A successful city creates opportunities for everyone to play their part.
Prosperity isn't just about how much a city grows. It's about whether that growth creates opportunities for the people who live here and whether we make smart choices about the resources we have to support it.
Barrie is attracting investment, welcoming new businesses and creating new opportunities. That's something to build on. But as one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, Barrie's growth also puts pressure on infrastructure, transportation, housing and municipal services.
For me, prosperity means creating the conditions for people and businesses to succeed while making sure growth pays its way and taxpayer dollars are treated with respect.
A growing city should create opportunity, not simply increase costs for its citizens and businesses.
Remind me that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than increasing its speed. Let me look upward into the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. – Orin L. Crain
A city that creates opportunities to succeed.
Local businesses are an important part of what makes Barrie work. They create jobs, bring activity to our neighbourhoods and downtown and contribute to the character of the community. We should make it easier for businesses to operate, grow and invest here by creating safe, welcoming places to do business.
Investment matters too. Responsible development creates jobs, expands the tax base and helps provide the resources a growing city needs to invest in infrastructure and services.
We don't have to choose between economic growth and protecting what makes Barrie special. We can and need to do both.
Growth needs infrastructure to support it.
A successful city needs infrastructure that keeps up with the people and businesses who depend on it. That means investing in roads, transit and the infrastructure beneath our streets, while finding smarter and more sustainable ways to pay for it. Development should contribute appropriately to the infrastructure needed to support new growth. The City needs to pursue provincial and federal funding and carefully manage the infrastructure we already have.
Transit needs the same practical thinking. Investment should improve the service residents actually experience like frequency, reliability, maintenance and accessibility. Not simply focus on the cost of new equipment or infrastructure.
Growth is an opportunity, but we need to make sure we're building the infrastructure to support it.
Growth needs to be accountable.
Every dollar the City spends represents someone's hard work. Keeping property taxes as low as possible matters because people need to be able to afford to live, work and invest in here. But simply spending less isn't the answer.
We need to ask whether the services we provide are working, whether we're getting the best value from the investments we make and whether we're making responsible choices about what comes next. That means looking at each investment on its merits, making better use of development charges, other funding opportunities and being willing to ask difficult questions about how public money is spent.
The goal isn't simply to spend less. It's to make sure what we spend delivers value.
Prosperity means building a future people can afford to be part of.
A prosperous Barrie is one where people can find opportunity, businesses can succeed and families can build a life here. That requires thoughtful growth, responsible investment and a willingness to look beyond the next budget cycle. It means making decisions today that strengthen the community, not weaken it.
Prosperity isn't about getting bigger. It's about making sure more people and businesses have the opportunity to thrive.
