Standing-room-only crowd packs Lindsay mayoral debate

Questions around taxation and spending, road repair and attracting family doctors to the city were among the many issues mayoral candidates faced at the Sept. 16 Kawartha Lakes Mayoralty Forum.

The debate – sponsored and organized by The Lindsay Advocate – was moderated by Jason Ward, co-founder of Wards Lawyers in Lindsay.

Candidates Ron Ashmore, Mathew Flynn, Doug Ford, David Korn and Charlie McDonald took the stage at Celebrations Lindsay to introduce themselves to voters, outline their visions for the city and answer questions about how they would govern if elected.

Ward opened the debate by asking candidates how they would address the city’s projected $10.7-million operating deficit, other than through a bailout or  “finding efficiencies.”

Ford came out of the gate saying the city needs to cut spending and suggested eliminating some jobs at city hall, most notably the position of chief administrative officer.

“The CAO is an unelected position … and, in my mind, that’s unexceptional,” he said, adding the current CAO, Ron Taylor, earns nearly $250,000 per year.

“That’s $1 million in four years; that’s a lot of money.”

Flynn noted that $10.7 million represents roughly 2.2 per cent of the city’s $472-million total budget. He said the city currently has ongoing projects that could be trimmed.

He cited the $50-million paramedic service headquarters under construction on Angeline Street South as an example of a project where the city could make cuts.

“It’s not a huge thing; 2.2 per cent is not a lot,” he said.

One measure Ashmore proposed is that the city hold off on projects, such as redesigning its roads and fleet maintenance depot network, which has an estimated price tag of about $35 million, in order to address the projected operating deficit and keep taxes down.

Ashmore, who is currently the Ward 6 councillor, said he also opposes the Lindsay Ops Landfill expansion in order to save the city money. He added that he and other council members scrutinize budgets carefully.

“When the budgets come to the council table … we look at everything that we can to save costs, whether it be operational or capital,” Ashmore said.

McDonald, currently the Ward 7 councillor, noted that the projected $10.7-million operating budget deficit is largely the lingering effects of the March 2025 ice storm.

He said that the city has already identified nearly $7 million in savings and that “we should be ready for next year.”

But he added that the remaining balance cannot be covered unless decisions are made about spending.

“We need to make sure that we work on things that we need, not what we want,” McDonald said.

Kawartha Lakes owns more than 2,700 kilometres of roads, many of which are in need of repair. With not enough money to repair every road, candidates were asked which roads should get rebuilt or resurfaced first.

One of Ashmore’s campaign promises is to replace minimum maintenance standards with maximum maintenance standards. He says this will make roads and streets safer while improving response times and maintenance. This is part of a program he wants to introduce called Road Complete 2030.

“It prioritizes broken streets and sidewalks that need to be done before 2030,” he said, adding projects could be financed in several ways, including debenturing as well as initiatives where citizens can invest in projects.

Ford emphasized the need to take a proactive approach, noting that many road issues are trouble spots, such as potholes, that could be repaired using high-pressure concrete.

“A lot of these trouble spots would be good for 100 years; concrete is bulletproof,” he said.

Korn also said preventative maintenance should be prioritized. Road issues, he said, are the top complaint he has heard while campaigning, adding he thinks residents should have a say in how road repairs are prioritized.

“When the truck doesn’t come to fill your pothole, someone (should) actually come to talk with you and have dialogue,” he said. “That’s what I promise.”

If elected, Flynn said he would push for council to identify the Top 3 roads in each ward that need repair or resurfacing, “so that no one is getting left out of the whole situation.”

“We do need more preventative maintenance; if we had an app where people can report potholes on, we could have (crews) come through and fix them ahead of time, so it wouldn’t (become) uncontrollable,” he said.

McDonald said he would take an evidence-based approach to road repair. Prioritizing which roads should be repaired first, he said, requires studying traffic volume, maintenance requests, road conditions, life-cycle costs and funding.

“That’s what you look at when you decide which roads (get repaired) first,” he said.

Candidates were also queried about health care, particularly the challenge of attracting physicians to the city and finding family doctors or nurse practitioners for residents who need them. They were also asked whether they would spend tax money to recruit physicians.

Ford said he thinks part of the challenge Kawartha Lakes has attracting doctors is that the city is too expensive.

Leaning on his three main planks, including a 90-day guarantee on building permit decisions, a tax and utility freeze and finding new revenue streams, Ford says this would make the city more affordable and attractive to doctors.

McDonald said since healthcare is a provincial responsibility, he would put pressure on Queen’s Park to bring doctors to the city.

“(The province) is responsible and they need to be held responsible, and the more voices that we have at Queen’s Park will make them responsible,” he said.

McDonald also said he’s not opposed to spending public money to attract doctors to the city.

“I think for right now, we have to keep on spending the money, because the alternative is not good; the money we invest … keeps people safe and saves lives,” he said. “What is the alternative if we don’t spend the money?”

As mayor, Ashmore said he would not cut spending on health-care initiatives, pointing to the city’s efforts to attract doctors and nurse practitioners and its support for Ross Memorial Hospital.

“We are investing in our community’s health by investing in the Ross Memorial Hospital, by investing in attracting doctors,” he said.

Ashmore said the city also needs to work with the province to address barriers, including licencing, that prevents doctors from practising in the community. He also said Ross Memorial Hospital needs to be expanded as Kawartha Lakes grows.

“The provincial government needs to step up,” he said.