Welcome to my first blog, which is hopefully the first of many outlining what is happening at the Town and Region and in the community. Thanks to Chris Edwards of the Milton Web for setting my website and blog and guiding me through the process.
The photos above were taken at the start of the Milton portion of the Olympic torch run on Saturday December 19th at the corner of Main and Bronte streets and shows some of the many thousand Milton residents who lined the route along Main Street. Thanks to all the runners, volunteers, town staff and police officers who made the event a great success.
December was also a busy month for both Town and Regional staff and councils reviewing and debating the 2010 current and capital budgets earlier in the month. Thanks to the provincial/federal infrastructure funding many capital projects that will have an impact on Milton will be started in 2010 and I will be updating you on the progress of these projects throughout the year. Go to http://www.milton.ca/ and http://www.halton.ca/ for more details of both budgets and projects.
The net impact on your taxes is highlighted below:
Budget to Budget Increases Town +3.24% Region +.20% less Town assessment growth of +7% in 2009 which is shared between the Town 28%, Region 44% and School Boards 28%, results in a total net increase of +1.41 % or $ 13 per $ 100,000 of assessment for the urban area and a net increase of + 1.33% or + $ 11.62 per $ 100,000 of assessment.
Both these increases are less than the rate of inflation which was one of my goals for both councils to keep any tax increases below the rate of inflation and I thank staff at both the Town and Region for their work in keeping the budget proposals within those figures and both councils for their detailed review and approval.
By way of comparisons the 2009 tax rates for the urban Milton area is 19% less than the City of Mississauga and 44% less than the City of Brampton and 85% less than the City of Hamilton, the 2010 tax rates should be in the same range.
Also both councils and planning staff have been busy with the approval process for the Regional Official Plan amendment known as ROPA 38. This has been a two year process which has involved dozens of council and public information meetings and workshops and I thank everyone who was involved in this complex document which lays out the planning framework for Halton over the next 21 years to the year 2031. Many Milton residents came to the meetings and submitted their comments and ideas which helped form the document which is now sent to the Provincial ministries for review and approval.
As one councillor stated at the long regional council meeting on December 16th who paraphrased a famous Winston Churchill speech " this is not the end, it is just the end of the beginning". As now all the local Halton municipalities which include Milton, Halton Hills, Oakville and Burlington have to amend their Official Plans to conform with the new regional plan. The Town will be hosting a number of meetings and information nights outlining the changes to be made in the local Official Plan. I invite you to attend and participate in the process which will have an impact on Milton's future. I will be posting the dates, times and locations of those meetings when they become available.
One of the components of the plan is the intensification of the pre year 2003 urban Milton area to meet the Provincial guidelines for growth in the Places to Grow plan which has a goal of 40% of new growth being within existing urban areas. Town planning staff have been working on a plan which will be presented at the Monday January 18th Administration and Planning Committee for review and approval by Council on January 25th. Most of the proposed growth will be in the provincial Urban Growth Centre which is highlighted on the attached link :
The idea of the plan is to build better transit friendly communities with closer connections between residential, office, employment and retail areas to reduce traffic congestion and improve the environment. I will be posting more information on this issue as it becomes available.
Lastly I want to wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2010 and invite you to two Milton traditions, the New Years eve bell ringing in Victoria Park in front of the Town Hall
and the New Years day Levee in the Town Hall fron 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm which is the first levee in the new town hall expansion area and also includes honouring the new inductees to the Milton walk of fame which joins the east and west portions of the town hall. The Milton Historical Society has been very involved in the event and the research in naming the inductees.
I hope to see you at either of these events to start the new year.
Colin Best
Local & Regional Councillor
Milton/Halton
