TimminsToday asked all candidates questions ahead of the Oct. 24 municipal election. Below are the responses from Ward 2 (South Porcupine) candidate Lorne Feldman.
Timmins' population is declining, with another drop reported in the most recent census. What can be done within the municipality's scope to attract and retain new residents?
While attracting new residents is the goal of any community, I believe the more important question we need to ask ourselves is why Timmins continues to suffer a decline in population. Currently, working residents and their families along with our seniors are subject to exorbitant residential property taxes, spiking criminal activities in the downtown core and neighbourhoods along with deteriorating recreational facilities, parks and lakes that are in dire need of upgrades and maintenance. In addition, our existing population is facing a critical shortage of medical professionals specifically family physicians that if not immediately addressed will make the prospect of attracting new residents a near-impossible task.
Existing residents are the "customers" of this city and as is the case with any customer, if they do not receive service and value for their hard-earned money, they will leave and take their "business" elsewhere. Prior to recruiting those who are currently not residing here, we need to take steps to improve the experience of our residents who have chosen to live here by making their lives more affordable, safer and enjoyable. If elected I would introduce an incentive program that would offer property tax rebates to residents based on the duration of stay to encourage long-term commitment to the city. Consulting with our healthcare professionals, I would fully support lucrative incentive programs to attract both family physicians and specialists to establish full-time practices in Timmins. Our residents' health is worth the investment. I would engage with the men and women who comprise our exceptional police services to determine what resources are required to ensure the safety of our neighbourhoods and schools. As far as improving leisure and recreation, partnerships with organizations such as the YMCA and our large industrial stakeholders should be pursued to enhance our recreational experience in a manner that does not further financially burden our residents. The best recruitment or marketing tool any municipality can have to attract new residents is a positive endorsement from those who already live here.
Communication and transparency have been identified as a concern by the public and by The Chamber. What does municipal transparency mean to you?
Municipal transparency means giving our residents the "straight goods" in a clear and concise format. Residents also deserve the opportunity and platform to review and comment on significant council decisions free from being portrayed as an annoyance, or a negative influence incapable of grasping the concepts being discussed at council simply for challenging what is sometimes being imposed on them without consultation. Many residents to whom I have spoken have expressed being in the dark or shut down when important discussions take place involving budget spending, approval of a safe injection site or restrictions impacting responsible tax-paying property owners from bringing campers or trailers to their properties to enjoy recreational time with their families.
Our residents get it and can be invaluable resources in solving these issues. If we are going to overcome the serious challenges the municipality currently faces, not to mention the ones approaching on the horizon, we must embrace and engage our residents. Seeking their input will be crucial to our community's future success.
If elected, I pledge to hold quarterly town hall meetings for Ward 2 residents to provide their comments on what is going well and what areas are in need of improvement. Additionally, I will hold one further town hall meeting each for seniors over 65 and residents 18 and under to better understand their existing specific challenges and hopes for the future to ensure Ward 2 remains the vibrant community that it is.
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SEE: Advance voting opens Oct. 11
Everyone is feeling the financial impacts of inflation and the cost of living is rising faster than most residents' salary increases. How can the municipality help residents, especially those with a low income or seniors, through this period?
Seniors who have built this community and working families doing everything possible to provide their children opportunities for a better life are often suffering in silence while they struggle to meet the challenges of staggering financial burdens including ever-increasing property taxes, water and sewer rates, rents and recreational fees and options. This is resulting in mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression and various forms of addiction as a means of coping with their situations. Many of these residents, despite holding employment, being taxpayers and positively contributing to the community understandably feel their daily struggles are being ignored by the municipality simply because of the misguided perception that they are not "homeless" per se nor exhibiting acute symptoms of mental illness and addicition. Seniors and working families comprise the overwhelming majority of our population and their issues deserve to be our priority.
Aside from working to implement programs to freeze property taxes along with water and sewer rates for those who qualify and own their homes, I want to examine the budgets available from organizations such as DSSAB and others to determine how we can channel and redistribute those vast resources to more seniors and working residents by expanding eligibility thresholds. This also holds true for the municipality to revisit program funding including the million dollars earmarked annually for the safe injection site to redirect a portion of those funds into the hands of seniors and working families to partially alleviate the financial burden they are facing and allow these valued residents to participate in recreation and receive counselling if required. Currently, the cost of enrolling in most forms of recreation or accessing counselling is prohibitive and due to holding employment and or possessing shelter, many of these residents do not qualify for financial assistance. The physical and mental health benefits of such activities and services are indisputable and these individuals are worth the investment.
What do you want voters to know about you?
The Feldman family commitment to Timmins has spanned nearly 119 years and four generations premised on an unwavering belief that our community can set the standard for northeastern Ontario. It was this obligation to our family commitment that spurred me to return to Timmins after graduating Osgoode Hall Law school in Toronto. After moving to South Porcupine 12 years ago, my belief in what Ward 2 and its residents can accomplish is as strong as ever. If you provide me the privilege of representing your interests for the next four years, I pledge to work as hard as I can utilizing whatever abilities and talents I may possess to best serve your needs and make a difference in what I feel is the best community anywhere.
I invite all registered Ward 2 voters and their families to join me on Oct. 17 from 5-8 at the Maurice Londry community centre for a Meet and Greet. Refreshments form Francesco's and Narduzzi's will be served.
Read Feldman's candidate profile here.
The other Ward 2 candidates are Mickey Auger and Marcus Niebler.
The municipal election is Oct. 24. Advance voting is being done online and runs Oct. 11-24. In-person polls are open on election day.
