Why do you ask that? Perhaps because the Mayor's name was said seven times in seven paragraphs. Given there is an election in 6 days, this article definitely reeks of electioneering at its best. Yah, I know it was discussed by the 2 mayors in the spring that this meeting should occur and I read some of the news releases and Christians comments were very good. That being said, considering we are in the middle of an election I think one of two things should have happened. Either Christian should have sought a different date (or sent a representative) or Sootoday should have withheld this article until after the election. This article has the appearance of a whole pile of free advertising in support of the Mayor.
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So Mr. Helwig. What is your position on how long n individual needs to live in a community before he/she is "allowed" to be mayor? You initiated the article, which leads me to believe you don't believe Rory should be "allowed" to be mayor. Is that your position? If it is perhaps you should excuse yourself from writing any more election articles. And Mr. Provenzano, did you not support Mr. Ignatieff who ws "just visiting" in his bid to become Prime Minister. Run on your record Christian as opposed to trying to find dirt on your opposition. It's called integrity. Also, folks do have a right to level some form of criticism as you are being paid by us taxpayers. Rory was not, nor do I hear chamber members challenging his ability.
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Hi AnnaKosk,
Thanks for the link to the report. I can see it, however one would think I should be able to get there from the Sarnia Lambton Chamber main website, which I could not. Is the link you provided only available to members. IE Which drop down menu from the main website gets you to the report?
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Rory was hired in December of 2012. For the fiscal year ending then, revenues were $566K and expenses $574K, so he inherited an $8k deficit. As Rory stated, revenues decreased to $511K, $506K and $510k over his almost 3 year term. Also, when he took over, expenses in 2013 were $39k less than in 2012 and Although they increased marginally in 2014, they were still $29k less than in 2012. According to the Sarnia Observer, Rory's tenure ended in September of 2015, Expenses were high that year, so is the Mayor who released the financials and Helwigg saying those are all attributable to Mr. Ring? It would seem to me something out of the ordinary occurred that year. Perhaps severance? Who knows as there is not a complete breakdown. I think it's pretty sad to attack the character of an opponent. Where did the mayor get the report he posted which proves nothing except substantiate Rory's claim of less revenue. I went on the Sarnia website and could not find any report.
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There re couple of challenges with the current process. Number one is the Mayor has too much control. The Clerk is there in a procedural and clerical role. The CAO is there so he can be informed as to what is coming up so staff can be prepared. The Mayor is there to decide if an item will or will not be on the agenda. Do you really think the CAO or clerk will argue with the Mayor who represents the council the CAO reports to, yet there are no councilors on the committee. Secondly, if the agenda goes out to the public on Friday and you want to speak to an item, good luck getting in front of council. You actually need to know well ahead of time what's on the agenda so you can make a request to the agenda review committee to be a delegation. Something needs to change from the current process. The previous process worked well with 2 rotating councilors from differing wards present at agenda review. Can someone explain why the ombudsman did not support that?
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As the former chair of the Downtown Association, where Mr. Ring served s a Director, I can state that he was an extremely effective board member. He provided great leadership and expertise as the lead in assisting the board through the successful strategic planning process to the point of approval by the DTA members as well as council. With respect to the Chamber of Commerce, Rory is correct in what he is saying with respect to its position when he assumed the role of CEO. He has been extremely active in the community and all accounts are he has been doing a great job. Unfortunately, staff had to be reduced in order to balance the budget but I am confident his work ethic will turn things around. I also expect Rory has had to do double duty due to shortages. I believe he would be very good mayor. I have nothing negative to say about Christian, nor have I ever. Folks will decide on their own. I simply wanted to relay my experience with Mr. Ring for what it's worth.
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I'll simply share a conversation I had with a local business person few weeks ago. While his business is surviving, he did state that it's no wonder we can't attract business to Sault Ste Marie as our industrial tax rates are the highest in Northern Ontario. IE If he would have located elsewhere, he would be paying less taxes for a property of the same size. Nowhere did Mr. Ring mention a shifting of tax burden clane. He is suggesting tax reforms are needed at the provincial level to lessen the burden on our businesses. He is advocating for residential tax freeze. In terms of slashing services, that's always been the bureaucrat's answer. I would think there are different ways of providing service that need to be explored. In any event, the best way to decrease individual taxes is to increase the overall tax base. I will try to dig up some comparative industrial figures to substantiate or refute my conversation with the business owner, but I do believe industrially we are higher.
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I have worked closely with Rory who did an outstanding job taking a lead role in guiding the Downtown Association through its most recent strategic plan. He is extremely intelligent with great leadership skills. His comments on the issues facing Sault Ste. Marie are dead on. For those of you wanting him to state how he intends to solve them, I would suggest his intent to be a full time mayor is a great start. He has the ability to bring the community together to collectively work on a solution. The ideas won't be his alone, but I guarantee you he will be a great leader. I wish Rory all the best. I have witnessed his ability and work ethic first hand. Change is needed and not being from the Sault has its advantages in terms of seeing things from a different perspective.
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I'm not sure I have ever seen the City of Sault Ste. Marie issue a News Release specific to an event attended by a candidate during an election, especially since the Mayor is a political figurehead as opposed to a Bureaucrat. I could understand this if Horseman attended. A News Release of this nature would normally be issued by the Mayor's office I would think but not so apparently. Baffling.
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