Five Questions with City Council Candidate Glen Grant

Here are Five Questions with 2014 Cornwall Ontario City Council candidate Glen Grant.

1 – Tell the voters a bit about yourself. What skills and experience would make you a good candidate for Council?

I was born in cornwall and over the years I have participated in many sports both as a player and coach. Playing and coaching assists me in working as a team as well as demonstrating leadership qualities. My working life at domtar which included union leadership positions and supervisory experience in various staff positions.

2. In what ways could we improve economic development and how can we make cornwall a more friendly city for small business?

Our current economic development strategic plan needs to be updated to reflect the changes occuring in Cornwall. Changes to the plan will occur in 2015 in consultation with the residents. Assistance for small business developers are ably assisted by the cornwall enterprise centre under the guidance of candy pollard. We have received many compliments from developers on this service.

3. What is your vision for arts and culture? Would you support the building of an arts and culture centre in cornwall?

City council is currently waiting for a report on the needs analysis for the arts and culture community. I personally have supported the concept of an arts and culture centre for numerous reasons. One is to attract new residents to our community whether to work or retire. It is a vital part of our community

4. Do you support freezing or lowering taxes? If so, where would the savings come from, and would you support reducing some services? If you do not support freezing or lowering taxes explain why.

Every year we go through budget deliberations, city council looks for ways to find efficiencies in the city operations. This exercise is done to ensure every tax dollar is being used as efficiently as possible with a goal of either reducing the tax burden on our residents or keeping it as low as possible. There have been many discussions on how we can reduce services but they usually impact on the most vunerable in our community.i believe that increasing assessment from investment in our business park, as we have done int he recent past, has helped us keep key services and reduced the tax burden on our residents.

5. What has been the biggest accomplishment at city hall over the past four years or what has been the biggest issue of concern at city hall over the past four years?

The Benson Centre, from a recreational and tourism perspective, is one of the biggest accomplishments over the past four years. Also included in this lsit is the major expansion of our business park and the north american recognition as a major distribution centre. Some disappointments or concerns have been in the human resource area which have consumed many hours and dollars that could have been used in other areas.