Milton Canada Day

The family and I will be on the move to Milton’s fairgrounds in the next little while to take part in the official opening of Milton’s Canada Day Festivities. In case you have never been to our Canada Day Celebrations, heres some idea of what to expect.

Every year there is a veteran’s breakfast at Victoria Park from 10 -11 am. Then at 1130 there is a brief ceremony at the cenotaph to honour the men and women who have given their lives for our country. This is a great time to mingle with some of Milton’s veterans and have a chance to say thank you as well.

Afterwards they form a parade with the veterans, city politicians, our MP and MPP and march towards the fairgrounds and the stage for the formal part of the celebrations. After the dignitaries speak, the town officially opens up the day for celebrations by a cutting of our Canada birthday cake. The planned events go on all day long and will last until 11pm.

Also this year at 12:30 there will be a swearing in ceremony to welcome Canada’s newest citizens. Its a special day for them and what a better day to become a Canadian then on Canada Day!

Each year the Canada Day celebrations get better and better. Seeing how this will our first Canada Day with both Anthony and Miranda, it will be even more special. Theres always lots to do down at the fairgrounds with games, rides, and goods for everyone.

I urge everyone who attends to help raise money to pay for our celebrations by giving as generously at the entrances with the members of the Canada Day committee and the Lions club. Our celebrations are paid for exclusively from private donations from individuals, companies and people like us…ones who join together each year for one amazing day in Milton.

Happy Canada Day everyone.

Canadas second national anthem gone

Can it be true? Canada’s second national anthem is no more? What will be the new theme?

In case you missed it, CBC has decided not to renew the rights to the song that has played every Saturday night for, I don’t know, a billion years!

CBC had apparently let them know that they would’nt be renewing the rights to the song with amount to what they said was “$500 per broadcast.”

I know CBC is in the pits when it comes to sports and they’ve all but remortgaged the home fort to ensure they have the Olympics this year, but where does it end. TSN has slowly picked away at our so called beloved national broadcaster and has now become a joke across the country.

Bob Cole from what I hear will no longer be doing the playoff broadcasts for the CBC next year. Is the writing on the wall? Will CBC be making a drastic attempt at reinventing itself to salvage whats left of their sports department? Or is it they cant afford $500 per episode? It is possible.

Should the CBC pack it in and stop trying to compete in the real world where the pockets are much deeper? Canadian taxpayers fund the CBC to the tune of billions of dollars per year. Are these billions better spent on things like health care, infrastructure and the environment?

All I know is that as a hockey fan who spent many nights in front of the TV waiting to hear the “dun dun dun dun dun……da da da da da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” will have to look forward to another song, maybe a complete re branding of the CBC Hockey Night in Canada. They have been debuting different hosts on the show like PJ Starks (I think) and local guys like Jeff Marek more. (Jeff was also on Sirius channels doing the HNIC show during the year as well…hes a great radio guy!)

All anyone can see is CBC’s HNIC is in trouble. Ratings are down, revenues are down and it seems like a very old and tired product that needs some refreshing and modernization. TSN’s hockey programs are the best in our area as far as Im concerned and if CBC wants to get back into it, they need to change how things are done. As much of a traditionalist that I am, as a business person something needs to be done with them or pull the plug.

The theme will always live on with me though…its downloaded as a ring tone. In case I feel a bit of nostalgia hit me.

Go West

If you have ever gone to the farmers market in downtown Milton, you are familiar with Ann Kornuta. Shes the one who seems to be painting all the time.

Every week, or as often as she can, she can be found in front of the Haight Gallery in the midst of all the vendors in the farmers market, painting. Shes just another example of the amazing talent found in the town of Milton.

Ann spends a lot of time on her craft and over the years has assembled quite a portfolio of artwork. She has a website containing pictures of her work, and tonight she sends me a link to show me some of the new pieces. I’ve been a tad busy these past few weeks so I’ve fallen behind on some of them.

The picture above is called Go West which shows people looking westward to Canada’s fastest growing municipality….(yep you guessed it) Milton. I love this picture because it gives you the impression that people are waiting in line to come here to experience what many of us now take for granted…a great town and a great community.

One where we can, if we like, head to a big box store to buy camping gear for the long weekend at Canadian Tire. Or if we so choose, we can head to a local pub and take advantage of some nice weather and sit out on the rooftop patio of Ned Devine’s. There are so many parks in and around town to take advantage of the view of the escarpment or go for a hike. No matter what side of town you live on, there are many coffee shops like Cafe Deda, and restaurants like Symposium at the ready to have a quick cup of coffee or a meal for the family. Or, if we want to, head to downtown Milton on Saturday mornings and check out some great produce from local farmers and watch a talented artist as she puts together another fantastic painting while you wait.

Just some of the great things about this town.

Main Street PARTY Part 2

I can’t believe its been a year already. Last year around this time, we were in the midst of Milton’s 150th anniversary celebrations and the summertime was kicked off by a massive street party in downtown Milton.

Here we go again, as the old saying goes. This year is different because the 150th master committee isnt in charge. The event was so successful last year, the town of Milton, who has partnered up with the local DBIA, had decided to make it an annual event.

Being a part of the master committee that was involved in creating such an event, and then seeing it grow to become an yearly party is humbling to say the least. The master committee and untold numbers of volunteers made it a highly successful party and this year looks to be just as good, if not better.

The party gets started this coming Saturday. There’s a Facebook group if you’re interested in knowing more about the events. Local bands will be playing all day long so come out and support MILTON talent. Forget Canadian Idol folks…the real talent is here in Milton.

There are a few bands Im looking forward to checking out including Plan B and The Randalls as well.

Make sure you’re there for the Party of the Year in Milton. Here’s a link to the list of bands that will be playing…something for everyone!

See you there!

New Additions

It has been sometime, yet again, where I have been a tad busy to update the blog and let people in on whats going on in the Cluett family.  The reason why I have been so busy is that we welcomed a new addition to the family a couple of weeks ago. 

Namely our new daughter Miranda.

She was born at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, weighing in at 6 lbs and 10 oz’s.  Both Pat and Miranda are doing very well and we are all enjoying this new foray in to parenthood.  My biggest worry about being a father of a new born is “will I remember how to do all of this again?”

The answer is yes, of course you remember it.  Its just like riding a bike, but the tires are a bit flatter and you move a little slower, especially after 7 years.

This time around was a lot less stressfull than the first time, partly due to the fact we knew what to expect this time.  It was a scheduled section at the hospital on April 30th and we both remarked as we casually walked into the entrance that it was much different than the last time.  With Anthony we were ushered into the lobby of the hospital in a speeding taxi cab in the middle of the night.

Anthony’s being a complete star about everything and has fallen in love with his little sister from the moment he laid eyes on her.  His FIRST reaction however was a bit concerning.  My mother, who is in for a visit from Newfoundland and Anthony were staying at the Delta Chelsea Hotel on the day of the birth so that they can come visit when Pat was sent to her hospital room.

So after she was resting in the recovery room, I made my way out to the lobby to make my designated 4,209 calls to everyone who wanted to know when it happened.  I also had my blackberry with me so I could send some emails and update Facebook with comments, and the official birth announcement but I was too scared to use it in front of the nurses.  I called the hotel room and both my mom and Anthony picked up the phone at the same time.  “You have a little sister!” I told Anthony and after a slight pause he says “OH MAN” and hangs up the phone!  NOT the reaction I was lookign for.

We made our way to the hospital from the hotel a couple of blocks away and from the moment he laid eyes on her, he was hooked.  THAT was the reaction I was looking for.  Hes been a stellar big brother so far but he only has one condition that he doesnt change ANY diapers.  OK…. for now!

Pat and I are adjusting well to the late night feedings and the interupted sleep patterns and crying babies and smelly diapers…and we wouldnt change it for the world.  Yes, it is like riding a bike, with the tires a tad flatter in my case.  Where did I put that bike pump?

 

Are you worried?

I had an opportunity to talk with a friend today that I havent spoken with for some time. Getting passed the usual questions about how are you and the family etc he asked what I did. “I sell leasing!” I replied.

You would have to have your head under a rock for the past several months not to realize our economy is going through some “interesting times” as the old saying goes. Especially in this industry.

I started working for a leasing company back in November of 2006. It was a smaller outfit, just getting started in the equipment leasing industry as a funder. They hired an aggressive sales staff (yours truly included) and we made our way out into the field…feet in the street. For a few months things were going quite well. New vendors were being signed up and deals were getting booked. The company was beginning to grow in leaps and bounds as the staff total ballooned from 10 core employees to close to 30 in a short time.

Then the brakes hit. Back in August as many avid readers of the financial newspapers know, the asset backed commercial paper industry took a nose dive into the sewers. Strong companies like Coventree took a huge hit and their stock price plummeted from a 52 week high of $ 16.30 to currently $ 2.50 per share.

Funding lines dried up faster than a glass of water in the desert and we were left with nothing really. The company tried its best over the coming months to secure some more funding, all the while selling off leases to other companies to make sure the lights stayed on. Needless to say, it didnt work and this young upstart of a company closed its doors officially in January of this year. Many of the staff have found other jobs, mainly in the leasing industry and we still keep in touch.

One of the things ive been asked is, why stay in it. Asset backed commercial paper still is in flux and other financial institutions are going through some massive changes. Recently GE purchased several divisions of Citifinancial and even one of the biggy’s in the industry CIT has now drained its $7.3 billion credit line. Why stay in it?

From a business sense, the leasing industry is going to go though more ups and downs over the next year or so but I think it offers up an opportunity for growth. With many of our current and potential customers trying to make plans over this tumultuous period of time, conserving cash will be paramount. Many people feel that during a recession (yes the ugly dreaded R word) is the perfect time for expansion and growth. While others close up their doors or scale back what they do in their business, others can reach out to grab more market share. To do this you can do a few things. Tap into your reserves and make acquisitions. But with uncertainty in our economy, do you really want to drain your savings in the hope something might work out? Other options include going to your bank to extend or use your credit lines.

This can be a lengthly process and with the tightening of the money supply by many of the big financial institutions, it will be a tall order to get more credit from your banks. Many of the major banks in Canada have been hit, whalopped, or just smacked around by the sub prime credit mess in the US and will be a little apprehensive to increase the credit lines of companies.

Leasing looks to be a very viable option for many companies looking to expand, get more equipment and prepare to take more market share. Now depending on what your product is, leasing might not be the right thing for you. If you sell individual widgets it wont be the right course of action to offer leasing to your customers to help you sell. If youre a company whos looking to increase the amount of equipment used to produce your widgets, then this can be looked at.

If youre a company looking to offer their customers another option to purchase your equipment, than leasing is something that you need to look at. The benefits to customers are great as they can acquire your equipment, conserve their capital and improve their cash flow. Payments are fixed over a period of time so you can properly budget out payments and also potentially take advantage of some tax benefits that come with leasing.

A company properly positioned in this “interesting” market can take advantage of these opportunities and thats why I think theres definitely room for growth. Thats why I guess I stay in the leasing business.

Needless to say the few months are going to be “interesting” to say the least but it keeps you on your toes. No one can say for certain whats going to happen with the asset backed commercial paper market in the next 6 months. More companies can fall, more can be sold and many more will be in limbo. Theres the impending real estate bubble burst in real estate that might throw a monkey wrench into the mix. Some out there are talking about impeding doom in that market, some others are taking a wait and see.

Theres just so much going on in the financial industry, how CAN you leave? Its fun when the market stumbles a bit. Thats it, Im done. My “leasing commercial” is done. In case you need to know more, you can check out HERE for more information.

WLU coming to Milton?

 

I was able to take sometime tonight to attend a Milton Town Council meeting and as the old saying goes….

Breaking news!!!!

Milton CAO Mario Belvedere is making a presentation to council about the proposed education village in Milton. During his report he made official that Wilfred Laurier University has entered into a memorandum of uderstanding to work on bringing a campus to Milton.

The proposed site would be on Tremaine Road south of Derry Road and north of Brittania on the west side.

There’s still a lof of work to be done to get this rolling more but its the first step to bringing a university to our town.

More to come.

Also, here’s a link to the story in The Record  and in today’s Milton Canadian Champion.

Halton Region Police Services is outlining some of the benchmark statistics in the region of Halton and more specifically in the Town of Milton.

Many of the major stats have shown a decline in Milton like the number of violent crimes, robberies and incidents of impaired driving remaining the same.

Also included in the report is new technology (like photo radar) for residential streets that will send an occurance report to the registered owner of the vehicle.

Again, more to come.

150th Kudos

As many of my blog readers are aware, I was heavily involved in Milton’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations for 2007.  It was an amazing time in my life as I got to learn more about our town and its rich history and we got to celebrate the town and the people who made it what it is today.

I can tell you from personal experience that a lot of work goes into planning these events.  It started back in 2005 during a selection process where a number of Miltonians signed up to volunteer their time and efforts.  We first met with the council committee in charge of organizing the team and after what seemed to be a very grueling interview process, I along with a number of others were chosen to head the master committee.

At our first meeting I was appointed the chair of the committee along with Karin Muller, Kevin Brackely and other volunteers who represented the Town of Milton, Mayor Gord Krantz, Lorrie Ferrante, Janet Davidson and council member Cindy Lunau.  We also had members of the Milton Historical Society come on board which included Bruce Carlin.  It was back then where we came up with the idea for our core events to mark the amazing achievement of 150 years.

The committee came up with 4 main events to be held during the 2007 year which included a Winter Fun Fair at the Thompson arena, a summertime street party, Canada Day celebrations and the finale of the Amazing Race.

Part way during the spring of 2006 I had to step down as Chair of the committee due to some increased responsibilities at my employer, as well as the fact I had launched my municipal campaign for town council in Ward One (which has been outlined here in the blog).  At that point in my life, time was very limited and with the celebration plans underway, I didnt want anything to slip through the cracks.  Karin Muller stepped in as chair and along with the hard work and dedication of Kevin Brackley they continued the efforts that were started and brought the celebrations to a reality.  I of course stayed on as a member of the master committee and with the rest of the group we came up with a year full of highlights.

Some of the highlights for me include the Canada Day Celebrations where we had created the Milton Walk of Fame.  During our several meetings in 2005 and 2006 we wanted something memorable to come from this committee and the idea of honouring the people who made an impact on our town, our province and our country was perfect.  With the Town Hall being expanded to include a more modern facility while maintaining its roots, we devised a walk of fame that would bridge the new part of town hall with the older part.

The deliberations for the first inductees to the Walk of Fame were very long as the number of people who we felt made that kind of an impact on Milton were many.  Even the most knowledgeable people in town didn’t realize a number of people who had roots in Milton who were a big part of our culture.

From artists like Albert Casson , to high profile members of the media like Susan Delacourt and Ernie “Mr Dressup” Coombs, to political leaders like Senator Betty Kennedy, to many noteable names in town like Jim Dills, Chris Hadfield, PL Robertson and professional athletes like Tiger Jeet and Tiger Ali Singh, Bruce Hood, John Toneli, Leon Stickle and others , the names were many.

On a beautiful Canada Day in 2007 hundreds of Mitonians showed up the the fairgrounds and watched as each inductee was introduced and given the honour of being the first people to grace the Walk of Fame.  The speeches were emotional, funny and thought provoking but the main theme of all of them was that they were incredibly proud and honoured for this achievement.

Out of all the events that we organized from the ground up, this to me was the most gratifying.  There were other events of course.

The summertime street party in June that brought out thousands to the downtown core of Milton with games, events, fun times, music and most importantly the opportunity to celebrate this amazing town of Milton and its people.  The weather was perfect and many people called and emailed the town to find out if this was going to be a regular event.

This past budget the Town of Milton allocated funds to preparing for this summers street party, so stay tuned to www.milton.ca for more information on that event.

Another great time was the Winter Fun Fair where many people braved the sub zero temperatures to join us for a family skate at the Thompson area.  We were joined by the legendary NHL hockey player Johnny Bower and the Milton Ice Hawks team had a very brief and very cold game outside as well.  Kids were there to enjoy the games and activities in the warmer area and lined up to get their hockey sticks signed by members of the Ice Hawks and Johnny Bower.  We knew then that this was going to be a great year.

And it was.  The final event of the year was the Amazing Race where many teams registered and showed their town spirit in an event that would take them all around downtown Milton.  The teams were, forgive the pun, amazing and very creative.  This event was organized by Karin Muller who replaced her dining room furniture and decor with organizational charts and paper to make sure the event went off without a hitch.  There were untold numbers of hours put into that event and Karin did an incredible job.

I say all of this because on April 5th at the Granite Ridge Golf Club, the Milton Chamber of Commerce Community Awards Gala will be honouring Miltons volunteers and businesses in one night.  In the coveted Presidents Award, 3 integral members of the committee will be honoured.  Karin Muller, Kevin Brackley and Bruce Carlin from the Milton Historical Society will receive the 2007 Presidents Award for their leadership on the 150th Master Committee.

Both Kevin and Karin “took the ball” as the old saying goes and ran with it to help create an incredible celebration to mark a very significant part of Miltons history.  They deserve it for all their hard work.  Congratulations!

Federal Budget Benefits Municipalities

A couple of days ago, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released his third budget. This is something unheard of for a minority government being able to have this many budgets without being defeated. In many cases, they’re doing a good job and while most Canadians don’t want an election, they seem comfortable with our MP’s in this minority situation.

Some of the big highlights for towns and cities are as follows:

• Strengthening Public Transit

  Public transit plays an important role in easing traffic congestion in urban areas and contributing to cleaner air and lower greenhouse gas emissions. In Budget 2006, the Government set aside $1.3 billion in support of public transit infrastructure and introduced a new tax credit for public transit passes.

  Budget 2008 sets aside up to $500 million in 2007–08 to be paid into a third-party trust, allocated on a provincial-territorial per capita basis, for public transit infrastructure. Funding will be paid into the trust, once legislation has been passed, for only those beneficiaries that have made public commitments before March 31, 2008 to undertake investments in public transit. The beneficiaries of the trust will have the flexibility to draw down the funding as they require over the next two years. They are encouraged to report publicly on the expenditures financed and outcomes achieved.

  The trust will be used for specific projects of capital infrastructure such as rapid transit, rail, transit buses, and high occupancy vehicle and bicycle lanes.

This means more federal money will be available to municipalities to invest in public transit improvements. What the GTA desperately needs is a seemless transit system that will allow a Milton resident who works in Brampton or Hamilton to be able to take a bus from here to there with minimal difficulty. As it stands right now, that person would have to drive.

• Permanent Gas Tax Fund

  The Government recognizes the need for long-term funding for infrastructure to help drive economic growth and productivity, to achieve our environmental goals, and to build strong, competitive communities.

  To this end, in Budget 2007 the Government announced the historic seven-year $33-billion Building Canada Plan. More than half of this investment under the plan will flow to municipalities. For example, municipalities can access the $8.8-billion Building Canada Fund and benefit from the increase from 57.14 per cent to 100 per cent in the rebate of the Goods and Services Tax they pay.

  The largest component of the Building Canada plan is the Gas Tax Fund, which provides municipalities with funding for priorities such as public transit, water and wastewater infrastructure, and local roads. Under the plan, the Gas Tax Fund will grow and reach $2 billion by 2009–10 and stay at that level through 2013–14.

  In response to ongoing requests for stable, long-term funding, the Government announces that the Gas Tax Fund will be extended at $2 billion per year beyond 2013–14 and become a permanent measure. This will allow all municipalities, both large and small, to better plan and finance their long-term infrastructure needs. A permanent $2-billion-per-year Gas Tax Fund will help put in place the world-class infrastructure Canada needs.

With Milton being the fastest growing municipality in Canada, this should benefit us as we wait patiently (or impatiently as it may be) for our roads to be developed to accommodate its growing numbers. The town of Milton is now over 70,000 and counting and we need the Region of Halton to keep up with the growth and ensure minimal delays while widening roads in the area like this summers plan for Derry Road to Trafalgar. The Region of Halton and the Town of Milton cannot keep relying on Mattamy Homes to bail them out.

These are just a couple of items that I pulled from the budget. All in all, it is a pretty sound plan for the coming years. Using a good portion of the surplus to pay down the national debt, make these kinds of investments and reductions in taxes like the GST cut, it looks like Canada can weather some of the impact of the US economy with minimal effects.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment here or send me an email at mike@mikecluett.ca

More talk about the Milton Tax Increase

Yes, its been awhile since my last post and I do apologize for neglecting my blog for the last couple of months. In this period of time I have changed employers and my time has been devoted to getting ramped up with my new career.

My previous employer was a smaller leasing company who fell victim to the short term credit crunch and the asset backed commercial paper market. Back in August and September when it really hit the fan, the available cash from our securitization partners ran short leaving our company in a tough situation and unable to process deals.

That being said, it didn’t take long before the doors closed and many of the 2o or so employees were left looking for other employment.

I’m still in the leasing business working for Irwin Commercial Finance with our branch office based out downtown Toronto. This means more commuting to the downtown core courtesy of GO Transit from Milton, so I’m getting a deeper understanding about public transit in our area.

At this point, Milton doesn’t have all day GO Train service to Toronto with only a few trains in the morning and a few in the evening. Many of the commuters that use the

Milton station come from outside the area in Cambridge, Guelph and northern parts of Oakville and Burlington. The provincial government recently announced a large investment in GO Train services of $100 million dollars but unfortunately none of those dollars have made it to Milton.

Speaking of public transit in Milton, the recent budget brought down by council included ANOTHER huge chunk of cash to go towards buses in town. Also, the town released a report that ridership on Milton transit had increased. You can find the article from the Champion here. On the surface that sounds great. But when you look deeper into the numbers, it isn’t as good as it sounds.

The main reason ridership numbers are up is because of several programs with private sector companies sponsoring free rides. So when its free, people use it more and when people have to pay for it, the numbers decrease immensely.

The report mentioned that ridership increased 63% from 2006 levels. Again, on the surface those numbers sound great, but you don’t get the full picture as many times during 2007 there were extended free fare programs courtesy of a number of companies including Mattamy Homes, Fieldgate Properties, the Milton 150th Anniversary Celebrations, and for such events as the Downtown Street Party. You also have to look at the population levels from 2006 to 2007 and you will find it increased dramatically during this period of time. Unofficially, now Milton is over the 70,000 mark and heading upwards on a daily basis.

What is not mentioned is that there would have been minimal increases in ridership if there wasn’t a fare free program. On the surface it looks like ridership in public transit is up…but you have to carefully look at the numbers. It’s a good first step, but from a business standpoint it doesn’t justify an excessive increase in funding for 2008 over 2007, and that is what town council did for this years budget.

Based on these facts it seems financially wrong to make further cash investments in a program little people are using. Those who read this blog and who have spoken with me during the last municipal campaign know that I am a cautious supporter of public transit.

As our town grows there will be a further need fore more buses and more routes in town for people to get around. At this point, what we had sufficed and until there was any changes in demand, (ie: non-artificially boosted numbers) then the town can look at making more of an investment in transit.

A good friend of mine once said to me “public transit is a slippery slope that can turn into a cash cow for municipalities and in turn will cause increased taxes.” He was right on the money with that statement. Last year council spent millions of dollars on new buses that realistically will run mostly empty unless theres a special free ride promotion and now in 2008 even further investment.

In a letter to the Milton Canadian Champion, former town councillor John Challinor made a few comments that is worth repeating. You can find his letter to the editor here.

Only council is to blame for town’s tax increase

Published on Feb 19, 2008

I read with interest the letter to the editor from Marshall Horner that appeared in the January 25 Champion entitled ‘Town not to blame for tax hike.’

Balderdash. Contrary to what Horner wrote, Milton council — and only Milton council — is responsible for approving a 6.6 percent tax increase this year.

While I’m disappointed with the Region of Halton these days, the Region had nothing to do with it.

Whoever misled Horner on this and the mountain of other misinformation that appeared in his missive should be ashamed of themselves.

What I found particularly odious was the notion that had previous councils routinely approved annual budgets of at least 4.5 percent, a 6.6 percent budget this year wouldn’t have been necessary.

Had that happened, we would have one of the highest residential property tax rates in the GTA, and one of the lowest rates of job-creating industrial development. Few could afford to live or invest here.

When I left council in November 2006, the Town’s financial position was among the strongest of any municipality in Canada. It still is.

Budget-setting is a delicate dance. This council needs to establish realistic funding priorities quickly — and implement them. Its embarrassing performance during the 2008 deliberations confirms there is no consensus on where to spend.

Council got off on the wrong foot early in 2007, which led to the position it finds itself in today.

The 20 per cent pay hike it voted itself, the unnecessary parking lot expenditure at Milton Fair Grounds and an over-zealous investment in public transit all figure in the tax increase we’re experiencing today.

In closing, I thought long and hard before writing this letter because I no longer have much taste for publicly correcting individuals or members of council who clearly demonstrate they don’t understand municipal finance. I also still enjoy a number of friendships around the council table.

That said, I will gladly sit down with Horner, any other taxpayer in Milton or any member of council to review the 2008 budget and past budgets to show how council got here — and how it can get out without further fiscally harassing new homeowners, seniors and others on fixed incomes and those who create jobs in this community, like our hard-hit manufacturers.

JOHN CHALLINOR II, GOWLAND CRESCENT