Elizabeth Fournier has decided to run for a council seat. Submitted photo.
The council candidates list keeps growing.
This afternoon Elizabeth Fournier announced her decision to run for council in North Bay.
“I have made a decision to run for one of the council seats because I can no longer sit silent. I am not happy with the way the current Mayor and council are managing our tax dollars and I believe there needs to be a change,” she states in a news release.
“In my view the municipal government should be run more like a business because the taxpayers in this community are quickly losing their ability to pay.”
Fournier goes on to say that she is proud of her work with the North Bay Taxpayers’ Association as one of their founding members.
“I completely align myself with their values and principles, not the least of which is a desire to see a municipal government that is honest, efficient and transparent.”
Fournier says there are four main issues in her platform.
ACCOUNTABILITY/TRANSPARENCY
“There are still burning questions surrounding the Memorial Gardens fiasco that remain unanswered and it is not because the answers are unknown. What is the status of the Pinewood Park construction and what will the impact be to the taxpayer for this botched contract. Where is the CAO's operational report that was promised for Sept of last year?”
TAXPAYER CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY MORE IN TAXES
“According to a recent BMA report North Bay has the highest combined property tax and water/sewer costs in Northern Ontario. There has got to be a better way to run a municipality because the current financial structure is not sustainable.“
NORTH BAY NEEDS JOBS
“North Bay's population is stagnant and that seems to indicate that our youth are leaving the city because there are no job opportunities. Job creation is directly linked to successful economic development and I do not believe strong economic development can come from sports tourism; it comes from business. The focus of economic development in North Bay needs to be practical, not driven by good photo ops.”
CULTURE SHIFT AT COUNCIL
“The current council has been rude to the citizens who attempt to communicate with them and there are departments within the city who share that same defensive, unprofessional attitude. The taxpayers deserve better; they deserve respect and they deserve to be welcomed and heard, not demeaned and dismissed because they voice opposing views.”
Email Elizabeth Fournier at: [email protected]
