|
Steve Morris, the eighth candidate to seek a city council seat in Ward 5, wants to offer voters a chance to choose fiscal restraint. “I believe that council has made a lot of wasteful decisions in the past few years,” Morris said. “Consultants have been paid a lot of taxpayer money every year to tell council what staff wants them to hear.” Morris, a landlord who has lived in Brantford for 25 years, said the city should not be undertaking capital projects that aren’t absolutely necessary. “Capital projects have been frivolous and foisted on the taxpayers by special interest groups,” he said. “We have a chance to do proper maintenance and not go chasing pie in the sky. Our roads need to be fixed.” Morris said the Brantford Tourism Centre is an example of wasted capital, suggesting the number of visitors don’t nearly justify the expense. When it comes to some big-ticket projects, like the south side of Colborne Street or the Greenwich-Mohawk brownfield, Morris said he couldn’t do anything about money that has already been committed. “There is no point in criticizing the past,” he said. But he said they are exactly the type of “pet projects” he would vote against. As proof of his commitment to saving taxpayers money, Morris said he would not accept his council wages. “If you elect me, I will work for free,” he said. Competing against Morris for two Ward 5 seats in the Oct. 25 municipal election are incumbents John Bradford and Marguerite Ceschi-Smith, along with candidates Donald Haddow, Tim Philp, Chris Markell, Frank More and Dwight Ayerhart.
|
RSS
PRINT
