Election
2010
Questionnaire for Municipal Election Candidates The
Browning Island Cottagers' Association has established an Election 2010 Committee.
This committee will review all responses to the following questionnaire, will
review all information available in the Media, and will attend the 'All-Candidates'
meeting of September 30. This information in a condensed form will be distributed
to all our members, and members of surrounding Associations within the Town of
Bracebridge. This will assist them when they vote in the upcoming election. We
thank you for providing us with a detailed response to this questionnaire. It
is important that we receive your response as soon as possible, so that our members
may post their ballots by the recommended date of October 15th. Our Election 2010
committee will prepare their final recommendations to our members by October 10th.
Please forward your response before this deadline. Response should be forwarded
to: Browning Island Cottagers' Association
c/o Laurence Burt
#60-1040
Riverside Dr.
London, Ontario
N6H 5N4 Or landlburt@gmail.ca Questionnaire
Constituent
consultation:
1. What commitments are you prepared to make
to ensure that public input is permitted, solicited, and duly represented? 2.
What value do you place on input and expertise provided by lake area property
owner
associations? 3. In what ways do you see lake associations working
together with council? Should associations be consulted in advance of decisions
that affect their members? 4. Can you give examples of some issues that
could affect association members and require their input? 5. How would you
follow through on providing advance notice (i.e. how would you contact them and
how would their input be integrated into the decision-making process)?
Transparency:
1.
There is a widely held view in our municipality that council meetings and/or deliberations
are not as transparent and open as they should be. What would you do if elected
(re-elected), to change this perception? 2. Should contentious issues be
put to a municipal referendum? If so, how would seasonal residents be notified?
(If done at election time, this would be a non issue.)
Lake
Plans and Sustainability:
1. Lake Plans are supported by
extensive data collection, consultation, and careful consideration by the majority
of property owners on a given lake. In most cases the local town or township is
given the opportunity to provide input to the plan throughout the process. What
is your view of lake plans that are approved by members of cottager associations
and how do you see them fitting in with the Official Plan and Zoning By-laws? 2.
What input do you feel the taxpayers around each lake should have in deciding
what kind of development is permitted around the lake? 3. How would you
propose giving lake plans more force within the municipality? 4. Have you
had an opportunity to review the goals and objectives of the Official Plan and
are you in agreement with them? Please elaborate on your yes or no answers. 5.
What planning strategies do you think would be effective in helping to reconcile
conflict between economic activities and the natural environment? 6. If
elected, how would you demonstrate a commitment to sustainability of our Natural
Environment?
Finance:
1. The
tax burden in our municipality is, by a wide margin, borne by waterfront property
owners. This is due in part to the market value assessment policy. How would you
propose to either reduce this tax burden or provide more value-added services
to cottage owners? 2. Do you believe in zero-based budgeting? Please explain
your answer in detail. 3. Under what circumstances can you see the need
to raise taxes? Or are you committed to holding the line on all tax increases? 4.
Council's term is now 4 years but budgeting is done in 1 year terms. Given the
genuine concern of increasing taxes, what measures would you like to see implemented
to improve the budgeting process (e.g., public input, increased transparency,
longer budget timeframes, analysis of spending, etc.)? Operation
and Services: 1. It seems that some municipal by-laws (such
as development permit by-laws) are enforced in an inconsistent manner, or on a
complaint-driven basis. What would you do to ensure a more consistent enforcement
environment? 2. What do you think the town's priorities should be for the
next four years and how would you achieve them? 3. What do you see as essential
services and programs? What services and programs could be considered optional
if resources are tight? How would you measure cost-effectiveness? 4. How
important do you think the provision of adequate parking and docking facilities
is for Island properties? What services in this regard do you think could be improved?
Are you prepared to support these improvements if you are elected? 5. Please
list the services the Town currently provides to Island Properties in return for
their tax dollars, and how do you see improving these services as a fair and equitable
return for their tax dollars, relative to the services provided to non-Island
properties in the Town?
General Comments:
Please
take the opportunity to discuss any other issues you believe are important to
you as a future member of Bracebridge Government.
Material
from Previous elections
Property
Assessments The
two year freeze on Ontario property value assessments ends in 2008. Here's a heads-up
on the government's plans and what the other major parties propose with their
positions graded with comments by CAPTR, the Coalition After Property Tax Reform.
**Download Making
the Grade on Property Tax Policies
A
second publication, a letter to members of the Muskoka Lakes Association with
the MLA's position on the upcoming election and also relates the position of the
major Ontario parties, with proposed action plan for those wishing to bring about
a more equitable process.
**Download MLA
letter to members
See also a previous CAPTR publication, April 2007
** CAPTR
IT'S NOW OR NEVER! - STOP ASSESSMENT ANARCHY!
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