Newmarket's strategic priorities discussed during open house

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 8, 2015
Chris Simon

For Newmarket staff, it was a chance to inform residents about the services and programs offered by the municipality.

For residents, it was an opportunity to get some concerns off their chests.

About 20 town employees answered questions on strategic priorities and discussed the direction the town is headed, during a drop-in open house at the Newmarket Community Centre and Lions Hall last week.

The event, purposely held in conjunction with this week's opening of the outdoor ice rink and Winter Wonderland at Riverwalk Commons, featured booths from several town departments and staff and council members were on hand to discuss services, ranging from road maintenance to parks and recreation.

More than 75 residents attended the event.

"We want to provide information for the public and also give them an opportunity to share information and ideas with us," CAO Bob Shelton said. "We're trying to cover a lot of areas where we know there's interest, through what we hear from (council) deputations and correspondence. This is one of the few times we've had a public drop-in that sort of deals with almost everything. We wanted to give this a try to see if it's of value."

Residents wanted to know how town planning and economic development will have implications on their lives. Financial control and spending measures currently in place, access to information and taxes were also issues of concern, he said.

Teena Bogner, president of the Newmarket Taxpayers Advocacy Group, is pleased by the initiative taken by the town and hopes similar events are held in the future.

"This is an excellent opportunity for those in the community to come and ask questions and even complain, if they want to," she said during the drop-in. "I'm proud it took (NTAG) and their ongoing research and push for accountability and transparency to get where this is. This is in direct response to deputations we've given at the town. They've listened and recognized the need to engage citizens. Kudos to the town for doing this."

It was a good opportunity for residents to ask pressing questions about increases in user fees, the next steps along Davis Drive and other municipal issues that affect their daily lives, Bogner said.

Shelton believes many residents may not fully understand the complexity and scope of municipal government, which "goes all the way from fire protection to economic development".

"I'd like to be sure there's a good understanding of what we do; it's huge," he said. "We're open for discussion, ideas and constructive criticism. (People) want to make sure we're spending taxpayer dollars wisely. It takes a long time to learn about municipal government and it has become extremely complex. We're governed by certain things we must do, things we have to do for safety reasons and risk control and other things to build community. I would hope people walk out thinking these guys are for real and are looking to improve."