Healthy planned growth keeps taxes from rising. As a town councillor I will support our existing businesses and encourage others to relocate to Cochrane to improve our tax base. As we update the Economic Development Strategy, we need to focus on adding fibre optics to every new road, business area and sub-division. We have the ability to do this with no overhead to the town, just the attraction and retention of businesses with faster and more reliable Internet.
As a councillor, I would continue to watch for grants and provincial incentives that would help Cochrane balance the economic, environmental and social bottom lines. We need to become sustainable, which means saving more dollars before developing big projects and not living beyond our means.
As a councillor, I will work with the community to support and recognize our volunteer base. Volunteers make this community the great place that it is to live and their contributions are priceless.
They fill gaps in community services such as holding events, providing food hampers and clothing, dealing with trauma and the court system as well as offering lunches in schools and mentoring programs to youth (to name a few). People are our most valuable resource.
