When we think of municipal governance, we most often think of elected members of council and municipal staff, but there is another crucial component to effective governance, and that is via advisory committees to council.
Any municipal council can benefit from advice provided by residents. Our community has a wealth of residents with a wide range of experience and expertise...
Budget season is never simple, there are many pressures, many needs, and never enough money to make everyone happy. Such is the nature of municipal budget season.
On Friday of last week, members of council gathered for their first full day of budget deliberations. The focus of the first day of budget talks was the operating budget, with the capital...
This winter season has been a mixed bag of unseasonably warm temperatures with a burst of traditional winter weather here and there. While some might be loving the warmer than normal winter, with less snow than we are accustomed to, the fluctuations in weather and temperature present problems, frustrations, and even dangers.
On my walk to the office on Monday...
Though there are often complaints at municipal budget time, a quick look around the county will tell you that this year, by comparison, the Municipality of Meaford is starting off in a very good position to begin budget deliberations.
As presented to council at Monday's meeting, the draft budgets for 2024 require a 5.57 percent levy increase, and a projected...
With 2023 now in our rear view mirrors, a new year is unfolding before us. A new year is often a time for hope. Hope for a better year ahead, hope for improvement, hope for growth and prosperity.
As one year ends we tend to reflect upon the year that has been. We recall our successes along with our failures,...
In just ten days, 2023 will come to an end, and a new year will begin. This week's newspaper is our final paper of 2023, and after we have delivered the newspapers on Thursday, our small team here at The Meaford Independent will be taking a break until the new year, with our next paper to be published on...
On Monday of this week, council's final meeting of 2023 was held, wrapping up what has been a busy first year for this council.
I have often written that I do not envy our elected representatives on council. It's a tough job that requires a very thick skin, many hours of work, and the pay, well, it isn't all that...
When the holiday season that many of us are currently gearing up for is over, and the new year begins, council's attention will turn to the 2024 municipal budgets, and all signs indicate that it will be a rocky road toward finalizing the budgets for next year.
Some members of Council have already openly expressed their fears of the coming...
With the first round of snow squalls to hit us this season, the Municipality of Meaford was able to test their recently implemented 'Significant Weather Event' policy. I saw some confusion, along with some scoffing on social media, with some making an assumption that such a declaration meant that the municipality had ceased road clearing operations until the squalls...
The holiday season is fast approaching, and in Meaford the season will officially kick off next week, as the second annual Christmas on the Bay event will be held over four days at Market Square beside Meaford Hall, beginning Thursday, November 30.
The Christmas on the Bay event includes a traditional market that is a nod to the traditional holiday...
