Council should keep the Town sustainable by supporting our local businesses, which then supports employment for residents, and also helps to keep amenities thriving. The town should also platform affordable programs that support families where it can. A good example of this are summer camps that are both quality and affordable. And, most importantly the Town needs to innovate where it can to keep cost for the corporation low, and therefore keep taxes low. This will involve empowering staff to find partnerships, sponsors, and cost savings, and be innovative when delivering vital services like road maintenance and water and sanitation services. A quick example is increasing the capacity of our public works staff so that more work can be undertaken in-house, given the rising costs of contracted road work.

The most pressing issue facing the Town of Petawawa is growth. Growth is inevitable, and in the context of rising costs, it could be problematic if we don’t plan to grow, as well. Petawawa is the community of choice for CNL workers and the Garrison is on track to grow. We need to get ahead of this growth and make sure that our services and our capacity is never lagging behind our needs. This includes water and sewer capacity, as well as the size of our fire hall and our fire fleet. The Town has taken many important steps to prepare for growth, including commissioned a fire master plan, a recreation master plan, a servicing master plan, and is undertaking a stress test of the water treatment plant. The next step, and how we address growth, is to thoughtfully expand and invest in new facilities, like a new ice surface at the civic center, without over-building or overextending.

There is a need to continue to increase services to youth and children, and a need to maintain the programs and services that are offered to seniors. We are a community that receives SALC (Senior’s Active Living Center) funding, which goes directly to support the Seniors Center, formerly Silver Threads, and provides much needed social and recreation opportunities to the senior population. This is a positive for our residents and our town. However, Petawawa also has a large proportion of youth. There are many young families in Petawawa who would benefit from increased child care spaces, a dedicated youth center, and more summer camp spaces. Some of these services the Town can provide directly, like summer camps and a youth center, and the Town can continue to advocate to the Province for more child care spaces, and do what it can to host these spaces.

Town staff salaries keep pace with inflation because the Town is a quality employer. Therefore, the rate of increase to Petawawa’s property tax should be at or below the level of inflation. The Town should make use of every tool in its box to keep quality services and meet the demands of growth without allowing the burden to fall on municipal taxpayers. Innovation, partnerships, grants, and funding can support this goal. There is also the idea of inter-generational fairness. It is on this generation to pay their fair share in terms of property taxes, and to make the necessary investments to keep this town sustainable. A repair is cheaper than a replacement, and we need to keep maintenance as a priority. At the same time, current property taxpayers cannot bear the brunt of investment needs. Where we are building infrastructure and resources that will be used over decades, debt financing is appropriate to avoid over-burdening current ratepayers.