While I served as councillor on City Council from 2017-2021, we...
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Kept all property tax increases between 0% and 2%, the lowest in 20+ years and subsequently.
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Opened the new Beaumont Sport and Recreation Centre with new hockey arena, field house, gymnasium, indoor running track, climbing wall, and expanded fitness facilities.
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Added a new outdoor football field, 5 new baseball diamonds, a 12 acre off-leash dog park and 2 new outdoor hockey rinks.
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Began the creation of a new innovation & technology business park with both AMTA and RCMP committing to major investment there.
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Created The Seed Co-working & Flexible Office Space to help incubate small businesses.
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Obtained suitable land for a new K-12 Francophone school to be built.
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Hired extra RCMP officers and a Schools Resource Officer (SRO) to help prevent crime in Beaumont.
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Expanded our Firefighting Service to maintain the excellent levels of protection we expect.
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Improved snow clearing and removal to the highest service levels ever.
If elected now, I shall...
1) Keep Taxes Low
I believe that any increase to property taxes should be kept as low as possible, and should never be higher than inflation. During my last term on council 2017-2021 the highest property tax increase for any budget I supported was 2% and the lowest was 0%.
2) Prudently Expand Services and Facilities to Meet Growing Needs
As Beaumont's population grows, demand for facilities and services grows with it, so existing buildings and programs must be expanded and new ones built or added.Consequently, capital and operating budgets must continually increase to fund this growth. Expansions are now needed to the Fire Hall, Library, City Office, and other public buildings.Demand for ice rinks, sports fields and pther recreational facilities continues to outstrip supply.
3) Stop Inefficient and Wasteful Programs (e.g. Photo Radar)
Photo radar has NO EFFECT on rates of traffic collision, injury or fatality in our city. Only about half of the money paid in fines comes back to the city. When surveyed, 62% of our residents say they do not support its use here. So it's time to stop using photo radar in Beaumont and to identify other inefficient or wasteful programs that may also be eliminated.