Funding road repairs and new high school priorities

Thank you for this question. As a resident myself, I understand the frustration of watching infrastructure age while wondering whether enough of our tax dollars are getting back into the things we rely on every single day.

I’m running for Ward 3 Councillor, not Mayor, so I can’t promise that I alone can make these things happen. What I can promise is that I will use my vote and my voice at the Council table to make maintaining the infrastructure we already own a priority.

Roads are a perfect example. We need to get away from allowing roads to deteriorate to the point where the eventual repair becomes significantly more expensive.

The Town’s updated Road Needs Study is coming back before Council this fall, and I believe that will be an important opportunity for the new Council. I want to understand which roads have been identified as priorities, what condition they’re actually in, what the recommended timelines are and, importantly, what it will cost to properly address them.

From there, I want to see a realistic, properly funded multi-year plan based on condition, safety, traffic and need, one that residents can actually see and understand.

I also completely agree with you about a new high school. Education isn’t under municipal jurisdiction, so Council can’t simply decide to build one. But that doesn’t mean we should sit quietly and say it isn’t our responsibility. With the growth happening in New Tecumseth, I believe our Mayor and Council should be strong advocates with our school boards and the Province for the schools and other infrastructure our growing population requires.

And this connects directly to one of my biggest concerns about growth.

We cannot continue approving growth and then deal with roads, schools, recreation, water, wastewater and traffic as an afterthought. Infrastructure needs to be part of the conversation before and alongside growth, not years later when residents are already feeling the consequences.

There will always be competing priorities and limited tax dollars, and I won’t promise residents everything they ask for simply to get elected. What I can promise is that I will ask questions, look carefully at where our money is being spent, push for provincial and federal funding wherever it’s available, and advocate for taking care of the essential infrastructure we already have.

To me, that’s one of the most basic responsibilities of municipal government.

And ultimately, I hope residents won’t have to take my word for it. Over the next four years, they’ll be able to look at my votes, the questions I’ve asked and the decisions I’ve supported and decide for themselves whether I’ve represented them well.