Mayor Ann Aikens
Inaugural Address
December 6, 2006
Good evening Council and welcome to the inaugural meeting of Deep River Council for the 2006-2010 term. This is the first time that municipalities in Ontario will have a four year governance mandate and going forward this will be both exciting and challenging times for Deep River. I commend all members of council for accepting the responsibilities that the voters have entrusted us with. Your willingness to serve your community for the next four years is a gift of time and commitment that needs to be recognized and respected. I am confident that each of you will exercise your duties and responsibilities in the best interests of the people that we have the pleasure to serve.
Building on the work of previous councils, I hope we will continue to share positive working relationships with our immediate neighbours in North Renfrew and throughout the County of Renfrew.
Our major employer, AECL, and other members of the business community like valu-mart and Canadian Tire, are adding significantly to the economic development opportunities for our town. We look forward to working with them and many other partners to create a community that will be attractive to new families in harmony with the expectations of our existing residents. Balancing our development needs with the heritage that makes us so special, in a way that is sustainable and fiscally responsible, will be a major challenge for council and members of municipal staff.
Like all municipalities, renewing our aging municipal infrastructure will pose significant budget issues for us. The new Gas Tax, the Move Ontario Grant and the new municipal funding formula will help, but at present there is no long-term commitment to these funding initiatives from our federal and provincial government partners. The new Municipal Act and the eighteen month Municipal/Provincial Funding Review could have a significant impact on our municipality. They need to be monitored carefully by council and staff.
Council will be in a better position to address these challenges if we can find a better way to engage the community in the discussions about how our community should respond to the changing demands and fiscal realities we are likely to experience. I think it is fair to say, that despite our attempts in the past, this is more difficult than we anticipated, but I remain personally committed to finding ways both formal and informal to encourage more public participation.
I would like to thank the retiring members of Council, Paul Rochefort, Andrew Celovsky and Chris Carroll and wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Thank you also to all the candidates who let their names stand for office but were not successful. I am sure that they will continue to serve Deep River in other ways.
I would also like to thank all of the municipal staff for their hard work, dedication and service to the residents of Deep River.
Finally, I would like to thank the members of our families, your patience and support during our term of office is greatly appreciated.
This community is a wonderful place to live and each of us has a different reason to call this our "Home Town". I look forward to the next four years as we work together to build on our past strengths, to ensure a sustainable, vibrant, prosperous and caring Deep River for our future.
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