If elected, mayoral candidate Bill Crumplin says he will govern based around five themes, inlcuding keeping tax hikes to the rate of inflation, improving city roads and stopping the Kingsway Entertainment District.
“Besides the obvious issues like improving roads, keeping taxes as low as possible and improving water quality, I have heard from many young adults in the 20 to 35 age range,” Crumplin writes. “They desire career jobs in our city because they like the lifestyle Sudbury offers and they want to live and raise their children here. That’s great news, now we need to design a city that creates growth, that provides communities where we and others want to live.”
Crumplin says he will “insist” the city repair and maintain existing roads before considering major new ones.
“I will insist on improving water protection and include lake and river stewardship organizations, and Vale Living With Lakes to assist in improving water quality,” he writes. “This will also include pursuing safe and affordable substitutes for winter salt.”
As far as the Kingsway Entertainment District, Crumplin says he's opposed to building in areas where infrastructure has to be added.
“In order to keep taxes as low as possible, we must maximize existing infrastructure investments while minimizing servicing costs,” he writes. “This means intensifying and encouraging development in areas where infrastructure currently exists.”
Crumplin also said he will open discussions with CP Rail to move the railyard from downtown, a project estimated to cost as much as $1 billion.
“As mayor I will (also) insist on an enhanced presence of our social services, the health unit and police to assist homeless and drug addicts improve their lives while making our downtown a safe and welcoming environment for all,” Crumplin writes. “I will work with or without senior levels of government to sponsor safe injection sites.”
Full text of Bill Crumplin's platform
Changing the City Together
As a candidate for mayor of the Greater City of Sudbury I have been consulting with a cross-section of citizens to understand what they want Sudbury to be in the near future. I have also worked closely with my team to distill these hopes, goals and ideas into a platform that hinges around five major themes.
I will continue my consultations during the campaign and after being elected mayor to assist me in working with council, management and staff to provide respectful service to our citizens for the greater good of all.
Besides the obvious issues like improving roads, keeping taxes as low as possible and improving water quality, I have heard from many young adults in the 20 to 35 age range. They desire career jobs in our city because they like the lifestyle Sudbury offers and they want to live and raise their children here. That’s great news, now we need to design a city that creates growth, that provides communities where we and others want to live.
My Vision
To attract and keep young people in our community, people who want to raise families and build wealth in a community where everyone is intent on improving the economy, the ecosystem and human health by fostering relationships between local businesses and city hall while using urban design to transition and expand Sudbury’s economy to meet the needs of the 21st Century.
1) Improve Roads and Infrastructure
I will insist that we repair and maintain our existing roads before considering major new ones. I will work with the roads department to publish road, water main and sewer improvement schedules on the city.
I will, with council’s backing, have the city adopt MTO road construction regulations complete with requisite inspections during construction. New contracts will include penalties for violations of requirements and signage will be installed at the beginning of new pavement indicating contractor, contract number, completion date and length of new asphalt.
I will insist that the standard of road painting change in the name of safety.
I will insist on improving water protection and include lake and river stewardship organizations and Vale Living With Lakes to assist in improving water quality. This will also include pursuing safe and affordable substitutes for winter salt.
In light of our changing weather patterns and climate change impacts, I will champion merging bio-engineering with traditional methods to handle storm water.
2) Instil Open and Transparent Government Processes
I will provide leadership by creating an environment where debate will be welcomed in the name of seeking solutions that best serve the greater good of our communities.
I will hold myself and council responsible for having respectful interactions within and between council, management, staff and citizens. I will ensure that our charter and a code of ethics is followed.
I will listen to the advice of senior staff and professional consultants and follow it when such advice be in the best interest of the greater good of our city. I will encourage council to do the same.
Investigate and implement when and where possible, holding council meetings in various communities of Greater Sudbury. This will allow me and council to better understand the city-wide implications of our decisions.
To create trust and true openness I will implement a publicly available lobbyist registry for firms or individuals that meet with myself or members of council. This will allow for more transparency and accountability for citizens and councillors alike.
In addition to modifying the 311 service to link point of contact staff to callers and allow staff to call back if need be, I will work with senior management to establish one official city electronic platform that allows citizen input on matters of interest. Citizens will know that there exists an official and open form of communicating with council.
3) Undertake Community and City Building Through Urban Design
I oppose the KED and casino development for economic and urban design reasons. In order to keep taxes as low as possible, we must maximize existing infrastructure investments while minimizing servicing costs. This means intensifying and encouraging development in areas where infrastructure currently exists.
We must prioritise renewing our existing infrastructure with the needs of citizens and our changing environment over the next 50+ years in mind. I will work to ensure renovations are completed for municipal buildings to make them safe and healthy for employees and that building life is maximized.
I will champion partnerships with Greater Sudbury Utilities and industry to explore energy generation options, like using heat from below surface mines to produce geo-thermal electricity and other alternative forms of energy.
I would open discussions with CP Rail to move the rail yard from downtown
As a regular user of transit, I know first-hand that we must seek innovative ways to increase its use while addressing transit operator safety.
As mayor I will insist on an enhanced presence of our social services, the health unit and police to assist homeless and drug addicts improve their lives while making our downtown a safe and welcoming environment for all. I will work with or without senior levels of government to sponsor safe injection sites.
I will champion the Elgin Greenway development and a unique area within our urban core that will be attractive for shopping, entertainment, socializing, walking and biking. I will work with businesses to pursue the creation of a pedestrian market downtown (along the lines of the By Ward Market in Ottawa), perhaps along Durham Street, and allow cafes, patios, and sidewalk sales. Similar investments need to be made in all of our community downtowns and main streets where desirable.
I will, with the planning department, explore using Transferable Development Rights to encourage developers to supply low-income, rental and entry level housing to be built in areas of need and to identify areas for “tiny homes”, a housing solution that has become very popular in other communities. In addition, I will work with council and the planning department to permit in-law suites and small in-home businesses, along with allowing for neighbourhood convenience stores and services where infrastructure is in place.
4) Diversify the Economy and Establish Sudbury as City of Science and Innovation
We must support education, health, high-tech businesses and the arts to attract millennials to not only stay in our community but attract other investment that brings jobs and increases our tax base.
I will personally promote our lifestyle: our nature, lakes, arts and culture, diversity and, of course, our sports facilities that are all easily assessible.
I will seek to rejuvenate and support the department of economic development and Innovation by identifying emerging economic sectors for attracting new career job development. I would insist on establishing clear measurable targets for new career jobs where the department would be responsible for demonstrating its success in growing our economy.
I would create an ongoing partnership where the economic development department would demonstrate continous collaboration with the talented creative people in our health, education, business, technology, and industrial sectors to seek new and innovative ways that set us up for success.
5) Budget and Taxes
I would insist that we make every effort to tie tax increases to the cost of living recognizing that decisions of previous councils may have hand-cuffed us to obligations that are beyond our control.
I would work with council to offer free tipping fees for one week in July and to allow overnight parking on New Year’s and St. Patrick’s Day.
I would insist that reporting of spending be explained in a way that a taxpayers can fully understand the tax value they receive based on service levels. While broad percentages may be of interest to some I am certain many citizens wish to better understand the value of their contribution.
Finally, and most importantly I will pursue a tax relief program for seniors. Our seniors are the foundation of our city. Some in this group, due to the cost of living, find themselves struggling to stay in their homes. Therefore, I will pursue a tax relief plan for seniors over the age of 65 so that they can utilize the equity in their home to pay further tax increases when they sell or change the ownership of their homes. Qualified seniors would pay their base tax rates but would see no further increases and not have to pay tax increases until they sell their home. I would seek to offer a similar program to those tax payers who are recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program.
