There are endless ways to make trouble, but only a few ways to enforce the law. In response to the recent addition of Automated Speed Enforcement to Brighton’s streets, and a bit of concern expressed about it, this week I’ll give a rundown of how laws are enforced in Brighton. The Ontario Provincial Police NotContinue reading “Breakin’ the Law”
Tag Archives: municipal politics
Big, Complex, and Hopeful
A few weeks ago I announced the upcoming release of the Community Foundation of Campbellford, Seymour and Northumberland’s Vital Signs Report. That event is this coming Tuesday, April 9th, at 4:00pm at the King Edward Park Community Centre. I will be speaking at the release, and what follows is a sneak peek of my talk.Continue reading “Big, Complex, and Hopeful”
Come and See!
I struggled with what to call this blog post, because there’s so much on this week’s council agenda to talk about that you really just need to come see for yourself! If you’ve never been out to a council meeting before, this coming meeting (Monday, March 25 2024) is a good one to come to.Continue reading “Come and See!”
Data Driven
How do you measure the health of a community? What kinds of data do we collect and use, and why? Where Your Treasure Is, There Your Heart Will Be The things that we count are the things that we think about, and the things that we think about are the things that we value whenContinue reading “Data Driven”
Councillor Training & Conferences
The last few weeks there’s been some local controversy over increases in the municipal budget related to the role of councillors. The Committee of the Whole ultimately passed a pay increase for councillors that collectively amounted to ~$30k, but it was noted that the overall council budget increased by ~$60k. The rest of the increaseContinue reading “Councillor Training & Conferences”
Responsibility to Enforce
Do municipalities have a responsibility to set and enforce bylaws? I’m currently taking a few courses in municipal law to better understand our bylaws and how we enforce them. I’m quickly discovering that, despite the fact that laws are written in the most exhaustively boring way possible in order to avoid any confusion, interpretation isContinue reading “Responsibility to Enforce”
Housing and Homelessness in Northumberland
Two weeks ago I was a speaker at the Northumberland Community Legal Centre’s annual Justice Forum, where the topic this year was homeless encampments. I brought a perspective from inside municipal government, talking about government as multiple overlapping systems each with their own jurisdictional distinctions and resource flows — a system of systems that, despiteContinue reading “Housing and Homelessness in Northumberland”
A Week in the Life of a Councillor
With the current budget including a potential raise for members of council, folks in Brighton are talking about what the position seems worth to them. As I wrote last week, I’m generally in favour of paying councillors well; I recognize that I’m biased in this regard, as a raise from $18k to $23k base salaryContinue reading “A Week in the Life of a Councillor”
Council Pay Increases
Last year I wrote about a proposal in Cobourg to increase their council’s pay, and why such proposals are always controversial. No politician wants to appear greedy, so we typically go many years with no adjustment to politician paycheques, until it can’t be ignored anymore; at that point, the increase to get pay back upContinue reading “Council Pay Increases”
Tax Increases, and What’s Driving Them
On Monday night we’ll be looking at the 2024 budget, and you can see the draft budget here. As it currently sits, we’re looking at an overall budget increase of almost 9%, and a tax increase of just over 7%. I know that number will set off alarm bells for some, even though it’s aboutContinue reading “Tax Increases, and What’s Driving Them”