Mike Cluett's Milton Blog

Intensification strategy to go before council in January

Mike Cluett — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:38:25 +0000

With many of us still braving the malls and the roads rushing out to get the last of the Christmas presents for under the tree, our thoughts arent usually on things like “intesification” of Main Street. It is important to know that town council will be reviewing a study on how a large portion of our town will look in the coming years.

I know I havent really talked about it here, other milton bloggers like Jennifer Smith, have taken up that cause, but here is a news story from Tim Foran at the Milton Canadian Champion outlining what the study might find and what the next steps are.

Being at one of the town meetings on this, I have to echo the comments from some of the councillors including the Mayor when we ask “HOW are we going to pay for all of this?” The provincial government has come up with guidelines for growth and the town is responsible for getting us there. The province wants it done by a certain time, but the thing that will drive the debate is cost!

Intensification strategy to go before council in January

By Tim Foran, Metroland West Media Group

Dec 22, 2009

An intensification strategy outlining which of Milton’s numerous strip malls, parking lots and low-density commercial and industrial properties are prime spots for offices and condominiums is expected to go before councillors for approval next month.

The strategy is the result of the Town’s intensification and infill study, which was received for information by council recently.

According to materials prepared by Meridian Planning Consultants, hired by the Town to do the study, most of the growth would be accommodated in what the Province has designated as Milton’s urban growth centre (UGC), one of 25 such areas in the GTA. This UGC generally straddles Main Street between Martin Street and Thompson Road, but also dips south to include the industrial land along Nipissing Road. The strip of Main between Ontario and Thompson, around the GO train station, is a prime candidate for future intensification, according to the consultant’s materials.

Meridian’s Nick McDonald told the Town’s planning committee at a recent meeting Milton’s UGC is unique in that it doesn’t encompass the historic downtown core.

The UGC is about 135 hectares in size and must be planned to accommodate a density of 200 jobs and residents combined per hectare, equivalent to about 27,360 people, according to Provincial legislation.

On paper, Milton’s 1997 Official Plan already allows for a density of 170 in the area, but the reality of what exists on the ground is far different. Currently, the UGC has only 7,300 people and jobs in an area characterized by low-density commercial units, vacant lots, light industrial buildings, and large surface parking lots.

“All we can do is plan and encourage and provide (allowances),” McDonald told the committee when questioned on the likelihood of being able to meet the intensification targets. “We can’t build, we can’t compel anybody to build.”

While the UGC is expected to be the centre of Milton’s intensification, the Town’s consultant has also identified 187 hectares of potential intensification sites in other areas of the town, mostly concentrated along Bronte and Ontario Streets and Steeles Avenue. About 30 per cent of this area is currently designated for employment uses, leaving 70 per cent, or 144 hectares, for potential residential and mixed-use development.

The consultant has identified less than three hectares of potential intensification sites in Milton’s historic downtown core.

Town Planning Director Bill Mann has previously said he’d like to see employee-intensive offices included in the plan rather than just residential condominiums. Indeed, at this point, the Town is only planning to add 5,300 residential units — about 12,500 people — within its entire built boundary, an area generally bounded by the borders of the town as of 2006. The majority of those people could be housed in the UGC, according to the consultant’s materials.

That’s a small percentage of the new residents Milton is expecting over the next 22 years. Current municipal plans project the community’s population to jump from the 85,000 it’s at now to 238,000 by 2031.

Of that amount:

• About 27,500 people are still to come over the next few years to the Bristol and Sherwood Survey areas that have been under construction for much of the past decade.

• Another 50,000 people would be housed in the Boyne Survey area, which is the area of land south of Louis St. Laurent Boulevard to Britannia Road, between Tremaine Road to the west and James Snow Parkway to the east. The Boyne, Bristol and Sherwood Survey areas were the three phases of residential growth identified in Milton’s 1997 Official Plan.

• Between 2021 and 2031, Town and Regional plans currently identify another 63,000 people to be housed in future residential areas to the east and south of the town. This new growth would see urban Milton extend close to the borders of Mississauga and Oakville.

Tim Foran can be reached at tforan@miltoncanadianchampion.com .

Blackberry Network Back

Mike Cluett — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:02:26 +0000

Ever go for some time without a leg or an arm? Then when you get that limb back youre like “whew….thank goodness”

For most of the evening last night, it felt like my left arm was cut off.

WOW. BlackBerry Messenger brought down BBM. Who would have thought. Our CrackBerry readers were first to pick up on the issue and we were quick to report that BBM was on the fritz… from there it escalated into one crappy evening with all BlackBerry data services going down. But we’re glad to be back in action. RIM Statement – December 23rd

A service interruption occurred Tuesday that affected BlackBerry customers in the Americas. Message delivery was delayed or intermittent during the service interruption. Phone service and SMS services on BlackBerry smartphones were unaffected. Root cause is currently under review, but based on preliminary analysis, it currently appears that the issue stemmed from a flaw in two recently released versions of BlackBerry Messenger (versions 5.0.0.55 and 5.0.0.56) that caused an unanticipated database issue within the BlackBerry infrastructure. RIM has taken corrective action to restore service.

RIM has also provided a new version of BlackBerry Messenger (version 5.0.0.57) and is encouraging anyone who downloaded or upgraded BlackBerry Messenger since December 14th to upgrade to this latest version which resolves the issue. RIM continues to monitor its systems to maintain normal service levels and apologizes for any inconvenience to customers.

BE SURE TO UPGRADE to the latest version of BlackBerry Messenger. You can grab it by visiting blackberry.com/messenger from your BlackBerry’s web browser or from BlackBerry App World.

Breakfast Television at Troy’s Diner

Mike Cluett — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:40:27 +0000

If youve been in Milton, oh lets say 10 seconds or longer, you know of Troy and Troy’s Diner.

Troy is a true example of someone who gives back to the community with his sponsorship of numerous town events. He’s got a heart of gold.

Today Breakfast Television visited his location at the Best Western in Milton to shore up support for his Salvation Army campaign. Milton noteables were there including Milton Walk of Fame members Tiger Jeet Singh and Tiger Ali Singh as well as the incomperable Walter Gretzky.

Here is the link for BT’s coverage of the event. I couldnt make it there this morning but it was very well attended. Make sure you check out www.troysdiner.com for more information on his locations and is continued support of our local community.

http://site.bttoronto.ca/video/?bcpid=2567424001&bclid=4472983001&bctid=58542010001

Olympic Pride in Milton

Mike Cluett — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:13:51 +0000

Thousands of Miltonians lined Main Street early in the morning today in Milton to catch a glimpse of the Olympic torch as it makes it way through the GTA and beyond.

There was definatley a chill in the air as people huddled closely to the edge of the street waiting for some sign the torch and the runners were on their way. Miranda was taking in the festivities with a look of wonderment in her eyes, not really sure what was going on. Anthony on the other hand was bundled up and poked his head out to the street eagerly waiting to see history in the making.

Christmas carols her heard, as choirsters brought out the holiday spirit of the people along the road. Mayor Gord Krantz and Halton MP Lisa Raitt were in front of Knox Prespyterian Church to greet CTV weather guy Tom Brown as he cheerfully brought the flame to be handed off.

The cheers got louder as the motorcade made its way down the street, the first car with a flashing sign saying the torch will be here in 5 minutes. Not to forget the sponsors of the event, a large COKE truck with singers cheering on the crowd and the RBC part of the parade announcing that “its coming”. Another Milton blogger Jennifer Smith was there recording the event on video, so look to her blog for her updates as well.

A smiling Tom Brown feeling the effects of the cold greeted the Mayor and MP and lit the next torch. As the new torch was being lit, the people surrounding the area broke into a warm rendition of “OH CANADA”.

Brenda Wilson (thanks Steve!) finished up and made her way down Main Street to the next stop 300 meters away. The cheers of the crowd were deafening as the route closed up and as soon as it was here, it was gone.

It definately was history in the making as we dont know when or if the torch will ever make its way back to Milton again. There were many people openly emotional being a part of this great event. Kids were laughing and excited chanting GO CANADA GO in the hopes our athletes bring it home this year.

Afterwards we made our way down to the Memorial Arena for a pancake breakfast put on graciously by the Knights of Columbus. Hundreds packed the Lions Hall upstairs to take part in the meal and be entertained by live music. It was really well run and many thanks to the Knights for their generosity.

Edit: Here are some more pictures. If you were there…let me know how you felt as the countdown to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver made its way through Canada’s fastest growing municipality. These pictures are courtesy Paul Mitrovich, who apparently lost a finger in the cold (waaaaa, as you head to FLORIDA tomorrow) HA.

Update to Region Councillor Salary Hike

Mike Cluett — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:38:23 +0000

Its gone!

Yep, thats what I said. Gone. Halton Regional council, in a last minute amendment to the budget removed the salary raise they would have received (amounting to roughly $17,000 in total) and remains a 0 % increase.

While the amount might look to some as minimal it does go a long way to letting taxpayers know that they should be the primary concern when it comes to taxes.

It looks like they listened to the people who sent them emails, called them and by the comments on my blog entry a few days back, no one was happy about paying them more. One of the most interesting comments from the article is from Tom Adams, who is a regional councillor for Oakville and former Green Party candidate federally.

He said that council was second guessing the citizens committee who made the recommendation. From what I understand, and please correct me if Im wrong, the citizens committee makes a recommendation. That is not saying its something that has to be done. So council can at anytime say no to that recommendation.

Dictionary.com defines “recommend” as:

to advise, as an alternative; suggest (a choice, course of action, etc.) as appropriate, beneficial, or the like

Its not second guessing the committee at all. I appreciate the fact that this committee exists and it should continue in making its suggestions for local governments, but the beauty about it is that council CAN say NO.

As Burlington councillor John Talyor said, its not political games, it’s the taxpayers money.

I for one am very glad this didnt go through. I could only wish the same could be said for the Town of Milton in the recent budget.

Here’s the story from the Champion.

Zero tax hike budget passed

By Tim Foran, Metroland West Media Group

Dec 18, 2009

The elimination of any salary hike for regional councillors was a last-minute change to Halton’s $1.1 billion 2010 budget approved Wednesday. The changes, proposed by council’s budget review committee Monday, won’t change the overall requested tax levy, meaning there will be no increase next year in property taxes for regional services, which include items such as police, ambulance and regional roads maintenance. There will also be no increases in water rates, which are paid by Halton residents on their electricity bills.

Staff achieved the zero tax and rate increases in part by instituting a freeze on tax-supported new hires, except for police personnel, and keeping the number of municipal staff at 2008 levels.

Property taxes cover approximately $318 million of the Region’s budget, with other major sources of revenue including provincial and federal funding, as well as money collected from developers for capital projects.

Council opted against a tax cut by ratifying a budget review committee recommendation put forth by Burlington Councillor Jack Dennison to forward approximately $800,000 in unexpected extra revenue into the municipality’s recession reserve fund, created last year. Halton’s treasury only recently learned it was getting the extra cash due to an increase in assessment — the number of new properties being added to the tax rolls — from 2.42 per cent to 2.74 per cent.

Dennison told the budget review committee Monday he didn’t suggest the money go toward a tax cut for two reasons. He felt the chances of getting that through council in a year when there was already a zero tax hike budget were “slim and none” and he felt the money could be used to mitigate any potential tax increase in 2011.

The budget forecasts a 2.6 per cent tax hike in 2011, though staff have overestimated such requirements in recent years.

At the same committee meeting, Halton Hills Councillor Clark Somerville put forth the motion that he and his colleagues should receive no pay hike next year, for a savings of $17,000. It doesn’t apply to salaries regional councillors also receive from the local municipalities they represent.

“It’s a pittance but I think it’s a symbolic pittance,” said Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette Monday.

Somerville said his recommendation wasn’t based on recent media coverage that councillors were in line for a cost-of-living increase on January 1. Rather, he said it followed the pay freezes the local council of Halton Hills voted for itself this year and for 2010.

Somerville had been on the other side of the fence in 2008 when he voted in favour of a raise for regional councillors in 2009. The hike was described as a market adjustment to the salaries of regional council members to bring them to the average of what their counterparts made in other regional municipalities. It was in line with recommendations made by a citizens review committee, which meets once every two years to vote on guidelines for the remuneration of council members.

Oakville Councillor Tom Adams didn’t support the motion at the budget committee, arguing politicians were again trying to second guess recommendations made by the citizens committee.

“I think it’s just playing games,” said Adams, noting the issue of compensation for council members was given to citizens so that it wouldn’t have to be a “political football.”

“I don’t think it’s playing games,” responded Burlington Councillor John Taylor. “I think these are extraordinary times and our citizens are suffering.”

Tim Foran can be reached at tforan@miltoncanadianchampion.com .

Olympic Torch Relay Comes Through Milton

Mike Cluett — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:36:56 +0000

Get ready to put on your red and white and cheer on the runners for the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay as it heads through downtown Milton tomorrow morning starting at Bronte and Main Street and heading towards James Snow Parkway.

There are a lot of events being held in Milton during tomorrow including a pancake breakfast at the Memorial Arena on Thompson Road from 730 to 10am. This event is being sponsored by the Holy Rosary Knights of Columbus so head on over for some Christmas cheer and Canadian pride.

I know I’m really looking forward to the event and as weve seen by other places in the GTA, there are a lot of people who show up. Find a spot early, get warm and cheer the torch on.

GO CANADA GO!

Milton tax increase official

Mike Cluett — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:58:18 +0000

Last Monday night at Town Hall the 2010 captial and operating budgets were approved for a total increase in budget of 3.24%.

As Melanie Hennessey of the Champion outlines in her article today, it passed, but not unanimously. Both Councillor Mike Boughton and Mayor Gord Krantz voted against the budget because the rate of increase was higher than the rate of inflation.

Good for them!

Mayor Krantz also outlined during the meeting that taxes have gone up about 17% in this term of council alone. This amounts to roughly $120 per household in the last 4 years. Although Jan Mowbray stated that Milton has something to show for those increases, the amount is still quite high over a 4 year term.

Jan mentioned that she voted for the budget regretably because it didnt include an increase to service for the new library to include Sunday hours. Mea Culpa….my family uses that library quite often and is a wonderful place dont get me wrong. Am I or other taxpayers willing to accept even more tax increases to pay for 7 day a week service? Highly unlikely.

Im sure if you had put the question to Miltonian’s BEFORE hand if they wanted a new arts and entertainment centre the answer might not have been what they were looking for. That project was moved up in order to take advantage of the federal/provincial stimulus funding and rushed through. There are quite a few better places in town for the centre, and Im quite sure that Thompson and Main isnt going to be the best location.

Overall, I would concure with the Mayor and Councillor Boughton that this budget could have been better and that the rate of increase should have been closer to the rate of inflation. As our town growns we need to prioritize our spending. Would it be nice to have 7 day a week service for the library? Absoultely. It would be great if we could keep it open 24 hours. Is it a priority right now? No its not. Maybe down the road when the rate of growth doesnt increase as much and there is more of a tax base available we can look at it then, but not right now.

There are a lot of “would like to have’s” in town. We would like to have a lot of things, but there simply isnt enough money for everything that we want. We as a town have to look at what is NEEDED and then prioritize those needs and focus on them.

Here’s the article… once again welcome back Melanie!

Council approves 3.24% tax hike

By Melanie Hennessey, Canadian Champion Staff

Dec 16, 2009

Residents will dish out about $25 more for Town services next year now that Milton council has approved a 3.24 per cent tax hike for 2010. The increase and the Town’s $149-million budget were given the go-ahead by council at its meeting Monday night. This translates into an extra $24.96 in Town taxes for urban residents and $20.82 for those in the rural area on a home assessed at $300,000.

Of the total budget, property taxes will cover between $28 and $29 million. Much of the municipality’s revenue is money collected from developers as well as funding provided by the provincial and federal governments.

About $70 million of the budget will cover next year’s operating expenses, while more than $78 million is slated for capital projects — the largest capital budget that’s ever been approved by council.

Funding has been allocated for 77 new projects, including $36 million in land and buildings, $32 million in roads and $5 million in parks and trails.

The capital program is being boosted by stimulus money coming from the upper levels of government. The Town has been approved for $33.5 million in stimulus cash, which allows it to advance five major projects that weren’t originally scheduled to start until 2011 or later. The projects include a new visual arts centre and central library and an expansion to the Milton Sports Centre. They must be built by March 31, 2011 under stimulus funding rules.

The budget was supported by the majority of council, with the exception of Ward 2 Councillor Mike Boughton and Mayor Gord Krantz.

Boughton told the Champion after the meeting that he voted against the budget because the tax increase for next year is above the rate of inflation.

“I stated earlier this year that I wouldn’t go any higher than the rate of inflation, and I’m standing by that principle,” he said.

Krantz, who has long been a supporter of keeping tax increases at the rate of inflation, shared similar sentiments. He also pointed out to council that it has increased local residents’ taxes by almost $120 in its term of office, or about 17 per cent.

“It’s very easy for us to say it’s only five or 10 cents more on this or that, but it builds up to $120,” he said. “That’s pretty huge, and it compounds itself.”

Ward 3 Councillor Jan Mowbray contended the extra $120 has helped with things like creating a branch library and hiring more full-time firefighters.

“We’ve got something to show for it,” she said.

Mowbray voted in favour of the budget, but with reservations, she said. The budget didn’t include extra library hours, which she said residents were calling for. “The public wants more for what their tax dollars are giving them.”

At last week’s budget committee meeting, councillors were presented with a proposed 2.98 per cent tax increase by staff. The committee voted to include an extra $70,000 in the operating budget for transit service enhancements, bringing the tax increase up to 3.24 per cent.

The transit improvements include a high school tripper program that’s catered to afternoon school bell times and higher frequency service levels on prime transit routes.

The committee also supported advancing construction of Louis St. Laurent Boulevard from Bronte Street to Regional Road 25 — work that wasn’t slated to get underway until 2011. It added about $6 million to the 2010 capital budget.

Motions to include the transit initiatives and the roadwork were made by Ward 4 councillors Wendy Schau and Paul Scherer respectively.

* * *

Top 5 projects

• Milton Sports Centre expansion — $12.7 million

• Arts and entertainment centre construction — $8.1 million

• Main Street grade separation at railroad tracks — $7.9 million

• Bronte Street reconstruction from Louis St. Laurent Boulevard to Derry Road — $6.4 million

• Louis St. Laurent Boulevard construction from Bronte Street to Regional Road 25 — $5.9 million.

Melanie Hennessey can be reached at mhennessey@miltoncanadianchampion.com .

Indoor BMX and Skateboard park in Milton?

Mike Cluett — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:30:15 +0000

This is an interesting idea.

Last weekend, I went down to Burlington to take part in an open house for a skateboard school with Anthony. You see, hes a beginner in the “sk8ter” world and I thought it would be fun to go. When we got there, the place was full of kids doing their tricks under the watchful eyes of the schools trainers. While Anthony was ripping it up (is that really a term…I dont know. Im just a DAD whos trying to be hip and “kewl”) I had a chance to talk with the schools owner Jody Eagan (Skateboard and Inline Skate School) and I asked him if there was a chance he would expand to Milton.

He’s tried on a number of occasions, unsuccessfully, to get something done in Milton. There are a number of parents in Milton, who like myself, will be taking their kids to this school to help teach them the basics of skateboarding, and how to do it safely.

As many of the parents in town wonder…what WILL my kid do when he/she gets bigger. There seems to be very little for kids in their teens to do in this growing town. Some people have suggested bowling alley’s which are very expensive to start up and trends showing participation in the sport beginning to dwindle. What will our teenagers do? Hang out at the movie theatre? Thats good for maybe one day a week. What of the other 6?

This type of park is exactly what Milton needs to give kids a place to go, learn a sport like skateboarding and BMX’ing, and hang out with friends in a supervised environment.

Email miltonindoorpark@hotmail.com and show your support!

In today’s Champion there is an article about exactly this.

Support for indoor park hits promising heights // Mother’s bid to build BMX/skateboard facility has already gained sponsorship

By Steve LeBlanc, Canadian Champion Staff

Sports

Dec 11, 2009

It was an afternoon of chills and thrills. The latter centred around a burgeoning bid to bring an indoor freestyle BMX/skateboard park to town, an idea that’s quickly gained plenty of excitement from local youth.

Amidst sub-zero temperatures, dozens of youngsters and teens took to the outdoor facility beside Memorial Arena Sunday as Kim Hadfield — who’s spearheading the private endeavour — publicly announced her plan.

The park may not be a full-fledged go just yet, but seems to be much more than just a mother’s pipe dream, based on the ground swell of support received since Hadfield’s Facebook page ‘Who wants an indoor skateboard/bmx facility in Milton, Ontario?’ went up a few short weeks ago.

“My three kids all ride and I was getting sick of taking them to C. J.’s (in Etobicoke),” explained the longtime Miltonian, who owns and operates the Brookville Equine Centre (horse farm). “They (kids) put the idea out there of getting an indoor park built in Milton, but to be honest I really had no idea what to expect when I first put it out there.”

Within a few days the Facebook page had been visited by roughly 150 BMX and skateboarding enthusiasts, while the number of area youths rallying around the proposal is now approaching 600.

“I’m super stoked on this idea. Yeah, I’m in for any kind of help needed for building or anything if it’s needed,” posted one supporter.

Said another, “That would be so sick if we could (get indoor park built in town).”

Even more encouraging is the fact that Hadfield already has some financial backing for her prospective park.

Among those that have made preliminary commitments to the project are Toronto-based Want Beverages, which pledges 15 cents of every dollar made to helping build and maintain these types of youth facilities.

The Hadfield-Want relationship was forged through fellow Miltonian Bryden Tait, who now works for the company after recently selling Main Street’s Gearhead.

“We’re all for this project,” stressed Tait, who brought an ample supply of Want drinks for riders and boarders Sunday. “There’s definitely a big need for this in Milton.”

Echoing those sentiments was Campbellville’s Paul Berger, a 27-year-old pro BMXer who’s agreed to help Hadfield design the park.

“There’s not many (parks) around and it’s something this town really needs,” said Berger, who along with fellow adult rider Kevin McLean will lend his expertise to the project.

Tentatively eyeing a warehouse facility along Lawson Road (near Wal-Mart) as a suitable location for the estimated 20,000-square-foot park, Hadfield has also gained some financial support from Focus Skateboards and FigJam Apparel Inc.

Her ultimate vision for the facility which she hopes to open sometime in 2010 — is for it to be a multi-purpose youth drop-in centre that would be partially funded by a nominal user fee for riders and boarders.

“Hopefully sponsorship will pay for most or all of the construction and then I’ll just have to worry about the overhead,” she said, adding, “Even when the weather’s nice there’s some parents who don’t want their kids coming here (outdoor facility) after the armed robbery we had here this past summer. We need somewhere that our children can go and be safe.”

“I’m really excited about this,” said Hadfield’s 14-year-old daughter, Brooke, the youngest of the family’s riders. “I’ve got a lot of friends who BMX and skateboard so we really need an indoor park here.”

Those wishing to support the project can contact Hadfield at miltonindoorpark@hotmail.com .

Regional Council Salary Increase?

Mike Cluett — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:52:05 +0000

Despite the fanfare of having a proposed 0% increase for the Region of Halton, their pay might be going up!

Even though Region of Halton staff has gone through their budget line item by line item finding all the necessary cuts to services and programs to ensure there is a politically favourable 0% increase, they still found an opportunity to have an allowance for their salaries and benefits to go up to 1.5% according to Tim Foran at the Milton Canadian Champion.

This is what frustrates taxpayers to no end. 2009 hasnt been the greatest year. Just looking at Milton alone, 3 major employers in the Town of Milton have closed up shop putting hundreds of people out of work. We have all experienced in some way someone that we know who has lost their job due to the economy. There are some signs to show we are slowly making our way through this global downturn but we are not out of the woods yet. Many economists say it will be the middle of 2011 before we get back to “normal” in our ways.

Yet…the public service gets a raise. As I’ve said in the past many times, I am not against paying someone a fair wage or salary. Our public officials are probably in the most underpaid/overworked industry in our country.

I hope the elected officials around the table realize what people will think if they approve this increase. Despite the fact a citizens committee made the recommendation, Regional Council CAN say NO…that will send a message. That committee can come back and say to increase their pay by 100%, they can still say NO.

Take that increase to salaries for council members and put it to something else, and still end up with their desired 0% increase.

Show some common sense and leadership!

To see the executive summary of the 2010 Region of Halton budget, go to pages 20 and 22 of the document. If you’d like to look at the entire budget document for Halton (its a big file) go here.

Tax freeze may not impact raises for Halton staff, councillors

By Tim Foran, Metroland West Media Group

News

Dec 11, 2009

A zero per cent tax hike budget can be accomplished without freezing wages for Regional employees or council members, according to Halton’s 2010 budget. The proposed budget, which will go to council for approval this Wednesday, includes money for a possible hike to the salaries and benefits of regional council members of up to 1.5 per cent next year.

That cost-of-living increase, which stems from the recommendations of a civilian committee that reviews council’s compensation, would be about half the average 3.15 per cent salary and benefit increase budgeted for Halton’s own employees.

Compensation for municipal employees makes up a large part of the Region’s proposed $700-million operating budget.

The treasury is budgeting $164 million — more than $1.1 million goes to the 21 regional council members — to cover the cost of wages, benefits, overtime and promotions for its own personnel, a 5.23 per cent increase over this year’s budget.

Approximately half of the Region’s employees, and all of the regional police force, are unionized and the budget includes about 3 per cent increases for their salaries and benefits, based on negotiated collective bargaining agreements and raises given historically.

The City of Toronto, which experienced a strike by its unionized employees this past summer, negotiated just under 2 per cent annual hikes for its staff, excluding police.

Halton Region uses a pay-for-performance system for its non-unionized staff, meaning they generally receive raises in the 0-4 per cent range, according to Treasurer Jane MacCaskill.

The Region has included enough money in its budget to cover about an overall 2 per cent hike for those employees.

Salaries and benefits in the office of Halton’s top bureaucrat, CAO Pat Moyle, are budgeted to rise 8.2 per cent over this year to just under a half-million dollars. The treasurer confirmed much of the $20,000 increase is attributable to the promotion of one of Moyle’s two staff.

As personnel matters are dealt with in private, the salary for Moyle — whose performance is reviewed by a sub-committee of regional councillors — isn’t released until the Province puts out its ‘Sunshine List’ of public service employees making more than $100,000 during the previous year, in the spring.

Moyle earned $250,000 in salary and taxable benefits in 2008.

If the 2010 budget passes, the salaries and benefits for Halton Region’s 20 councillors will have risen an average of 2.4 per cent annually between 2008 and 2010, primarily due to a market adjustment raise they received at the beginning of this year.

Compensation for the current council’s first year in office, in 2007, was approved by the previous council in September 2006. Several of those who approved the compensation were re-elected.

The base salary of a regional councillor before benefits was about $43,000 this year, although they also receive salaries from the lower tier municipalities where they work. The base salary for Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr was about $157,000 in 2009.

Mississauga Councillor Has Tirade In Restaurant

Mike Cluett — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:50:54 +0000

This is just too incredible to believe.

Carolyn Parrish strikes again

Mississauga councillor in eye of storm after restaurant meltdown

By DON PEAT AND MARK BONOKOSKI, TORONTO SUN

Restaurant owner Louis Macerola is upset that Councillor Carolyn Parrish ripped up a pro-Mayor Hazel McCallion poster, a restaurant rampage witnessed by GM Deborrah Poretta, left. (Mark ONeill/Toronto Sun)

Forget Hurricane Hazel, a Port Credit restaurateur is picking up the pieces after Mississauga Councillor Carolyn Parrish had a tropical storm of a temper tantrum in his lobby over a poster supporting Mayor Hazel McCallion.

After noshing on a meal that included three bottles of wine with three others at Aielli Restaurant last Thursday, Parrish allegedly walked out and then back into the restaurant, ripped down a pro-McCallion poster, shredded it and stomped the floor, before jumping into a waiting limousine to go to the Andrea Bocelli concert at the Air Canada Centre.

Owner Louis Macerola was still boiling yesterday that the councillor’s tearing tirade left pieces of poster scattered on his lobby floor for his staff to clean up.

“It’s inexcusable behaviour of a councillor,” Macerola told the Sun. “She represents the city, the people, the mayor. She’s a representative of all of us.

“To come into a public building, take something off the wall and tear it into pieces and then expect my general manager to pick it up is disrespectful to everyone.”

Reached yesterday afternoon, Parrish was surprised Macerola was still upset, saying she apologized as soon as he e-mailed her about the incident.

The poster was advertising the then one-day-old rally in support of the 88-year-old, 11-term mayor who has been weathering a political storm and facing a conflict-of-interest inquiry.

“I had had an extremely stressful week.If you haven’t noticed out here, I’m the Big Bad Wolf and blamed for everything that goes wrong in Mississauga,” Parrish said. “I guess it was one of those impulsive acts, like, ‘Yeah, the rally is over and we’re getting on with business.’ “

Following council’s decision in October to proceed with the judicial inquiry, Parrish has been under attack for criticizing McCallion.

Some anti-Parrish residents, suspicious of her political aspirations, have even started a website called www.stopcarolynparrish.com

That night, Parrish was dining with husband David, Councillor George Carlson and a fourth, unidentified guest who picked up the $288.47 tab.

The receipt, obtained by the Sun, included three bottles of wine totalling $129.

The councillor insisted her fit wasn’t alcohol-fuelled.

“I was with three people. I may have had one glass of wine, maybe a glass and a half, but I wasn’t drinking; no I wasn’t drunk,” she said, adding later the unidentified guest left with one of the bottles unopened. “It was stupid. What can I say?”

Macerola, a veteran businessman, sent a strongly worded e-mail to Parrish a day later, telling her that in his 33 years in Port Credit he has seen a lot of councillors come into his restaurant but never witnessed or heard of one acting so out of line.

“I kept the torn poster pieces as a souvenir to remind me of this inexcusable behaviour by a publicly elected official,” Macerola wrote. “This demonstrates disrespect for my establishment and my staff. I hope that you consider better behaviour in public appearances in the future.”

Parrish wrote back, thanking Macerola for the “wonderful dinner.” Staff say she had a mushroom appetizer and truffled linguine.

According to the restaurant’s menu, that dish includes slivers of Triple-A long loin with roasted garlic and 12-hour tomatoes topped with arugula and finished with a “spritz of truffle oil.”

“You are absolutely correct,” she wrote. “What began as a bit of a dare and a prank, it (sic) retrospect was poor judgment on my part.”

The former Liberal MP added that she’ll “attempt to replace the poster at once.”

Macerola has yet to see the promised replacement.