Managing growth, meeting expectations, dealing with the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and balancing the budget are all part of keeping our town the place we love to call home.
We are proud to have some of the lowest residential, commercial and industrial tax rates in the GTA (fourth-, third- and second-lowest respectively), which makes us attrac-tive to residents and developers.
Growth does not pay for growth. We must provide amenities for new residents and maintain facilities to ensure we may take advantage of development charges and levies, infrastructure funds and partner-ships to reduce the impact on taxes.
Growth has slowed a bit in the past few years, but we still find ourselves busy with development. Our new official plan will help us move from green field to dense development — hence the condos being produced on Yonge.
We do our best to make good planning decisions that we feel are in the interest of our community. Many are upheld because we have a great official plan and we worked hard to engage our community early on. Some decisions are overturned by the OMB, which is frustrating, as that takes the decision process away from both the council and residents.
Getting the Yonge subway to Richmond Hill is a priority for transit. We need the other levels of government to commit to providing the funding. We need to move people effectively and efficiently and reduce gridlock on our roads.
I look forward to working with you on these issues. I want to extend my best wishes for the holiday season and a happy and prosperous new year.