Mayor Don McIsaac and city council have been governing Orillia residents for a year. We asked the mayor and council five key questions about the first year of their four-year term. We will publish their answers, verbatim, over the next five days.
Today, they answer the following question:
Could you tell us what you think council's most important accomplishment has been this past year? Why?
Mayor Don McIsaac
The most important advancement to me is that we did not lose sight of council’s goals which were established at the beginning of the term. We developed four priorities that focused on supporting Orillians:
- helping our most vulnerable
- strengthening the community
- placing the community first
- business retention and culture.
Council, with the help of staff, have brought actions to each of those priorities that are making real positive impacts. They became the baseline for our budget. Social services are contracted out by the city to the county, council saw a need to support the most vulnerable in our community, and we have worked to bring those in Orillia support not previously provided by the municipality.
While there is still a long way to go with addressing each priority, the decisions made in 2023 are making real positive impacts and we have set our course.
David Campbell (Ward 1)
I think our biggest accomplishment has been our ability to work together. To agree on priorities and actually work on finding solutions. This is a very different council from the last one. With five people that have never been on council before, there has been a lot of different ideas discussed.
However, together, we have been able to find issues that we all agree need to be priorities and we have worked at finding ways to address them. In terms of actual action items, I think that we should be proud that we now have ride sharing in the city, of the Centennial Drive redevelopment, the Laclie Street rebuild to name a few.
Whitney Smith (Ward 1)
One of our most significant accomplishments this past year on the city council has been the successful implementation of the short-term rental bylaw. This accomplishment is a testament to our commitment to addressing a pressing need voiced by our residents.
The bylaw not only ensures greater accountability and compliance among short-term rental operators but also introduces the municipal accommodation tax (MAT) for each rental. This tax, similar to what local hotels contribute, promotes fairness in the hospitality industry while generating revenue for our community.
In essence, this achievement is a win-win for Orillia. It reflects our dedication to listening to our citizens and creating positive change that benefits our community as a whole.
Ralph Cipolla (Ward 2)
For me personal is heading the mayor's task force on the opioid crises in our community and coming up with some solutions that will save lives.
With the help of our team, Coun. Durnford and I will work to get a community drop-in centre.
In the past year, one of the council's most significant accomplishments has the been reconstruction of Centennial Drive and Laclie Street. This achievement has positively impacted our community by attracting tourism and better transportation. Also, keeping the taxes below 2%.
Luke Leatherdale (Ward 2)
I think council's most important accomplishment this past year has been keeping our basic services intact, and turning our focus to current problems, happening right now, such as homelessness, affordable housing, and the opioid crisis. I am proud this council is tackling the tough stuff, paving the way for solutions which will benefit Orillia as a whole.
Jeff Czetwerzuk (Ward 3)
I believe council's biggest accomplishment is working as a team to set key priorities that we all heard from constituents during the campaign.
These are:
- Helping the community with things that matter such as physician recruitment, housing, investing in improving roads infrastructure and services, protecting the city’s natural beauty and implementing the Climate Change Action Plan.
- Looking at ways to help our most vulnerable, such as those facing homelessness, mental health and the opioid crisis.
- Strengthening community participation/engagement through equity, diversity, inclusion and truth and reconciliation.
- Business retention and expansion and arts and culture.
Council has done a great job so far adhering to the priorities while making difficult decisions. It is a personal goal of mine to help make this community the best possible place for the citizens of Orillia.
Jay Fallis (Ward 3)
Affordable housing and poverty reduction: Although we are far from meeting the needs of our community, this council has made several sizeable commitments that represent a move towards significant improvement.
This has included (among other things): the hiring of an Affordable Housing Coordinator, funding and support for the city's warming centre, increasing the annual commitment to the affordable housing reserve by over $200,000/year along with some further short-term increases, moving forward on a city-wide poverty reduction strategy and the adoption of a new Affordable Housing Report.
These are important commitments in ensuring that those in low-income brackets within Orillia have the opportunity to live with dignity. Anyone from a single mother earning minimum wage to a homeless man recovering from a traumatic experience can benefit a great deal from affordable housing. Poverty can affect anyone and everyone, and we as a community win big when we support those impacted.
Janet-Lynne Durnford (Ward 4)
Two budgets with tax rate increases far lower than the rate of inflation, without any major service cuts, could be considered our most important accomplishment — however, most of the credit goes to the city staff.
Personally, I consider efforts to help the community with things that matter as our most important accomplishments. We have hired an affordable housing coordinator, adopted an AH action plan, and increased contributions to the AH reserve. We’ve established working groups to address homelessness and the addiction crisis in Orillia, and that work is ongoing.
We’re moving forward with a plan to create a community hub and address the stigma of addiction, in partnership with Georgian College and the county. We’ve approved the creation of a poverty reduction strategy for the city, in partnership with Lakehead University. We’re at the beginning of changes that will benefit everyone in Orillia, and particularly the most vulnerable.
Tim Lauer (Ward 4)
The first year of a new term of council is always a challenge, even more so this term as we have five new members joining four incumbents. There is a huge amount of information as well as council procedures to get your head around. I have been impressed with how quickly everyone has gotten up to speed and how we have new initiatives coming from every member of council.
Watch for the second part of this five-part series tomorrow.
