City Council will be spending several nights next week reviewing the draft operating and capital budget for 2017. I’ve had a chance to read through the highlights, and I’m very pleased city staff are proposing a budget that limits the tax increase to 2.5% while maintaining all existing frontline services. By finding efficiencies, growing the…
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Check out the latest version of From the Mayor’s Chair, where I break down the decisions of Council in 3 minutes or less. Highlights from the November 15 Council meeting included a re-vote on the Capitol condominium project without the participation of Councillor Candon, following the integrity commissioners report , also resulting from the integrity commissioners…
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Earlier this fall the Ontario government gave the green light for any municipality in the province to change its electoral system from the traditional ‘First Past the Post’ system (FPTP) to a ranked ballot system. Details will be presented in a report from staff at our November 15 council meeting. As a reminder of the…
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Check out the latest version of From the Mayor’s Chair, where I break down the decisions of Council in 3 minutes or less. Highlights from the November 1 Council meeting include receiving the integrity commissioners report outlining the investigation into Councillor Candon’s participation in the Capitol condominium project vote (for more information read my statement on…
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As mayor, the conduct and integrity of our city council is of upmost importance to me. Our community needs to have confidence in the decisions we make. On October 4th I brought forward a motion, supported unanimously by council, to hire an integrity commissioner to conduct an investigation as to whether Councillor Adam Candon breached…
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Although hard to believe it’s been 2 years since being elected your mayor, it’s certainly been busy and exciting as I work to make Kingston a Smart and Livable 21st Century City! To mark the halfway point, I wanted to provide both a review of the last 2 years, and a preview of what to…
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Last month Council received a letter from Kingston Accommodation Partners (commonly known as KAP), expressing their support for the proposed Third Crossing bridge project. KAP is a respected tourism organization that oversees much of the tourism activity in Kingston, and has championed the move toward the new ‘fresh made daily’ tourism marketing brand for the…
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We’ve reached an exciting phase in the visioning process for Kingston Penitentiary and Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. This week public workshops were held to explore and develop potential options for the property. Four options – all with different ways that we could mix heritage, green space, marina access and other new developments – were explored to…
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Check out the latest version of From the Mayor’s Chair, where I break down the decisions of Council in 3 minutes or less. Highlights from the October 4 Council meeting include approval of the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation request for $6.5M over 5 years towards their fundraising campaign, approval of the hiring of an integrity commissioner…
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At this week’s City Council meeting, Council voted to approve $6.5 million towards a new fundraising campaign by the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation (UHKF). This campaign is directed toward new state-of-the-art equipment and facilities like an expanded neo-natal intensive care unit and modernized operating rooms. Over the next five years the City will contribute $1.3…
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