Stephen Vance, Editor
The expansion of the Community Improvement Plan (CIP) incentive program makes a lot of sense. The first years of the program provided grants for businesses in the CIP area to make improvements to their street-facing façades, and it proved to be popular, resulting in real and obvious improvements to several buildings in the downtown core.We've all driven...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Being a politics junkie has its downside – especially in presidential election years south of the border. I get sucked in. I log on to The Young Turks (TYT) website to follow every Republican and Democratic debate and town hall. I jump between the TYT website and the MSNBC website and CBS and so on, on primary...
Stephen Vance, Editor
With the massive study into the services delivered by the municipality set to begin in less than two months, residents might want to brace themselves for a reality check.
Many residents have been calling for such a review for years, in large part based on the belief that the municipality is over-staffed, causing Meaford ratepayers to be over-taxed.In...
Stephen Vance, Editor
One of the most common criticisms I hear about our members of municipal council is also the most inaccurate criticism I hear – that our councillors make too much money, and they should take a pay cut before ever raising taxes.
“Council should slash their pay before increasing taxes,” is a commonly held belief, particularly around budget time....
Stephen Vance, Editor
The end of February is fast approaching, and while it has been a strange winter that has cycled through warm and cold spells, major snow storms and bright sunny days, the planned experimentation with the delivery or Meaford's winter road maintenance service seems to have worked well.
No major accidents that have been attributed to poorly maintained roads...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Several species in the animal kingdom cope with winter by going into hibernation, and no doubt many of us human types wish we could hibernate through the cold, snowy winter months as well.
While some of us might prefer the opportunity to tuck ourselves in at the beginning of January and not return until the snow begins to...
Stephen Vance, Editor
What would the Municipality of Meaford look like without its volunteers? The services provided by the municipality or other levels of government are frequently and widely discussed and debated, but what about all of those unpaid hours given up by everyday citizens that help fill the gaps that are left behind after government and the private sector...
Stephen Vance, Editor
I hope at least some of our seven members of council take Meaford's Treasurer up on his offer for them to ride along for a shift with one of the municipal snow plow operators. The experience would no doubt be a valuable one, and perhaps they shouldn't stop there.
Just as I believe that upper management types in...
Stephen Vance, Editor
It has certainly been a depressing few weeks in the newspaper business as another round of layoffs and paper closures has punched the industry in the gut once again.
Our nation's largest daily newspaper, the Toronto Star, dropped the axe on nearly 300 employees with the announcement that they would close their printing plant, and instead outsource the...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Meaford councillor Tony Bell was clearly frustrated Monday night, as he attempted to draw out of the municipal treasurer (who doubles as the top dog in the roads department) just what he is supposed to say to ratepayers who phone him to complain about the state of their roads now that the winter snow has arrived.It was...
