• New growth costs money.  New growth should pay for itself. However, all new growth is not same
• 1 million sq ft office complex employs 25 times as many people as an industrial compound of same size.   However, they both pay same development charge (should they?)
• Other municipalities already do this.  Development Charge in Guelph for above structure is around $3 million.  In Halton it is $17 million
• Employers don’t just cost money. They pay higher property taxes, and bring in much needed jobs and economic growth.  All this leads to higher property values and quality of life for all of us
• Business pay a much higher property tax rate (residential tax-rate is < 1%.  For Office buildings it’s ~2.25%.  Industrial it’s close to 3.5%)

So the question is, should these “high employers” (office complexes, not retail spaces) pay less development charge than other commercial constructions considering all the benefit they bring in to the community? 

The Region should do this for high quality employers.  A one million square foot office building employs about 25 times as many people as an industrial compound of the same size.  Is it anything less than insanity that both pay same development charges? Should we not look at the benefits office buildings bring to the community, in the form of employment and property taxes, and subsidize their development charges?

For comparison, DC on such a building in Guelph is only $3 million while in Halton they pay around $17 million.  

Walmart is smart enough to know that some customers are more valuable than others.  It willingly loses money on hardcover books to attract these customers.  Is Halton smart enough to recognize that some businesses are better than others?  Is Halton smart enough to lose money on DC up front for these businesses, knowing that it will more than make up for the loss later in extra property taxes and economic growth?

1. Put all documents and meeting minutes online, promptly.
2. Do virtual public input session online to complement normal ones that require people to show up at 7:30pm on a weekday (that mere mortals with day jobs, family commitments and other obligations find hard to do).
3. Create and maintain a moderated discussion forum where issues can be discussed. Milton is bursting with talent, only if the town would tap into it.
4. Stream (live) all public meetings.
5. Maintain a strong presence in social networking sites.  Business are using it, why not municipalities?
6. Start an official town blog where the Mayor, Councillors and different subcommittees take turn posting.  Why not? 

None of these initiatives cost much at all.  In fact, some may save money in the long run. 

I have done all my banking online for at least a decade.  In fact, all my financial accounts (from RRSP to regular investments) were set up without ever setting foot in a bank.  Every major electronics in my house, including my TV, fridge, stove and dishwasher, were purchased online.  For my generation, I am more of a rule than an exception.

Yet municipalities, including Milton, insist on conducting business the way it was done decades ago. Is it any surprise that younger residence no longer participate?

About 20 children starved to death in the time it took you to read this post.  We cannot single-headedly eliminate hunger, but every little helps. I am not going to recommend a specific charity, but there are many great ones out there.  Lets take a moment to share our good fortunes with those who are less fortunate. 

I must add, you do not have to go very far.  Each month over 700,000 Canadians receive food from a food bank, over a third of which are children. 

We really don’t need terrorists attacks to unite us. 

This can be further extended to starting projects on an experimental basis knowing that it may fail.  Sometimes people are hesitant to do something until they are certain it is the right thing to do.  The problem is that often we don’t know if something is worth doing until after we have tried it. 

Companies take risk all the time. They experiment, start projects and happily cancel them when their bet doesn’t pay off.  Very few people remember Apple Newton, its first handheld platform that it experimented with for a decade until finally giving up in 1998.  It’s hugely successful iPhone would never have happened without that risk-taking. 

Now the question is, how should we extend that attitude to municipalities? Specifically, what are some areas Milton can experiment with, knowing that it’s experimenting?  How should Milton communicate that to the residents so a failed experiment is seen as a success (since it teaches something)?

To paraphrase Seth Godin, if I wanted to hobble an organization (or even a country), I’d wish these traits on them.  Does this sound like your municipality?

The driver then went to the right and started to pass me. I noticed cars were parked on the right, but that didn’t stop the driver. He got very close to hitting parked cars and suddenly moved right in front of me, cutting me off (fortunately I knew he was going to do that, so I slowed down pre-emptively).

Honestly, what the heck is wrong with people? First, I was driving a minivan full of kids. Second, it’s a single lane road. Third, if you must pass anyway, pass on the left, not right. Fourth, it was a residential neighbourhood. What if a kid came from behind a car, not expecting an idiot to be flying down the street so close to the curb.

When a lady zoomed passed me (a couple of months ago, on Scott) crossing the street with my 5 and 2 year olds, I thought I had seen it all. Unfortunately, I hadn’t.  I am tempted to just publish the license plate number.

Slow down people, seriously, it’s not worth killing someone over.

This upfront planning will allow Milton to consolidate townhomes and condos (low to mid-rises) around major arteries.  Cities that have successful (and financially efficient) transit systems do so by increasing population density around major transit routes. 

Derry is a major artery into and out of town and yet if you drive on Derry, most construction you see around Derry is single family homes. New subdivisions have condos, village homes and town homes, but these are scattered all over the subdivision instead of being consolidated around transit routes.

That means two things:

1) either most people have to walk a lot to get to a bus, which isn’t always practical (and is a disincentive)
or
2) The town has to make buses to inside neighbourhoods to reach more people, which makes transit inefficient (and is a disincentive)