MISSISSIPPI
MILLS – Septage, holding referendums on big items and sharing hydro revenues topped
the list during the Ramsay Ward all candidates meeting on Oct. 5.
The three candidates for mayor of Mississippi Mills, as well
as the six candidates for the four Ramsay Ward positions on town council,
squared off in the auditorium of the Almonte Old Town Hall, to discuss these
and other issues for the Oct. 25 municipal election.
The event was sponsored by Taking Young People Seriously,
the Appleton Community Association and the Mississippi Mills Residents
Association.
There was some tension between mayoral candidates Brenda
Hurrle and John Levi over the issue of economic development in the area.
“I think that the current council should be ashamed of
themselves,” said Levi, charging that they had “decimated” the economic
development portfolio.
Hurrle, who sits on the economic development committee,
vehemently disagreed.
“Your current council does take this (issue) seriously,”
said Hurrle. “We do do things.”
Debt and revenue
Fiscal responsibility and prudence were other hot topics
amongst the mayoral candidates.
“It is time to pay the bills. It is that simple. We need to
stop spending,” said Jane Torrance.
Levi decried what he saw as “ever-increasing taxes” without
much to show for it.
“The current council spent the money and now they’re going
to tell us how they’re going to pay for it (the debt). I’m a business person. I
would’ve figured that out beforehand,” said Levi.
“We cannot keep raising taxes,” said Hurrle.
Council candidate Kelley Hough agreed that there was a need
to rein in spending.
“Mississippi Mills has one of the highest debt ratios of any
municipality,” in Ontario
of a comparable size, said Hough. “It’s time to look after the basics…It’s time
to look for non-traditional funding methods.”
Council candidate Shaun McLaughlin tried to tie the hydro
revenue sharing issue in with paying the debt that has been accumulated by the
town over the past term.
“I’d like to see us take the hydro revenues and put it
towards the principal on the debt,” he said, since Mississippi River Power
Corporation revenues are currently earmarked for water and sewage projects in
the Almonte Ward only.
Incumbent Councillor Val Wilkinson differed in her approach
to the hydro revenue sharing, saying she wanted to put “hydro revenues into
general funds.”
Torrance
reiterated her position that the agreement to put revenues towards projects in
Almonte Ward was necessary.
“I, for one, do not take my promises lightly,” Torrance said. She noted
that the water bill was likely to jump up from $600 to $1,200 in the next
decade. “If we are going to disentangle those two things, it will take a lot of
time,” Torrance
said.
Plebiscites
The candidates also diverged in their reaction to the
question of holding a non-binding plebiscite on issues like raising taxes or
hydro revenue sharing.
“I would be in favour of a plebiscite,” said Hurrle, adding
the caveat that it be non-binding, and based on a simple yes or no answer. “It
will never replace representative government,” she added, noting as well that a
plebiscite costs about $40,000, which is “as much as an election.”
“If it costs $40,000, we don’t need it,” said Levi. “I see
no reason for setting up a public plebiscite program.”
Levi indicated he would prefer to see issues discussed at
council using the public meeting process.
Incumbent Councillor John Edwards pointed to the state of California, where
plebiscites are a regular occurance.
“The state of California
is virtually bankrupt because of the plebiscite process,” Edwards said, noting
that voters there will often vote in favour of more services, but then
simultaneously for lower taxes.
Hough noted that even asking the question about holding a
plebiscite masked a feeling of disconnectedness amongst voters.
“There is a lack of confidence in our current council,” she
said.
“You want input,” she continued, but noted that she is not
in favour of votes.
McLaughlin, however, came out heavily in favour of
plebiscites.
“In some cases, I would prefer a referendum, because it is
binding,” he said, pointing to a possible vote on removing the ward boundaries
in the town.
Reducing council
Hurrle indicated she does not have a plan to reduce the size
of council in her campaign literature, but she added that she was in favour of
hearing the matter out.
“I would want to have intense public consultations (on it),”
Hurrle said. “I did not think that the public was consulted enough (on the
issue) so I was against it,” when the matter last came before council.
Levi, however, is very much in favour of reducing the size
of council, to a mayor, deputy mayor, and five councillors, with a two-term
limit for councillors.
“The reduction of council is a desirable thing,” said Levi,
who wondered why Mississippi Mills should continue with 10 councillors
currently when Ottawa
was thinking of reducing its council to 14 members.
“It’s not the wish of the public at this time,” to reduce
the size of council, said Torrance.
She indicated that things might run more smoothly at the council table as a
result, but that she too was open to discussion on the matter. Torrance added that Mississippi Mills should
have a deputy mayor elected at large to better represent the town on Lanark
County Council.