When looking at the changes town will go through in the next few years, we have to look at what timelines are realistic for the goals we have. In a year, five years, or 20 years – what does that Coalhurst look like?
Let me share a few of my ideas.
Lets start with Short Term Goals (within the first year)
I think my first goal and biggest goal would be communication.
What is the town doing? What’s going on at this location in town? What are the timelines for town events? These are questions I’ve heard while out and about talking with Coalhurstians. Often the news is disjointed and in scattered locations at best. I’d like to see more of a coordinated effort from town. What does that mean? Lets start utilizing some of the things that are in place. The town calendar and website? We should be using that to list all activities in town. Council meetings, events for the 55 Plus Society, Legion activity, Parks and Rec Society, and your events. They should all be on there. Lets have one place we can go to know what’s happening in town.
In addition to this I’d like to see one spot where the town can be proactive in telling us what’s going on. Did you know there’s a plan to get pathways put in by the canal that is supposed to start this year? I’ve been told this information from conversations – why is this not on the town website for others to see? I feel information like this should be easy for you and I to access. This would help add transparency to how our tax money is being spent.
Following up with communication I’d like to mention accountability.
If I become elected to council I’d like to provide information for where that tax money is being spent. We can compare our town against similar sized towns to see if we are getting the most bang for our buck. Something as simple as a report can be used to show that we are doing our best to be fiscally responsible while trying to achieve our goals.
I don’t like paying taxes and I’m certain I’m not the only one that shares this feeling. If I had an understanding of where that money was going that would be a lot easier to justify.
I also have thoughts on medium and long term goals as well but you’ll have to keep an eye out to see what they are.