Boris Godzinevski -- Georgina Mayor candidate

Yorkregion.com
September 20, 2018

I've been a resident of Georgina since 1995 having attended Deer Park & Our Lady of the Lake before enrolling at Brock University. My first official job was working in a federal constituency office at 18 before I majored in political science and history. I worked many jobs to pay for school and, in 2010 I became a property manager in St. Catharines and began taking on contract jobs in various fields which included transport, labour, small business operations, planning events and even filming. A lot of the course material I took included law and finance, so I considered a career in law enforcement and did a lot of volunteer and paid work with children, largely sports oriented. At the same time I organized a film production and, after suffering some physical injuries, switched my career focus to business and the financial sector.

I would like to say I am, above all, about being practical. So the issues I have most concern with are ones which I could address definitively and in short order. When it comes to our beaches, simple solutions that cost little to no money have been on the table for several years. It's not about needing an extensive study to figure out what may work, it's about taking initiative and trying out what most other towns around our lake and nearby Huron have been doing for years now. Resident only parking while parking fines, which offer a $15 gap between parking legally and illegally, could be raised with more emphasis on tag and tow. Vendors could provide relief of garbage and provide food and beverage service currently absent for much of our beaches. Then we should discuss seasonal passes which would greatly increase return business. None of these solutions come with a hefty price tag, only the desire to make necessary changes.

You then have the big ticket construction projects, a new Civic Centre and the MURC. These are proposed to cost roughly $60 million combined, but that estimate comes with no concrete planning as of yet. The Civic Centre would be completely tax funded so the town would need to issue debt, and our taxes would increase. The MURC is said to be covered by development charges but, prior to receiving them, the town would again need to issue debt, and this would affect our taxes. Both are promoted out of the belief our population is due to grow substantially, but several variables are not accounted for and no private subsidies are currently offered. This debt is vigorously defended while the condition of our roads is declining and a more important issue I would work to redirect funds to.

I would also spend a lot of time on youth and business development, both vital to a vibrant community that in my opinion have been neglected. Overbearing permits and licensing regulations as well as high taxation makes the current environment a challenge for prospective business owners.