What is “Progress”? What is “Moving Forward”?

As my campaign progresses the question has arisen: “How does your platform address “progress” or “moving forward?” Things I have heard and read: “we must move forward together” and that we, as a community must provide “a clear path to move our community forward”. There is nothing wrong with those sentiments. The question is what defines them. I guess we start with “What is your definition of “progress” or “moving forward”?

In my view, “progress / moving forward” starts with the basics, which is you… the resident and taxpayer.

Charting a path forward that proposes fiscal sensibility, careful examination of all expenditures to ensure they benefit all Arcadians, reducing/eliminating the debt, eliminating unnecessary projects which can pave a path to much needed tax relief for the tax paying residents of Arcadia.

Fiscal sensibility does not have to negatively impact recreation, culture, medical services or other essential items. These things can be maintained and bettered through sound financial decisions. I’ve been consistent about this.

Fiscal sensibility recognizes that taxpayers are facing more and more demands financially, as property assessments keep rising, while the tax rate stays static, meaning more (sometimes too much) is asked of the taxpayer.

A financially healthy municipality can look at future opportunities, knowing that they are not encumbered by high debt, with residents finally seeing tax relief, making it more affordable to live in Arcadia.

Affordability will attract people to move here, as well as more business.

On the issue of small business and entrepreneurships, I think folks would be surprised as to how many small businesses and entrepreneurships exist within Arcadia.

While we may have a “market” of roughly 4000 potential customers for any given business, the realization that that the 4000 “customers” are spread far and wide across those 824 square kilometers of Arcadia, is challenging. That said, by using the resources available to us like Ignite and Fredericton Tourism; all available through our partnership with the Regional Services Commission, we can look to increase business, economic development and tourism throughout all of Arcadia.

In my view, this is “progress”: this is “moving forward”. This is what I am working for.

The alternative: the status quo, a municipality where residents keep being asked to contribute more and more financially, in the form of increased property assessments, with no municipal tax relief.

Also, with unmanaged spending on unnecessary large projects comes the very real potential of increased, unsustainable debt, ultimately rendering the community unaffordable to live in.

Unaffordability and high tax rates do not typically attract more residents and businesses to a municipality, but rather the opposite.

That’s my thoughts on this issue. You, as a taxpayer and voter, must decide what your definition is…

Thanks for reading.