Welcome back, dear readers, and Happy New Year. I hope that all had a joy-filled, relaxing holiday season. Here at The Independent, we are back to work after taking a semi-break over the past two weeks, and our first newspaper of 2025 has now been published.
So a new year begins, often a time of resolutions and goal setting for the year to come, which will, as always, bring with it a mix of challenges and celebrations.
With the holidays out of the way, I am very much looking forward to our council getting back to work next week, and for our council there are many challenges to be taken on in 2025.
The first challenge for our council will be the hunt for, and hiring of, a new CAO. The last time around it took several months, and I suspect it will this time as well. The Chief Administrative Officer is an important position, and it will be crucial for council to find the right candidate to take the reins of the municipality and guide it in a positive direction.
Before a new CAO is hired, council will first be taking a second crack at putting together budgets for 2025.
With the chaos and confusion caused by the first budget for 2025 presented to council in the autumn, council will see a second attempt at cobbling together operating and capital budgets for this municipality, hopefully without the projected double digit rate increase that would have been required with the first budget presented to council. While council had initially hoped to have a final budget approved and implemented by December 9, with council and staff basically starting over for a second attempt at creating the budgets, final approval of the budgets is now not expected until March 10.
The budget aside, there are many pressures facing our council in the coming year. The contentious pumped storage proposal will of course continue to be front and centre with council and with many residents.
Perhaps a greater pressure, and certainly a more costly one, the pending need for an expansion of our wastewater treatment plant, which will cost tens of millions of dollars, possibly as much as $130 million we have been told. Everyone hopes that the Municipality of Meaford will see significant funding from upper levels of government for this major and costly expansion, but thus far there has been no indication that there will be any funds coming our way for this project. Let’s hope that changes in 2025, because this is a project that could financially cripple this municipality for decades if we don’t see significant funding from outside sources.
The need for an expansion of the wastewater treatment plant aside, the pressure of ever increasing water and wastewater rates, which will only continue rising for the foreseeable future, will no doubt be top of mind for all members of council. A 36-slide presentation made to council by consultants Watson & Associates at council’s November 25 meeting made it clear that users of Meaford’s municipal water and wastewater services will only see their bills rise even more in the years to come. Those water and wastewater bills are forecast to as much as double over the next decade, and nobody wants to see that happen, but can it be avoided? Only time will tell I suppose.
Some things never change, and with each new year we know that roads and bridges are always major challenges for any municipal council, and such infrastructure is also costly. There are never enough dollars to repair, replace, or rehabilitate as much as anyone would like.
Though it is not supposed to be in the realm of municipal governance, in 2025 council will continue to see pressure to help address the growing issue of affordable housing and food insecurity. Over the past year we have seen many reports about both the growing food insecurity that is being experienced by many across the province, and here in the Municipality of Meaford. We have also heard much about the problem with housing affordability and the lack of rental properties to be found. People need to eat, and they need a roof over their heads, but if they can’t afford the rents, and if skyrocketing food costs prevent proper nutrition, then hardworking folks are certainly in a bind. The use of food banks has skyrocketed over the past few years, and there has been a growing call for some sort of a living wage, as minimum wage simply cannot pay the bills. If you work, in my opinion you should be able to live comfortably, you shouldn’t be fearing not having enough food to get through the month, and you certainly shouldn’t be paying more than half your wages for a substandard apartment.
Life is not all council meetings and serious issues however, and challenges aside, this community has much to look forward to in 2025.
From the farmers’ market to Summerfest, to the Scarecrow Invasion & Family Festival, this community and its large number of volunteers know how to create and host events that the community loves to attend.
This community can boast of many fun events, all driven by enthusiastic volunteers. In every season we have fantastic events to attend, including events like the Meaford & St. Vincent Fall Fair, or the Christmas on the Bay event at market square, and of course the Kinsmen’s Santa Claus Parade.
All of these events (and many more which I simply don’t have space to list) provide an escape from the harsh pressures of this modern world, and I don’t think any of us can thank all of those volunteers enough for the time and effort that they put into making them happen.
So there are many challenges ahead in 2025, but there will also be many opportunities for fun and celebration, so don’t let the serious issues get you down, there will be plenty of opportunities to set them aside in favour of having a little fun.
I wish all of our readers the best in 2025.
