Financial & Infrastructure Stability

The next Council will face some difficult financial and infrastructure decisions. My priority is to put the Town on a more stable footing by planning further ahead, rebuilding financial flexibility, and ensuring infrastructure keeps pace with growth.

That means setting clear long-term targets for reserves, taking a harder look at the timing and necessity of major capital projects, and improving how we forecast future water, wastewater and other infrastructure needs. Growth should not be approved in isolation from the infrastructure required to support it.

I also want stronger accountability when major projects change. Residents should know the approved budget, current forecast and schedule, and material increases in cost or scope should come back to Council with a clear explanation.

Growth is not the enemy, but it has to make sense. Infrastructure is where responsible growth becomes real.

Residents should not need to spend hours reading Council agendas and technical reports to understand what their Town is doing.

I want to make Council decisions and major projects easier to follow through plain-language Council summaries and better public reporting. For major capital projects, residents should be able to easily see what was approved, what has been spent, whether the project is on schedule, and why the budget or scope has changed.

Better information is about more than accountability. The Blue Mountains has residents with tremendous experience in business, finance, construction, engineering, healthcare, public service and many other fields. Making municipal information easier to understand lowers the barrier to participation and gives residents a better opportunity to contribute that experience.

Good decisions still need clear explanations. When explanation is missing, frustration fills the gap.

Tourism is an essential part of The Blue Mountains and will remain one of the foundations of our economy. I also want to see more opportunities for year-round employment and for people to build careers here.

That means creating an environment where small businesses, professional services, skilled trades and compatible small-scale manufacturers can establish themselves and grow. I want the Town to take a more deliberate approach to business attraction, work with regional, provincial and industry partners, and better understand what prevents appropriate businesses from locating here.

We should also review tools such as our Community Improvement Plan to make sure incentives have clear objectives and measurable benefits, while looking for unnecessary barriers in municipal processes that make it harder to establish or expand a business.

Economic diversification isn’t about replacing tourism. It’s about strengthening the year-round community alongside it.