I realized as it is getting closer to Election Week (that still sounds strange to me) I should take a few minutes to clarify what a vote for Pat McCourt represents. This is the latest addition to my website. Please feel free to share this with others. My Vision/ My Plan/ My Commitment My vision for the Township is not drastically different from what we have now. We are primarily a rural community looking for safe, positive environments to raise our children and live out our lives. We have already proven ourselves able to achieve and sustain this life style. What I would like is for us to be champions of that life style. When people just coast along thinking life is good we become susceptible to subtle changes in direction. I want to be sure that change is always well-thought out and carefully considered. We are not in a position where we must jump in to anything. We can be the leaders. We have a strong community and I would like to see us embrace our diversity. We are one municipality with 7 community hubs. There is Harwood, Gore’s Landing, Bewdley, Plainville, Cold Springs, Baltimore and Camborne. We have residents on both sides of Rice Lake. Depending on where you live “going to town” could mean you are heading to Cobourg, Port Hope or Peterborough. I believe our biggest asset is the people in our community. People come out to visit and want to stay. We all know people who were not born and raised in the area. Most did not move out here because they were forced through employment to relocate. People move here because they like what they see! We are a fiscally healthy municipality with well-maintained infrastructure, compared to other municipalities in the county our property values are high and our taxes are comparatively low. We are not a community of big industry however, we are a community of farms, tourism and small home based businesses. Technology has changed the world and our Official Plan reflects those changes allowing home occupations to flourish, artisans to live in a rural community that appreciates their talents and farmers to not have to worry about the loss of the rural community. My plan is to continue in this direction. I will work toward better communication with the community at large. One thing that has been lost along the way, one of those subtle changes, is the ability to get our messages out to our residents. Changes in lifestyle, less local media coverage, less word of mouth opportunities have led to the frequent refrain, “I did not know that was even happening”. It is the township’s responsibility to get the information out. As individuals you have the right to decide if the subject interests you, but you need to be given the opportunity to choose, expecting you to come home from work and hop onto the Township website to find out what is happening in your neighbourhood is unrealistic. There are a number of ways to increase our visibility including opt-in programs for email, text or voicemail messaging. I will encourage our municipality and other municipalities to fight for a higher standard in the conduct of our politicians. The past 4 years have shown that municipal politics in Ontario needs tighter rules. We must be accountable, we always represent our communities. In the current Municipal Act unless you are convicted and incarcerated the strongest sanction that may be used is a 3 month suspension of pay. This is not good enough. As in any business there must be an understanding that gross misconduct will not tolerated. I will continue to look for opportunities to support and promote the endeavours of our residents so that our rural roots continue to flourish. This often means being open to consider new ideas and to evaluate their compatibility with our current lifestyle. My commitment is that I will fight to keep what we have, whether it be the quality of our roads and infrastructure, our agricultural land, our wonderful tourist area or our realistic tax rates. I will always return phone calls or emails and when you talk, I will listen.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 04:02:52 +0000
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