Responses

Question

How would you spend 10 million if the region had an extra 10 million in its budget? For instance 10 million would build 30 housing units. Answering that you would decrease property taxes breaks the intent of the question.

Why did people answer on different days?

I reached out to regional council candidates on different days. I initially reached out to candidates who are not currently in office in order to be better informed personally prior to deciding to reach out to all of the candidates and share the answers. Candidates have a busy schedule. Some are balancing work in addition to campaigning. Answering a random e-mail is not a particularly high priority.

Candidates might choose to update their answers as they talk to constituents. Updating an answer is - at least in my opinion - a good thing.   

Responses

Huxted, Kim - Responded on Sept 28

What a nice windfall that would be!

I think I would use the money for an addiction rehabilitation center that would include the support needed for those with addiction and mental health issues, to assist with their road to recovery. I believe that if we can get them past their first hurdle, we can reduce their dependence on the rest of the social services they are currently using to handle emergencies .

I would hope that some funds would be left over so that at the very minimum we could see a tax freeze for the residents that is desperately needed.

James, Colleen - Responded on Sept 28

If the Region had an additional $10 million, I would put it into a strategic infrastructure and growth reserve rather than spend it immediately. 

We are growing, and we know that future needs will include water and wastewater capacity, transit, roads and other critical infrastructure. Development charges are an important tool for funding eligible growth-related infrastructure, but they do not cover every cost or every future pressure associated with growth. We need to be financially disciplined and plan for those gaps before they become a crisis.

Putting the $10 million into reserve would strengthen the Region’s financial position and give us flexibility when a significant infrastructure need arises. It could help offset future costs that cannot be fully funded through development charges, reduce pressure on property taxes, and protect our ability to maintain essential services. This also will give us leeway when we are asked to do more with less from upper levels of government who continue to cut our funding.

I believe good financial stewardship means resisting the temptation to spend money simply because we have it. It bothers me when requests come to use our reserve funds! This means we have to look ahead, setting money aside when we can, and making sure we have the financial capacity to meet the needs of a growing community.

In short: I would save the $10 million strategically today so taxpayers have more options tomorrow.

Meksavanh, Anna - Responded on Sept 2

I will approach this with the mindset that this money cannot resolve one matter perfectly, but rather what can it do to make things a little better somewhere. These are the things in order that I would put the money towards:

1. Affordable Housing
2. More childcare spaces
3. More health teams providing equitable patient centered care
4. Community spaces throughout the region where the region can engage directly with residents, versus residents having to go to one of the main regional buildings (150 Frederick Street, 150 Main Street, or 99 Regina Street)
5. Provide more GRT/LRT service to close gaps on less efficient routes and in the townships

Rodrigues, Matt - responded on Sept 10

I love the question about how to spend an extra $10 million and agree that reducing property taxes is not an appropriate answer.

My website sets out a comprehensive platform for more homes, better infrastructure, and transit you can count on. I would first allocate $3 million to expand eviction prevention and portable rent supplements to help people stay housed and reduce pressure on emergency shelters and homelessness services. This would nearly double the amount that we currently spend. I would allocate an additional $3 million to infrastructure renewal, including road and trail re-surfacing, to help reduce costs over time and deliver reliable services residents expect with consistency and care. I would allocate an additional $1 million to transit priority measures, such as bus priority signals and bus lanes, to speed up transit and make transit a first choice across Kitchener, not a last resort. I would allocate an additional $3 million to upgrade more roundabouts near schools with raised crosswalks and flashing pedestrian signals so that more kids feel safe walking to school.

White, Kevin - Responded on Aug 30

I think you've correctly identified that affordable housing remains a consistent challenge.

The $10 million question is rather an odd one. Referring to the Waterloo Region Community Foundation's 2023 Vital Signs Report, an investment in 30 affordable units could make a lot of sense, contributing in theory to reducing the affordable housing waitlist of well over 7,000 households. Alternatively, there could be a number of public service positions created that would see people earning wages that could also help to house people and/or support tenants through eviction prevention, legal representation, transportation, landlord licensing, rental registries, and so on. When the Region is suddenly given $10 million dollars, what projects in stasis suddenly become possible? Everything from arts and culture funding, operational funding for social services with waitlists, public transit routes, accessibility services for those with mobility issues or other disabilities, infrastructure to support future developments, and more. Narrowing down possibilities is difficult, and the principle of affected interest has to be considered in terms of any policy development. My primary concern would be whether the spending could be directly connected to the core value of "care for people and the land we share", and when we look at areas of need, whether that's supporting literacy programs and libraries in underserved communities or housing projects, being able to align that value and have transparent understanding of that alignment is critical

Wisniewski, Michael - Responded on Sept 28

I'm running for Regional Council because of an issue I'm having with a local business that also happens to have a contract with the Region of Waterloo.

That business has asked me to take my patronage of their service elsewhere while refusing to provide an explanation as to why.

My position is that Waterloo Taxi Ltd., if they wish to keep their MobilityPlus contract, has to provide me, and Waterloo Taxi's shareholders, an explanation as to why I was told to take my business elsewhere.

So, if Waterloo Taxi wanted any of that money from your question, they would have to provide that explanation first. Beyond that, I would hear all suggestions, in good faith, as to what the best use of such a windfall would be.