can they honestly justify last year’s increase coupled with potentially this year’s increase and say that its a good thing?

No one spoke out at the meeting about the increase but they did make some comments to the Champion afterwards.  Ward 4 Councillor Wendy Schau, who has in the past voted for many increases (including salary) said the increase “should be avoided, it at all possible.”  Should be avoided?  Avoided like the plague mind you… strong words indeed from Councillor Schau (sarcasm intended)

Where’s the leadership on council?  Oh yeah, I forgot, its not an election year.

Ward 3 Councillor Jan Mowbray was non-committal on what to do with the increase.  As the time draws closer she stated that she’ll do her homework on the numbers.  She did make mention that the tax increase “seems high.” 

Outside of the comment from the Mayor, we havent heard from many of the councillors on this.  I know its the summer and so far its only a recommendation of an increase by town staff but even THEY have to see that people are going to start to get frustrated.  The town seems to be spending money like drunken sailors and there doesnt seem to be any benefits coming from it.  Three million dollars on new buses for our transit system when many of them are riding empty most of the day.  Did we REALLY need to spend that money NOW?  Could we have gotten by on the smaller buses until demand began to outgrow the supply?

The Town of Milton ran a contest several months ago about the new transit buses.  It was find a bus and take a picture of it (or something like that) and subit to the town and win a prize.  I would say it would be harder contest if you had to take a picture of a Milton Transit bus with ANY passengers on it.

Stay tuned to my blog for more information on when public meetings are to be held on the budget process.  Although many of you have told me this would be an exercise in futility, I would suggest you contact your local councillor and let them know that more increases just wont do.  As always, they will come out and say its “only going to be X dollars more per year.”  Add that X with last year’s X and you get a much higher number.

If they could come to us with a reasonable increase, it would be easier to take.  An increase comparable with todays rate of inflation will be a lot more palatable to taxpayers.  Instead they see money being thrown around with no long term vision to the future.  I know this year’s budget is very important, especially as the town grows.  Anyone who has ever talked with a financial advisor knows that you have to keep an eye to the future and the impacts of the decisions you make now.  

It doesn’t seem like that thought is on the radar whatsoever.

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