I have to say that it is quite an experience being a first time councilor. There is a mass of material to read to gain a thorough knowledge of issues and concerns that are currently of importance to the community and coming before council on almost a daily basis.
It is important for councilors to learn as much as possible about the history of issues, the out comes of past studies and reports, as well as current developments and trends. Taken in context with our vision for the future this information is vital to making good decisions. All of this research however useful, only contributes to one mans opinion.
To do what is best for Squamish requires that we gain as much input and feed back as possible from our citizens.
It is a priority of this council to improve consultation with the public and therefore we are seeking your input and suggestions. I applaud Mayor Gardner for initiating the "Mayors Email List" and encourage everyone to email the District so your email address can be added to our contact list. It is important to us that information you would consider interesting and vital reaches you in a timely manor. We appreciate your feed back as to the quantity and caliber of the information you will be receiving. Please consider this a two way street, and an opportunity for you to have direct contact with council and bring your compliments and concerns to our attention.
Council is aware and concerned that we are entering a period of hard economic times. Every day seems to deliver more bad news on our economy. In 34 years of working in the financial services industry I have experienced recessions, however none as sudden, dramatic or as global as this. The current situation is extremely serious and will touch all of us. I am concerned that, here on the West Coast of Canada, it is only just beginning to hit home.
A major priority of council at this time is our annual budget. We appreciate that every dollar that we spend comes from your pocket, whether in the form of property tax or user fees etc. There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and we cannot keep borrowing to feed the beast. Due to the election we are off to a late start on budget considerations. Over the next few months we will be working hard to deliver a Budget that is acceptable to you. To achieve this we would appreciate your input and suggestions. To initiate this process we conducted a telephone survey, the results of which are presently being tabulated and will be made public shortly. This survey although valuable only provided feed back from 300 people. We are planning a Town Hall meeting for public input on the budget and will advise once the date and time are set. I would encourage as many as possible to attend. I do understand that, talking pie charts, numbers and percentages may not be very exciting, however the final budget will influence the quality of life for all of us to some extent.
I hope to see you there!
