My family has made Martensville our home for 38 years. During this time I have been active as a volunteer board member with various non-profit community organizations, including 26 years with our local Kinsmen. All these organizations focused on providing valuable services within the community and in the case of the Kinsmen, also providing funding to other community groups. I can build from this experience with the understanding there will always be some level of gap between the services needed and limited funding available. With the realization it is impossible to be all things to all people, there will always be a need to identify priorities and make difficult decisions to ensure the best use of limited resources. This experience, together with my professional background has prepared me to effectively participate on council using a common sense approach to address these types of issues in our community on a much larger scale.
As our community continues to grow, it will also continue to present new opportunities and challenges. It is critical the city maintains a viable, long-term plan to manage our future growth. A plan that balances the needs of both residential and commercial taxpayers with the aim of providing the greatest long-term benefit to the majority of our residents.
The one constant that is certain in the future is the cost of virtually everything will continue to increase which will put upward pressure on taxes. The most effective way to minimize tax increases without impacting core services will be through the continued expansion of our tax base. With a well-planned growth strategy, aligned with appropriate policies and by-laws, we can distribute these costs over a larger tax base. An effective planning process will also ensure core services such as policing, fire and other basic infrastructure will keep pace with the expected growth.
With 34 years experience as a Chartered Professional Accountant with a focus on budgeting, forecasting and risk management, this provides a solid foundation to understand the fiscal challenges facing our city. As a member of council I can also leverage this experience to provide effective oversight for our city administrators.
I don’t see the role of a councilor as an opportunity to advance my own agenda. I see this as an opportunity to engage with the community, listen to any concerns and work together with residents and city administration to map out the future of our community.
