 By Pepper Parr
BLOMHA – the Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association is working like crazy today, Saturday and again on Sunday to register the votes needed to bring $100,000m to their organization.
If you want to know what being a real # 1 is all about – click on the LINK – then come back to the story.
 This is all about getting additional funding for this minor hockey team. Let’s see how well the city gets behind the effort. The puck got dropped at 9:00 am sharp; then it looked like the server went down; probably because f a surge in demand. Then it was up and the puck was red and you could vote.
There was a box you had to enter two words into before your vote got counted – that was to prevent anyone from setting up a program that would automatically place votes
When you are entering the two words, watch the spelling and don’t leave a space between the two words.
The players now have to log in, enter the two words shown and the vote gets counted. Then do just that – again and again – and remember – there are 19 other communities doing exactly the same thing. Burlington will win if they do it more often than anyone else.
That’s what Burlington has to do for the next two days if they are to be the winners of the Hockey Goes On contest that is going to put $100,000 into one Ontario community and $20,000 in four others as part of the Kraft Foods promotion that is celebrating the way minor hockey is played across Canada.
John McNeil was nominated from Burlington and has been getting this community lined up to click away.
All eight of Burlington’s McDonalds restaurants have joined the campaign and are promoting the contest. The Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association (BLOMHA) has every parent they can find going on-line and voting.
Kristen Priestner, the woman who nominated John McNeil is busy working her magic and reaching out to the masses.
 John McNeil, nominated as one of twenty people in Ontario to take part in the Kraft Foods Hockey Goes On contest that could bring $100,000 to the city for minor hockey. He will be going hat in hand for the next two days asking everyone he sees to go on line and vote. McNeil will be at his keyboard for as long as he can – but he has to drive his son’s team to London for a game there. Perhaps they will all have tablets and find a way to get on-line and vote as they drive to London. McNeil is a techie – he just might figure out a way to do that. McNeil, who doesn’t let much get past him, has the people in London voting for Burlington. London didn’t make it to the finals in the Hockey Goes On contest.
All this activity – and guess what? The server went down and was down for close to half an hour. There must have been dozens of people at Kraft scrambling around like crazy to solve the problem – but it dd get solved and the game goes on.
Just vote and vote and vote and vote. If you can teach your cat to read and type – do that and have it vote as well.
Click for the link.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. March 22, 2013 From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, 2013 the Halton Regional Police Service will join Halton Region and other municipalities to turn off lights for an hour in non-essential, non-emergency administrative areas. Public safety and police emergency response services will not be compromised or affected in any way.
 Recognizing Earth Hour isn’t going to make any difference to the work the Halton Regional Police do – they have flashlights “We recognize that we all have a role to play in community safety, however our collective contributions should expand to include activities that benefit our respective communities. With that in mind, the Halton Regional Police Service will once again do their part in contributing to Earth Hour initiatives through a focus on non-essential administrative areas,” said Deputy Chief Bob Percy.
Areas which will continue operating business as usual include the Service’s 9-1-1 Operations, Communications, and District Station front desks, as well as other essential police facilities. Non-essential administrative areas will be dark for the hour.
The Service does not anticipate Earth Hour will result in any increase in public safety risks, any more than those presented by a short duration power outage or at night when people retire for the evening.
Although participation in Earth Hour is a personal decision, the Service is also encouraging all its employees and their families to join in wherever feasible at home, as well as at work.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 22nd, 2013 There is an opportunity for the people of this city to bring home a “real” #1plus $100,000 that will go to the Burlington Lions Optimists Minor Hockey Association – BLOMHA.
Have you heard of “Hockey Goes On” a promotion sponsored by Kraft Foods? A number of years ago Kraft sponsored an event that resulted in Dundas, Ontario getting a new arena. The event was so strong a promotional vehicle for Kraft that they decided to revise it and build on the enthusiasm for “our game’.
Hockey Goes On is there to celebrate those unsung heroes that make the game go on. The sponsors divided the country into five divisions with Ontario being one of them. People within each division were asked to nominate the person they felt had done the most for minor hockey in their community.
Kristen Priestner nominated John McNeil who manages the Burlington Atom A BLOMHA rep hockey team that skate under the Bulldog banner. Priestner’s son plays in that league.
Kraft got in touch with McNeil to ensure he would accept the nomination and onto the list he went.
The Kraft organization then took the thousands of names that were nominated and selected 20 for each division. McNeil made the cut and Kraft once again called him to ensure that he was prepared for all the news coverage there would be.
McNeil was up to it.
 The T-shirt tells it all. John McNeil wants everyone in this city to let 19 other communities in Ontario be aware of the Burlington Bulldogs – they are out there gunning for the $100,0000 that Kraft Foods wants to hand out to a minor hockey association. Now McNeil doesn’t actually play hockey, he wishes he had, but he missed that sport for the most part. His job with BLOMHA, the Burlington Lions Optimists Minor Hockey Association is to handle everything “off ice” as he puts it. He has coaches galore that he works with; his job is to ensure that everything comes together – which he apparently does so well that Priestner put his name forward.
Burlington was now about to see just how well McNeil hustles. He plans to use all the old marketing skills he has along with everything social media will let him do. Can McNeil pull it off? Will the city get behind this initiative and pull in the $100,000 Kraft Foods is putting on the table?
First thing he did was get to the media; then he put out calls to all the other sports organizations in town and ask them to support McNeil and BLOMHA.
The prize is well worth the effort. Kraft will donate $100,000 to BLOMHA which McNeil hopes gets used to cover the costs of the kids who can’t afford to play hockey – “it can get expensive” said McNeil. Besides the $100,000 top prize there are four $20,000 prizes
CBC recently reported that the average family with kids in hockey spend $1,000 per child on fees and equipment. For McNeil getting those kids whose families just can’t afford that amount – this is a big deal. He would like to see some of the money spent on upgrading equipment the organization already has and then spend money on upgrading the skills of both the coaches and the players.
 If you’re within five feet of John McNeil he will put one of these flyers in your hands and badger you to log into the Hockey Goes On web site and be part of the effort to bring $100,000 to BLOMHA Flyers have gone out to anyone who will pass them out. McNeil asked the Mayor to mention the event on his blog. Teams of kids will be at the BLOMHA offices on Saturday working the computers and voting as often as they can. “We want them there in two-hour shift” said McNeil. There will be all the pizza they can eat.
McNeil realizes that the other communities will be doing exactly the same thing – looking for every possible angle to get anyone and everyone logging in and voting – and voting – and voting.
Burlington is up against Stittsville, Goderich, Atikokan, Barrie, Renfrew, Verona, Sarnia, Weston, Langton, Moose Factory, Kitchener, Prescott, Napanee, Pelham, Amherstview, Lakefield, Cornwall, Brampton and Fergus.
Some of those smaller town have great community spirit. Is theirs greater than Burlington? We will know sometime next week.
There is a website link to the story on the work he does with his team and minor hockey in Burlington. This is where you vote.
 This is what you are looking for on the voting web site. It will be red when you get to it on Saturday morning. Vote early and vote often – as often as you like. In the upper right hand corner you will see a button – it will be red when the contest starts
So from 9am this Saturday, March 23 to midnight Sunday, March 24, you can vote as many times as you can. Help bring this funding to the kids. All it takes is clicks.
John McNeil is leading this push – he’s the guy they nominated so he is the guy Burlington wants to push over the top; it’s almost like dialing for dollars.
First thing Saturday morning you go to the web site – look for that red button in the upper right hand corner and click.
Log out and go back in and click again – and just keep on clicking. There is no limit on how many times you can vote for McNeil.
John McNeil was described by Priestner as “the “Manager Extraordinaire” of the Major Atom A Burlington Bulldogs (BLOMHA) of the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario. John is the heart and soul of our team and what he gives back to hockey you must see with your own eyes to believe! He is the epitome of a true sports fan. He lives, eats, and breathes Bulldogs!
“His level of organization is second to none. Parents new to the team this year will constantly question if he is “for real”. His weekly emails and reminders are full of detail. He maintains a phenomenal website with up to date stats, team summaries and also takes fabulous photos to share. Tournaments are a thing of beauty with John’s attention to detail ensuring a fantastic experience for every family and never a worry.”
“Social events for the team are hosted at John’s place, the highlight being the Parents’ Christmas Social until the wee hours. Or, arranging a party bus for parents to attend a “Cupids for Cancer” fundraiser. John truly never misses a trick. A highlight for the boys came in the form of John McSanta, distributing some serious Bulldogs swag Christmas presents at a super fun team Christmas party.”
“His level of dedication is witnessed when he is the first to arrive at the rink to hang our team banners or the last to leave and clean up. He is a critical fundraiser for the team with contacts galore. In case he didn’t have enough responsibility, he is also organizing the illustrious Ontario Hockey Federation Playoffs which we are hosting this year.”
“I can’t honestly believe that John ever has time to do his day job, given that he seems to give every hour of his day to this team. When we won the Alliance provincials last year, John surprised the boys by setting up an NHL style dressing room with their names posted over their hooks and motivational signage. They were thrilled! He continuously goes beyond the call of duty and we appreciate the care and kindness he provides to our boys! John’s heart barks for the Bulldogs!”
That from one parent: Let’s see how loud Burlington can bark for McNeil.
That website link again.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 21, 2013 Here we go again. A magazine that promotes its readership with a list of the best place to live, the safest place to live and maybe even the nicest place to live and then all those locations promote this specious recognition.
Burlington, Burlington, Burlington! We are better than some phony recognition given to us by a magazine promoting their circulation.
Unfortunately, you can bet real money that the Mayor will tout this phrase every opportunity he gets and the members of city council will do the same damn, stupid thing.
 The nicest thing about this graphic put out by the city is the picture. This city has huge potential but we will never rise above our provincial past as long as we let others define us.
It is what we do with what we have been given that should make us important.
Can we grow to the point where leading corporations choose this city because it has the very best schools, the very best sports organizations for our children and a performing arts centre that is the envy of the country because of the type of event it brings to its stage?
The Burlington Art Centre has one of the very best ceramics collections in North America – and we have it stuffed into boxes because there isn’t any adequate space to display that collection.
Much of the city grew out of a land grant given to a native who served the British Army during the American revolutionary war. Born a native, became a savage warrior and grew into one of this country’s early statesmen – Joseph Brant is recognized by a pathetic little museum. He was a great Canadian but we don’t seem to be able to tell our citizens that story.
Why oh why, oh why do we need outsiders to tell us how good we are?
The late Jane Irwin reminded city council that we are called Borington for a reason. Time to grow up and be who we really are.
Has anyone noticed how vibrant the Alton Village community is becoming? Are we aware of the way our downtown is going to change in the next five years?
Do we use the Escarpment as a place that provides the fresh vegetables we consume or do we just talk about how nice it is?
Can we grow beyond the festivals that take place on the waterfront?
There are a lot of things done in the city that are superb and we don’t need a magazine with a circulation smaller than the population of the city to tell us what we have going for us.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON March 20, 2103 Some of the city services won’t be available over the Easter weekend – March 29 (Good Friday) and April 1 (Easter Monday); some facilities will remain open for families to enjoy. City Hall will be closed.
Roads and Parks Maintenance will provide basic and emergency service only during the Easter weekend.
 With just a bit of a break in the weather-it is Spring now – we can all get out on our bikes Easter weekend. Parks and Recreation Programs and Facilities: There are many activities for the whole family to enjoy at city pools, arenas and community centres over the Easter weekend. Hours of operation and services available vary at each city facility.
Burlington Transit and Handi-van will operate a holiday service schedule on Good Friday, March 29, 2013. The administration office and downtown transit terminal will be closed. Regular transit service will be in effect for Sunday, March 31 and Monday, April 1, 2013. The administration office will re-open Tuesday, April 2, 2013. Please call BusLINE 905-639-0550 or visit www.burlington.ca/transit for more information.
The Provincial Offences Courts in Burlington and Milton (Halton Court Services) will be closed on Friday, March 29 and Monday, April 1, 2013.
Parking: Free parking is available in the downtown core at all meters, municipal lots and the parking garage on Good Friday, March 29, 2013. The Waterfront parking lots (east and west) do not provide free parking on statutory holidays.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 20, 2013 Was she pushed or did she jump? What kind of a difference will the Brenda Heatherington resignation as Executive Director of the Performing Arts Centre make to the city and the Centre?
Make no mistake about this – her resignation is this city’s loss and a significant loss at that. As Executive Director there were challenges on the business side of the operation she headed up. She wasn’t and isn’t a business person; she is an artistic director with an impressive ability to relate to people one-on-one.
She knows the performing arts and she knows how to develop an audience; she did that exceptionally well in St. Albert, just outside Edmonton, Alberta where she served for 17 years. She understood that a market needs to be grown and that growth takes time.
 She could light up any room she walked into; she knew how to grow the market for performing art – she just needed more time and more support. Part of the problem, besides the business acumen, was that Heatherington didn’t know Burlington, she was not of this community and didn’t understand how deep its rural roots are. She wasn’t given the time to acclimatize herself to a city that is still shedding its provincialism
Our Burlington has been very critical of Heatherington’s board of directors. Our view was that they failed her time after time. They expected her to do more than she was capable of doing. Someone on that board should have spotted the problems on the business side and taken the steps to bring in the help she needed.
With Heatherington in place as the Executive Director and a strong business person beside her watching the numbers side and advising her, Brenda Heatherington would have gotten the Centre to the point where it was getting by on the half a million it was always going to need from the public purse. On occasion she would have gotten lucky and needed less.
There are people who were members of the board who went out and twisted arms to raise the $11 million that was the public capital campaign. They approached their friends and told them that all the Centre would need was half a million each year and the city was committed to providing that money.
When the budget for the Centre was put out showing a need for $1.2 million in 2014 and $1.4 million for 2015 many people felt they had been misled.
Someone needed to explain to Heatherington that it was not possible to tell the public that more than a million dollars would be needed every year.
In a town the size of Burlington relationships are very personal and friends don’t like to learn that they have let their friends down. The people who signed the cheques saw the place as theirs and also as a part of growing Burlington.
For reasons that are still not clear, the board seems not to have realized the disappointment many felt over the way things were working out. The two political representatives from city hall, the Mayor and Ward 1 Councillor Rick Craven, were either deaf and didn’t hear what was being said when the disappointing numbers were posted or they fully believed they could ride it out until things got better.
City council went along with the budget request – what else could they do? But they attached strings to the money: a full business plan review done not later than October of this year.
There are those in a position to know who will tell you that the marketing and sales people failed Heatherington.
There are those who wondered why the hours worked by the team were managed the way they were; the handling of the night managers rankled some people.
The Board wanted to see more entrepreneurship: Heatherington is an artist, someone who works with talent and develops audiences. She can read a balance sheet but delving into the day-to-day operating costs and budget management, wasn’t going to happen. A bank teller she never was.
People will ask if there is a lesson for us in all this and many will wonder what is going to happen next. Sales for the year are good so far and rentals are approaching the very good level.
The program for the fall is in place and will be launched sometime in May. Heatherington will be in town to do that launch which we understand is very strong. That’s what Heatherington does well.
As for the Board – well three new people are to be appointed. The board in place today did have an entrepreneurial bent to it and some of them put their money where their mouths were. One Board member bought 200 tickets to an event and invited his staff and business colleagues.
Others, Peter Ashmore in particular, put in untold hours labouring over the books, looking for ways to improve the financial picture. The numbers were not good – did anyone really expect that they would be? The performing arts is a business you grow over time. Audiences have to be introduced to new ideas and different kinds of entertainment.
Many expected a $40 million building to be used for local amateur theatre and be a place where local talent could be grown. This is Burlington folks, a small, at times very provincial place where the shopping choices are limited and the gasoline is higher than that on sale in Hamilton.
The Blue Jeans Gala, close to the most popular event held, was a smashing success. Was it superb performing art? Jimmy Tapp was on the stage, the Mayor was at the piano and the Member of Parliament tripped over the broom he was supposed to be dancing with as he forgot his lines. The crowd loved it – this was the Burlington they knew. And that was the Burlington Brenda Heatherington had to grow an audience out of.
It was do-able but everyone had to be much more candid with the facts, much more professional in the way they did their jobs and far more transparent.
Where will Brenda Heatherington go next? Back to Alberta to be with family? That was the media release line. This woman has skills that communities in Ontario would love to have available. She will do well.
When the fall program is announced in May we will realize what we are losing when Brenda Heatherington turns in her security pass. When we look back at how things went at the end of the year let us remember that the program we experienced was put together by Ms Heatherington.
The full story of the behind the scene boards of directors machinations will play itself at the cocktail and dinner parties held in the tonier parts of town.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON March 20, 2013 Those new, bigger blue boxes the Region is handing out are quite a hit – the demand was big enough to have 3,500 + in Burlington line up along Upper Middle Road to get their large blue box.
The Region thinks it has learned a few lessons from the demand last time they did a distribution in Burlington and have upgraded the procedure for the next local distribution.
 On the North Service Road – just to the west of the Mercedes-Benz dealership west of King Road. 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Next Saturday, March 23rd at the Closed landfill on the North Service Road just to the west of the Mercedes-Benz dealership you can drive up and get your box between the hours of 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
This time the Region is going a little high-tech and will be “tweeting” on @HaltonRecycles where you can get real-time updates.
If “tweeting” isn’t something you do that often you can reach the Region at 311 and they will give you an update verbally.
Couple of rules you have to follow. You drive in; open your trunk or the back door of your car and let the staff at the site put the bin in your car. No getting out of the car and you can’t walk up and pick up the bin.
The Regional staff wants to keep things moving – just follow the instructions.
 Our Regional Councillors will do almost anything for a photo-op; this time they are showing you the new 22 gallon blue boxes. While the newer blue bins are popular you don’t have to use the new size – the older 16 gallon units are still being emptied.
 Here is what you can put in the new Blue Boxes AFTER April 1st. Getting the boxes now readies you for the new list of items you can now put out for recycling. That list, in its entirety is available here.
The first distribution in Burlington had vehicles lined up along Upper Middle road from Corpus Christi High School all the way over to Appleby Line. Shouldn’t be as bad this time out
Residents heading out to Blue Box Pick-up Events can call 311 or check www.halton.ca or @HaltonRecycles on Twitter for real-time updates regarding wait times at each event location.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 20, 2013 They were less than ten minutes from getting away with at least $300,00 in cash along with documents that looked like passports, coins and jewellery. Police were responding to a security alarm at a bank on Fairview.
 It was Show & Tell time for the Halton Regional Police as they displayed the more than $300,000 in cash that thieves nearly got away with after the broke into a branch of the TD Bank of Fairview early Monday morning. The alarm, for what is turning out to be the biggest bank break-in this city has ever experienced, came in at 1:00 am Monday March 18th. Security alarms are all part of what police on night duty contend with – but within seconds the officers responding to the call knew they were dealing with a bank which drew in other patrol cars out on the road.
 When police arrived at the bank entrance the doors were secure – but there had been a bank alarm. The duty officer would have been alerted and additional police cars pulled into the parking lot of the Nicholson Plaza on Fairview immediately west of Walkers Line.
 Police would not say how they believe the thieves got out of the building – but if there were cars with lights blazing in the front – the rear of the building would appear to have been how they got out and then crossed the railway tracks. The first thing the police did was establish a perimeter which in this case meant covering off space on the north side of the railway tracks which complicated things.
 The thieves came out of the building on the left and crossed these railway tracks and were found by police dogs amongst trees on the north side of the railway tracks. The canine unit was brought in even though at that point the police didn’t know what they were dealing with. While the police officers on the plaza side of the building were checking the front entrance the police officer and the dogs did their routine searches and came across five males hunkered down amongst trees on the north side of the railway tracks and took the men into custody. Police say none of the five resisted arrest.
In police custody and awaiting a bail hearing on Thursday are:
John HICKEY, 44 yrs of Caledon
Alexander PAPIC, 48 yrs of N.F.A.
Aldo SIMONI, 31 yrs of Scarborough
Mentor VISHJAY, 36 yrs of N.F.A.
Besim RUGOVA, 32 yrs of N.F.A.
 Police photo of the hole cut through the floor of a second floor unoccupied office directly above the bank vault. As the investigation unfolds, and this is still a very active investigation, the police report this was a “very sophisticated and well planned bank break-in.” The accused had actually gotten away with it and were out of the bank and across a set of railway tracks with the $300,000 in duffle bags before the police were fully aware that a bank had been broken into.
The investigation so far shows that the thieves had taken empty office space on the top floor of the two storey building presenting themselves as workers doing renovations. It is not known if they actually rented the space or if they had just broken in and did all their cutting and drilling at night
Police report they believe the men were in the space for at least two days prior to their escaping from the building early on the Monday morning.
Walky-talkies were recovered along with construction tools used to cut through the concrete floor. The doors to the offices on the upper level had very small hallway windows which on the north side of the building were covered over. There was no building permit anywhere near the offices where the hole was cut through the floor.
There are tenants on the second floor of the building.
The police described this break-in as one with a “degree of sophistication … that is unrivalled” in their experience. Detective Donna Whittaker, who has been with the force for 20 years, is still following leads and working with other police jurisdictions to learn if they have come across anything like this.
The thieves appear to have spent a lot of time planning and appear to have known where the weaknesses were in the bank’s security system – and there certainly were weaknesses. Cutting through a floor and dropping into a bank vault, scooping up hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and then getting out of the building and on the way to vehicles on the other side of the railway tracks suggest there were some delays somewhere.
Expect the bank to be giving the Fairview branch a tight security review.
 Tools of the trade for renovators and thieves. When police first arrived at the bank the entrance doors were secure. The police were not prepared to say how the thieves left the building but they did report that the men were able to cross the railway tracks and hide amongst trees on the north side of the railway tracks.
The bank, a branch of TD Bank, brought in a senior staff member to meet with safety deposit box holders and, if their box had not been broken into – they were allowed to do whatever they wanted with their valuables. For those who were looking at a gaping hole where the safety deposit box they rented used to be – there will be all kinds of forms to fill out to describe what was in the box.
 Deputy Chief Andrew Fletcher and Detective Donna Whittaker answer media questions during the display of all the cash and other valuable recovered during a bank break-in where the bad guys almost got away. The police seized an acetylene oxygen tank, concrete cutting tools, repelling equipment, ladders and auxiliary lighting sources.
The police believe they have recovered everything taken from the bank but they may not be certain they have everyone involved in custody. There were probably lookouts stationed in the parking lot and in the immediate area which is perhaps why the thieves were able to get out of the building before police arrived.
Three of the accused did not have a fixed address and there is the suspicion they are from out of the country.
 There was not going to be another un-authorized withdrawal – this officer from the Tactical Rescue Unit watched everyone very closely. The police were keen to display the cash that almost got away – and they were equally keen that the money didn’t get away a second time. Two officers from the Tactical Rescue Unit, fully armed, were stationed outside the community room and the Burlington station as well as an officer inside watching a room full of shifty eyed reporters.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 19, 2013 Ward 2 Councillor Marianne Meed Ward was the only Council member to come up with very specific suggestions on how to reduce the spending, which she feels is creeping outside what this city can afford. While Meed Ward doesn’t bring to the table the depth and understanding of municipal budgets that other council members have, and she doesn’t have anything in the way of a financial designation, she does know how to add up the numbers and she doesn’t think this city has to spend what it plans to spend.
Meed Ward would reduce the human resources merit fund from 1.5% of the HR budget to 1%. Savings: $157, 000
Meed Ward would eliminate the E-gov facility rentals. Savings: $165, 000
Meed Ward would eliminate the Risk & Consulting services. Savings: $909, 000
Meed Ward would eliminate additional leadership training; she argues there is already $500,000 in the budget. Savings: $80,000
Meed Wards wants the Brant House Museum to find the $7,000 they wanted for part-time curatorial services within the 2% increase they were given. Savings: $7,000
Meed Ward wants to take out the sum that was set aside for the Burlington Arts Centre foundation board restructuring. Savings: $100,000
Meed Ward didn’t want to give the Performing Arts Centre any more money. Savings: $488,000
Meed Ward, who doesn’t sit in the Burlington Economic Development Corporation board wants to reduce the BEDC ask to $160,000 from $370,000. Savings $210,000
Is she right? She is certainly worth listening to. She argues that “some of the spending increases are hidden because they are “onetime” funding not counted in the tax levy, and result from raiding our Tax Rate Stabilization reserve fund drawn to the tune of almost $2 million.”
What we saw this budget session was a tougher Meed Ward. Her view seemed to be that ‘if you can`t show me real savings and that you are going to do things differently – then I don`t want you to have any more of the taxpayers money.’ With that tone she is certainly playing the kind of music her people want to hear. She is a politician and she fully intends to be Mayor of this city – sooner than many in this city are ready for. My guess – it`s not a bet yet – within five years.
Let`s look at the specifics of what Meed Ward wanted to cut.
Merit pay: The city allocates 1.5% of the human resources budget as an amount managers can allocate to deserving employees as merit pay. Some of the people at city hall do a superb job and deserve an additional reward; that`s how you keep good people. The finance department has been doing a great job. That 1.5% is not given to every employee – it is allocated by the managers – some may get 2.4% while others get nothing. It is merit pay which the city manager will sign off on – fully expect Jeff Fielding to ensure that the merit pay is merited. Meed Ward wants to cut that 1.5% of the human resources budget back to 1% of the HR budget. That won`t be popular with staff but the voters will like it – is it good financial stewardship? It`s not bad.
E gov facilities: The city currently has three full-time people working on what is called E-gov; an approach that uses technology to get information out to people and to get information from people and to provide services faster, easier and more cost effectively. The city has yet to tell its E-Gov story. There is no space at city hall for these people – so the city went looking for a place to house them, found what they needed for the next three years and budgeted $165,000 to cover the rent. Where did Meed Ward expect these people to work – they need an office, preferably one that is heated.
Risk consulting: The city’s audit department is beefing up how the city manager checks on how money was spent. It is one thing to say we are going to have Results Based Accountability – but someone then has to go into each department and look at the projections and the results and report on if the objective was reached and if not – why. That stuff doesn’t just happen; there are procedures and processes that are put in place and followed.
The city manager is making the city hall bureaucracy much more professional – and that does not come cheaply.
Three people were brought in and will be added to the staffing compliment over the next three years. Why not put them all on staff now – that would mean upping the staff count and the city doesn’t want to do that.
Staff training: The city manager realizes there has to be a huge cultural shift at city hall. Doing things the old way is no longer working. People who work in the municipal sector are a product of the business they are in. Don’t expect them to do things differently; that’s not the way the business works and Fielding understands that, which is why he entered into an agreement with McMaster to have them train city hall staff. The 200 men and women taking these courses, amount to an Executive MBA with one fifth of the classes focused on municipal administration. Meed Ward thinks the city manager should make do with the $500,000 he was given. Is she right? On this one – she would be wiser to go with the request. The city will get, is already getting value and that will only increase. The down side is that Burlington is probably in the process of training people who will move on to other municipalities. We will be the best-managed city in the country and the place that everyone poaches to get first class staff.
 The Museum got the $7,000 they wanted – but it was an abuse of process making that happen. And the museum needs a lot more than $7,000 to do justice to the role Joseph Brant played in the development of this country. Brant Museum. Meed Ward opposed the $7,000 the Brant Museum wanted for part-time curatorial. Many felt Councillor Craven abused the delegation process by asking his colleagues to make an exception and have Burlington Museums Executive Director Barbara Teatro plead for the funds – which she got. The Brant Museum needs a really hard look in terms of the job it does researching and promoting the story of Joseph Brant before it gets any additional funding. Craven pulled a fast one and got away with it.
The Burlington Art Centre is going through a very tough stage. They have, in the recent past, had to turn to the foundation and draw down funds from them to meet operating costs. The foundation currently has a meager $35,000 on hand – not a healthy place to be.
The BAC Board and the Foundation Board were once one and the same – they have been divided into two separate boards which is how most places set these things up. The Foundation is usually the fund raising arm; the BAC board handles governance and oversight.
The BAC knew that it had to better define its role in the community. It is getting harder to capture any mind share with all the competing demands for attention. The creation of the Performing Arts Centre took away a lot of the attention the BAC used to get.
They asked the city for $125,000 and wanted to put $50,000 of that into the foundation as a reserve. They wanted to use the rest of the money to put together a marketing/business plan as well as a branding program that would set the BAC apart from other cultural institutions in the city.
They got $100,000 in one time funding to do what they’ve explained they feel they have to do.
Meed Ward doesn’t feel their funding should come from the taxpayers – she doesn’t seem to appreciate that the Art Centre is there for the taxpayers. The city might be dipping into the reserves – that’s what reserves are for.
 The Performing Arts Centre was never supposed to make money – the public just wasn’t ready for the place to lose as much as it lost or to need as much to stay alive. Performing Arts Centre: Meed Ward was one of the Council members that did not attend the Official Opening of the Performing Arts Centre. She has an understanding of the way the place should work that many don’t understand. Her view is that the professional events brought to the PAC have to pay their own way and at the best of times earn enough to leave funds available to support the community events, the non-profit groups that were supposed to be making great use of the space.
Meed Ward wants the profit-making types to subsidize the non-profits. She doesn’t think the PAC needed money to pay for an additional technical person – the increased business would cover that cost and if there were no increase in business then the PAC wouldn’t need the additional technical person.
Meed Ward didn’t see any value in the additional sales associate. The amount they would be adding to the revenue side wasn’t worth the cost or the risk.
Meed Ward doesn’t bring an “artsy” view to the PAC. For her it has always been a nice to have but now that we’ve got the place she doesn’t want to see it sucking up all the funds the city has in reserve. On that one – she should have gotten more in the way of support from her colleagues. That the Executive Director resigned the day after the budget was approved messes up that situation somewhat.
Meed Ward is tough on what the PAC can and should do for the city. A more developed appreciation on the part of what the PAC can do for the city would help – but Meed Ward has a constituency and they like what she is saying.
 The city needs to see more photo ops like this. The business model the BEDC had in place was a close to total failure. It took a shock from the city manager who reported Burlington was going to experience negative commercial growth in the tax base for 2013 to motivate the BEDC board to do something. Meed Ward wants more information on how they are going to solve the problem before she approves funding. Council decided to give them what they were asking for. Economic Development Corporation: We now have Meed Ward who is a more involved Councillor on things economic, which up until now has not been one of her strengths. She still struggles with some of the concepts but she knows how to add and she brings the view of the average person to the table. For Meed Ward the “what” has to be done is no longer the issue – the city needs more jobs; the city has a great story to tell potential corporations looking for a place to locate and we have the economic land needed. That the land isn’t ready for occupancy is an issue that can be resolved. For Meed Ward, the issue is how we are going to do this and she doesn’t believe the BEDC has a grip yet on the how part and she doesn’t want to give them anymore funding until the “what” has been made very clear.
For her, and her constituency – it is pretty clear. The nuances that BEDC Executive Director Kyle Benham talks about are beyond the ward two council member. Those two are never going to agree on much but she has clout at the Council table – Benham approaches as a supplicant.
 Meed Ward argues that the Sound of Music produces revenue for the city. The numbers in the right hand column are monies paid to the city for services the city provides – that’s SOM money being paid to the city.
Meed Ward says they pay the city $96,200 Sound of Music: Meed Ward isn’t afraid to spend money. She thinks the Sound of Music is one of the best deals the city has going for it and she was quite prepared to let them have the $37,000 they were asking for. She would be inclined to give them more if they asked and would love to see the Performing Arts Centre delivering economic benefits the way the Sound of Music does.
Meed Ward wanted to cut spending – that’s good, politicians have an ability to spend and try later to duck the consequences. Not this lady. Unfortunately some of the cuts she proposed were ill-advised and not thought out thoroughly. One of the problems is that Meed Ward antagonizes people; she pushes buttons and moves people out of their comfort zone. And so they push back. We saw Councillor Craven pushing back in a most inappropriate way.
Meed Ward is learning – and she does have the capacity to learn. No one is really sure who is advising her – she doesn’t have an advisor, a trusted confidant she can bounce ideas off.
She does have a constituency and they love her. How large is that constituency and can she grow it to the point where it will carry her to the point where she wears the chain of office. Too early to tell – but she gave them all a run for their money this budget session.
 Meed Ward doesn’t like the direction the tax curve is taking and fears for the impact this could have on the seniors who have fixed incomes. She asks if the tax dollars are being spent in the right places. For Meed Ward it is all about the tax rate which she says has increased 60% in the past 10 years. The graph shown is not something she is proud of and not the kind of city she wants to run.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 19th, 2013 – City media release. The City of Burlington has approved the city’s 2013 current budget, which will increase taxes by 2.07 %, or $19.08 for each $100,000 of residential urban value assessment.
“I would like to commend staff, and the city’s budget committee for a job well done,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “As a municipality, it is always a balance of priorities to look at the quality of life expectations of today with the long-term financial needs of tomorrow. I believe we have effectively made some decisions that serve the people of Burlington while still keeping tax rates competitive with those of other municipalities.”
“Council approved an increase to the hospital levy to $3.6 million, and an increase in funding for infrastructure, with $2 million dedicated towards the city’s local roadway resurfacing program.
“When approving the 2013 current budget, City Council focused on efficiencies in service delivery and the key strategic priorities, outlined in the city’s strategic plan, Burlington, Our Future,” said Ward 3 Councillor John Taylor, chair of the city’s budget committee. “Council takes very seriously every decision related to spending, whether it’s the operating budget or the capital budget. We are focused on what matters to the people of Burlington.”
It took them five paragraphs but they finally fessed up:
“The 4.46 per cent tax rate increase to the city’s portion of the property tax bill is combined with the Region of Halton’s increase of 0.8 per cent and an education increase of zero per cent, resulting in an overall property tax rate increase of 2.07 per cent.”
 Councillor Sharman wanted to skew the budget numbers to make them look better.  Councillor Taylor told Sharman “playing with budget numbers for political reasons will come back to bite you.” What council tried to do was use the regional portion of the tax levy along with the Board of Education levy, which were both a 0% increase over last year, and combine those two with the Police budget, which had a small increase over last year – and use those lower numbers to make the city numbers look better. That’s what we call “trying to pull a fast one”. It was Councillor Sharman, an accountant at heart, who first mentioned the 2% number. Bit of jiggery poking on his part which Councillor Taylor warned would come back to bite him. The surprise is that the Mayor went along with the scam.
At the Council budget debate, where they basically review and for the most part rubber stamp what was done at the committee level, the more contentious matters get a second hard look.
The public can delegate and this year there was a delegation from Bfast, a citizens advocacy group that wanted Council to defer the bus fare increase until there was an opportunity for some significant public comment. On that level the Bfast people were correct: the city did not take the matter of a rate increase to the public. So much for community engagement.
Transit, the funding of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation, the funding of the Performing Arts centre, finding the money to keep the roads in decent repair and ensuring that we maintain our contribution to the hospital were the items that got all the attention.
 Did they develop a good budget for you? It wasn’t a bad budget but it papers over quite a few problems and doesn’t provide enough money to fill all the pot holes. Taylor appeared to be the only person who had much in the way of empathy for the people who can’t afford the cost of transit. Meed Ward was with him on this to some degree – but the rest, they just didn’t get it. Going without isn’t a part of their life experience.
“In 2012 the city generated a surplus of $2.3 million. The surplus was used to reduce the impact of one-time or temporary costs on the 2013 budget, said the city’s media release.
It went on to point out that “The city has a long-term financial plan that creates a sustainable financial position for Burlington.” City Manager Jeff Fielding said: “The budget is aligned to the City’s investment and operational priorities as outlined in that plan. We are in good financial shape, with a solid base budget, responsible debt management and adequate reserve fund balances.”
Was it a good budget? It wasn’t a bad budget but given that the budget next year will be the last before this council has to go to the polls again – they’ve not left themselves much room to offer the voters some goodies to keep them happy and plump – before they get plucked again. Councillor Dennison sent his regrets – he was unable to attend the meeting – can’t blame any of this on him then can we?
A 2.07% increase – nice try. Just how stupid do your think these voters are?
 By Walter Byj,
Staff reporter
BURLINGTON, ON March 19, 2013 I witnessed my first full council meeting on Monday night, and left with mixed feelings. I was somewhat impressed with the knowledge base of the Councillors, but disappointed with some other aspects of the meeting. Following are my observations, in no particular order.
What was the reason for the barbs that were quite apparent between Councillors Rick Craven and Marianne Meed Ward? Is there a personal history here? To be fair, throwing barbs seems to be common among all of the Councillors. Maybe that is part of the political game, but one would think that it could be done in a more civil manner. It appeared as if members were trying to achieve points over each other.
 Freshman reporter Walter Byj thought the transit fare delegation made some strong points – doesn’t understand why their advice wasn’t taken. Then there was the matter of the two delegations that wanted the proposed 8% bus fare price increase deferred. Although it did lead to one council member re-evaluating and changing her vote (Meed Ward), others on the council seemed to take any opposition as a personal affront to their good judgement. Is this ego at play, or are people just being stubborn?
Is this response common to previous or future delegations? I got the impression that because the Councillors did a lot of hard work and have a great new plan, then their decision must be right. The fare increase is a go with only Rick Craven and Marianne Mead Ward voting against.
Councillor Blair Lancaster seemed quite upset at the way the discussion was and asked the delegation if council should do nothing. “We want to work with the people, not against them,” said Lancaster.
 Reporter Walter Byj wondered if the amount gained with a transit fare increase would offset the amount being given to the Performing Arts Centre? While council was eagerly raising bus fares, not sure how much will be raised, they were just as eagerly spending close to half a million dollars over the next two years for the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. Hopefully the bus fare increase will cover this expenditure. At least Councillor Ward was consistent as she voted against both the fare increase and the additional funds for the BPAC.
I wish the Performing Arts success, but not sure at what cost. Mayor Rick Goldring did mention that although the BPAC did lose money last year, the professional shows did turn a profit. Hopefully this does not turn out to be another pier, which was not discussed at all. That was good news.
Was it the English accent or the cadence of his speech, but I got the impression that Councillor Paul Sharman seems to know what is best for Burlington. I kind of got the feeling that I was being talked down to.
Not sure if this is common to all the meetings, but there were no break scheduled for this meeting. Not sure as to why this is so, as even the most exciting of events plan a break so that everyone can take a moment to refresh. And trust me, the excitement level here does not compare to a sporting event.
Well, that is my quick review. Thank goodness we have reporters who do this on a regular basis and summarize the proceedings in their stories. If you can’t attend the meetings, at least read the articles so that you will have a better understanding of the proceedings. As for me, I just might sit in on another meeting as making judgements on just one is not fair. Not sure if I will attend the meeting live at city hall, or watch it on Cogeco Cable.
 Walter Byj is a more than 40 year Burlington resident who lives north of the QEW. He was employed as a Sales operations and planning manager with a major consumer products company for more than 30 years. He also worked in the field as a sales representative calling on department store branches in south-western Ontario. Walter also did his time at Dofasco where he did follow through for customers in the Hot Roll and Plate section. A graduate of Ryerson University Walter Byj completed a Bachelor of Business Management degree and diploma in Business Administration between 1967–1973 in a combination of full and part-time study.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 19, 2013 It is usually the city of Burlington handing out an award for something. At times one gets the impression there is a department that does nothing but think of people an award or a certificate can be given to.
But last night it was the city that got the award – given to them by the United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton . City Hall staff were the recipients who last night were represented by Wendy Hough, one of the brains in the IT department. It was nice to see the people who do the work get the credit.
 When it matters, city hall staffers put their backs into it. Community building at its best. Len Lifchus, Chief Executive Officer, United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton, gave the city the Arcelor Mittal Dofasco community award, which in the past has been given to Scotia Bank, Mohawk College, the Spectator and CUMIS; nothing shabby about that crowd.
Lifchus advised Council that he had recently moved to Burlington, which will certainly add to our heft as the second best place to live in Canada, and told city council that Burlington city hall staff had donated more than $985,000 to the United Way in the past ten years.
Council learned as well that many city hall employees that receive service awards donate the value of that award to the United Way.
City hall staff are usually the kick off point for the Burlington United Way campaign each year when they block off part of Brant Street and literally pull a heavy truck or some other heavy piece of equipment down the street. The city departments compete with each other for the shortest pull time. One year the Planning Department had two teams on the street.
Staff gets a bit of a break from their work and set the tone and the pace for the campaign in the city. There is no shortage of criticism about what city hall staffers don’t do – which for the most part are unfounded. The kick off United Way event put on by the city hall staff is the first steps in a campaign that is much-needed in this city. All those civil servants deserve the award they were given by the United Way last night.
Good on all of you.
 City Hall media release:
BURLINGTON, ON March 19th, 2013 –Brenda Heatherington, the first executive director of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, announced today she will leave in June to spend more time with her family.
“I was brought in three years ago to open this incredible venue,” Heatherington said. “I have watched The Burlington Performing Arts Centre go from a hole in the ground to a theatre with exceptional life and vibrancy. It is a good time now to pass the reigns to someone else.”
Heatherington came to Burlington from The Arden Theatre in St. Albert, Alta. in May 2010.
 Heatherington brought great experience in finding the talent that draws audiences into theatre seats. That talent is going to be hard to replace. “I am truly grateful to everyone who has welcomed me here in Burlington, from the staff and volunteers to the board of directors, members of City Council, the arts community and the many people who have been part of The Centre,” Heatherington said. “It is a privilege to work with you all, and I will miss you as I refocus my time and energy on new adventures and on my family.”
The executive director of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre reports to the board of directors. The Centre will begin a search for its second executive director to replace Heatherington.
“Brenda brought to the Burlington Performing Arts Centre solid community experience, energy and enthusiasm, helping give The Centre its best possible start,” said board chair Allan Pearson. “On behalf of the board, I want to offer my sincere thanks. We will continue The Centre’s positive momentum, presenting high-quality shows, excellent rental opportunities and leading theatre performance and education programs.”
In 2012, the Burlington Performing Arts Centre attracted 68,542 visitors. The Centre won the Award of Merit for Barrier-Free Design from the March of Dimes and received LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification for new construction from the Canada Green Building Council, CaGBC.
“The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is recognized as an excellent venue for culture and entertainment,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “Brenda and her team, together with the board of directors, have done a tremendous job of making The Centre a place where the performing arts thrive and where people can meet and enjoy a lively downtown experience.”
The Burlington Performing Arts Centre’s mission is to provide the people of Burlington with a broad range of excellent performance opportunities that will both inspire and delight, delivering diverse, world-class arts and entertainment to the community and showcasing Burlington and its arts community to the world.
Editors note:
The Performing Arts Centre has been under consistent criticism by citizens of the city and some members of city council for the revenue short falls. While council approved the budget for 2013 they also required both the Performing Arts Centre and the Burlington Art Centre to undergo full business plan reviews in the fall of 2013.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 19th, 2013 Nothing changed but we did get a look at the way this city of ours intends to handle the development of its budgets in the years ahead; where the priorities will be and where the problems that need to be resolved are as well.
We learned that when Councillor Craven was first elected the annual shortfall on infrastructure maintenance was $6 million. That was the annual shortfall more than ten years ago. Craven now tells us that the annual shortfall is now $18 million annually – which put another way means we should be spending $18 million to get our roads up to standard but have not been doing that.
That is a mess that this Council hopes to get out of starting in 2018 when the hospital levy will have been paid down and the city can start spending serious money on getting the roads fixed.
 Councillor Taylor meeting with staff to check up on some of the numbers in the budget binder. Taylor suspects the hospital has another big financial ask of the city up their sleeve. Not so fast advised Councillor Taylor, who pointed out that the city’s $60 million to the hospital will cover phases 1 and 2 – he suspects there is a phase 3 out there which we will have to pay for. No mercy for us at that level.
Council Craven decided the 2013 budget was one he would vote for – he didn’t vote for the 2011 or the 2012 budgets.
Councillor Meed Ward didn’t vote the 2013 budget but the rest of the crowd did, except for Councillor Dennison, who sent his regrets and was not present in the Council chamber.
 That red light was a sign – Sound of Music didn’t get the $37,000 they felt they needed as fall back money if the weather turned on them and events had to be cancelled. Note that the pier in this 2011 picture isn’t visible because there was nothing to see. The city plans on officially opening the pier during the Sound of Music festival this summer. SOM should charge the city a fee for horning in on their event. Had Dennison been at the horse shoe Meed Ward believes the Sound Of Music would have been given the $37,000 in fall back money they asked for.
Bfast, the city’s transit advocacy group asked that the 8% transit fare increase be deferred until there was a clear policy on new equipment acquisitions in place and when there was decent public input. Other than delegations during the budget process the public was basically shut out of any opportunity to have some input.
Good debate on the why of the fare increase and the usual mumblings about better community engagement but come May 1st – there will be a transit fare increase.
 Councillor Craven wasn’t flashing this smile at Councillor Meed Ward on Monday during the budget debate. It was getting close to ugly between those two  Councillor Marianne Meed Ward: She gave as good as she got in her slug fest with Councillor Craven during the budget debate For reasons that were never clear Councillor Craven had a real “hurt” on for Councillor Meed Ward; they were slugging it out frequently during the evening.
The debate on the budget left things just the way they were at the committee level. The good news was that the Burlington Teen Tour Band won the All-Ireland Championship. The city had put a chunk of change in the budget for the BTTB – can we expect to see an increase of tourists from Ireland this summer?
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. March 18, 2013 Theatre is alive and well in Burlington and Ireland House is showing the city how it can be done.
Sometime ago, Ireland House got a $32,500 federal grant to promote heritage and commemorate the War of 1812 and has decided to use some of that money to bring a live dramatic production to historic Ireland House.
 So fitting that a theatrical production focused on the War of 1812 should be performed at Ireland House. Tickets are a gift at $10. The 90 minute production will be done in the lower level of Ireland House – sound quality should be very good in a space that is quaint and intimate. It will be a difficult place for people who have ambulatory problems but other than that – it should be an interesting day.
There will be just the two performances on Friday April 5th: a matinée at 2:30 pm and an evening performance at 7:30 pm.
Tickets are very competitively price at $10 each. Call 905-332-9888 to reserve your tickets.
The Dora-nominated Toronto theatre company, Down n’ Out Productions, is bringing heritage, history and solid drama to locations across Ontario. If you don’t know what a Dora nomination is – know that is a mark of superb theatre.
The production – When the Ice Breaks is a new play based on life in Upper Canada during the War of 1812. Exploring the inner workings of an Upper Canadian household during the War of 1812, one domestic servant’s personal story of sacrifice and redemption comes alive in this intimately staged production written by Madeleine Donohue and featuring four professional performers with live early Canadian folk music.
 Construction of Ireland House didn’t begin until twenty years after the War of 1812 when the community was more settled. A close to perfect venue though for a War of 1812 production. The production will run for 80 minutes and is appropriate for audiences ages 10 and up.
If this is as good a production as it sounds – why wasn’t it put on at the Performing Arts Centre? Is $10 a seat out of the question for PAC?
This is a Museums of Burlington War of 1812-1814 initiative supported by the Federal Government’s “Celebration and Commemoration Program” that brought a $32,500 grant to the museum operation.
Down n’ Out Production approached Ireland House and asked if they could put on the performance in their locale. Great idea.
By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 15, 2013 Are the people doing this:
 A view of the Adi development on Guelph Line just south of Upper Middle Road is a project with a very contemporary look. Thinking seriously about doing something with this?
 What would an organization like Adi Developments do with Village Square? They appear to be working towards an opportunity to purchase the site and re-develop.
It is clear now that there are talks taking place about what might be done with the Village Square. Jack Friedman’s daughters do not want o continue managing the property and truth be told the Village isn’t working anymore as a destination. It no longer draws the traffic it once did – the set up is dated and a little on the tired side.
 Great presentation – a really inviting look but this commercial enterprise didn’t last long at the Village Square. Many people tried the location – it just didn’t work. Time for new eyes and a new kind of energy and while we cannot confirm that Adi developments are the people kicking the tires they are certainly displaying the gumption and energy that results in modern, upscale projects – and they don’t appear to be greedy.
When Adi Developments took their project to city hall they eased on on the density they were entitled too and instead came up with smaller units in a very compact setting. The plans look good – the proof of course is in the pudding which will become evident once the place is built and the moving trucks are moving residents in.
Burlington has been looking at the downtown core for some time and trying to find a way to bring some life to that part of the city; to get traffic on to Brant Street and the street to the east and west of the main artery – nothing seems to have worked. Will a major redevelopment of Village Square make the difference?
At some point in the near future all this secrecy from the former Miss Transparency, who hold the ward 2 seat at city council will, perhaps, revert to the candidate she said she was when she ran for election, and tell people who is doing what.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON – Manufacturing companies in Burlington face a serious shortage of trained workes with skills that relate to tool and die making.
The Centre, an educational organization that is part of the Halton Board of Education structure offers courses in electrical training, renovation skills development and industrial millwright mechanic/machinist skills. These are “trades” that pay well and offer satisfying work where expertise is built up over time.
The Centre for Skills Development & Training’s (The Centre) gets students trained and earning for career with a future, fast.
 Students at The Centre are trained on equipment they would find in any workshop in Burlington. The Centre is currently accepting applications for the 22-week, full-time program that includes over 70% of hands-on training in over 6,000 square feet of fully equipped shop space. Last year, over 92% of graduates found work in their field. The next start date is March 25, 2013.
 Jamie Fierro-Silva on the right and Omar Taylor practice setting up measuring devices for the very exacting work done on tool making equipment at The Centre. “Today, almost 50% of Canadian companies, regardless of size of location, are facing serious labour and skills shortages. This shortage poses a threat to economic growth; however, it also represents immense opportunity for people interested in working in trades,” said Kathy Mills, Chief Administrative Officer of The Centre for Skills Development & Training. “Our Industrial Millwright Mechanic/Machinist program is comprehensive and includes personalized job search assistance to ensure students land work in industry as quickly as possible.”
Established in 1988, The Centre for Skills Development &Training has two locations in Burlington and Oakville, and one location in Milton and Clarkson. The Centre provides pre-apprenticeship skilled trades training, employment services, services for newcomers to Canada, and customized workplace training and consulting services for companies.
That’s the corporate part of this story; there is a really interesting dynamic going on in the class I watched. The twenty some odd people in the class I looked in on were guided by Al Hossack who would work one on one with students as they set up a machine or worked to solve a problem.
Hossack was steps away for any student working in a shop that had the kind of equipment these students would work with in any workshop they went to – and the vast majority of these students would be employed once they have completed their course.
Mike Harwood is the Job Developer for the trades department. In a phrase – he is the matchmaker – he knows all the students and knows the needs of the employers in his markets. His relationship with the employers is such that they tell him what they need and he looks at what The Centre has coming through the system. Sometimes a student will do a very short placement to see if the chemistry is right.
Harwood refers to his job as “employer dating”.
 Al Hossack, a certified tool and die maker takes a student at The Centre through the set up procedures on a piece of equipment. Hands on and classroom time are part of the course. What the Centre is doing is attracting people who want to learn a trade and then, while training them, are also grooming them for the first job they will go into. It’s not a slam dunk course explained Al Hossack. We aren’t like a community college where students wander in whenever they want and wearing their pyjamas if the choose.
The Centre teaches skills and focuses on good work habits; punctuality and reliability. The students who walk out the door with their certificate in their hands take the reputation of the Centre with them – and that reputation is vigorously protected. Students toe the line – end up with good jobs, not just decent jobs and are known to have come out of a good school.
 Ellen Faraday – den mother to students at The Centre Ellen Faraday, Senior Trades coordinator for The Centre is sort of the den mother of the place. She lives and breathes what they do and sees every student as her project. She knows them all by name and knows where they are probably going to get their first job. These are “her people” and she is heavily invested in their progress. Ellen will tell you as she leads you from one workshop to another that three of the women who work with Mike Holmes – of Holmes on Homes fame came out of The Centre and then she rattles off the names.
The course that will start at the end of this month is being sponsored by the Ministry of Training – they are picking up the bulk of the fees. Great deal, great opportunity for someone who would like this kind of work or who wants to change the career stream they are in.
The Centre – worth looking at.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. March 14, 2013 You may remember all the hoopla about the collecting of local artifacts and having a plaster casting made of most of what was brought in for Peter Powning to consider as part of the Spiral Stella that will be placed outside the Performing Arts Centre sometime this summer.
People showed up with the darndest things, which Powning made a plaster impression of and then headed back to his secluded studio in New Brunswick where the work of an artist gets done.
 Do you recognize anything? Was something you took in part of this casting? There are more to come. There is part of the city crest in there; is that the key to Brant House? Who owned that tie and who used the paint brush – and that baby’s foot impression – where did it come from? The first glimpse of those castings can now be seen.
Do you recognize anything there? What you are looking at is one of castings that will be attached to the spiral when it is fabricated.
 Dan Lawrie put up a significant portion of the money needed to pay for the creation of the Spiral Stella. It’s coming along just fine and Dan is a happy camper. The sculpture was financed by the city out of its public art fund and a generous contribution by Dan Lawrie, president of a Burlington – Hamilton based insurance corporation.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. March 14th, 2013 There was chatter starting around 1:30 that there had been a daytime robbery at a home in the Alton community. Late in the day police reported that a lone black male with lighter tone skin and a muscular build had attempted to break into a home.
An unknown suspect, reported the police, attempted to break into a residence in the Alton Village community of North Burlington. The lone suspect initially approached the front of the residence and knocked on the main door. After receiving no response he then forced the door open.
As the suspect entered the residence he encountered the homeowner inside and he immediately fled from the residence without further incident. The homeowner was not injured during the incident and nothing was stolen from the residence.
The suspect involved in this offence is described as follows:
Male black with lighter skin tone, approximately 6 feet tall with a muscular build. He appeared to be 30–35 years old and was clean-shaven. He was wearing a black toque with a long sleeve shirt which was covered with a camouflage green coloured vest.
Anyone who has information pertaining to this incident is asked to call the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825 4747 ext. 2312, alternatively call Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222-TIPS (8477).
Police are reminding Burlington residents to be vigilant of any suspicious activity occurring near their homes and to call police regarding any concerning behaviour they encounter.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON March 14, 2013. When city manager Jeff Fielding left London, ON, where he was also city manager, they were the sixth best managed city in Canada. Little did the people in Burlington know that Fielding had every intention of getting Burlington to something better than the sixth best managed city in the country.
He has put together a program with McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business that will have upwards of 200 people from city hall taking courses at McMaster. Some of that 200 will come from the local boards, which is a great opportunity for people who serve in advisory capacities.
The curriculum for these courses, which are very close to an Executive MBA program, was put together by McMaster and sold to Burlington at a “very, very decent price”. One wonders if Fielding didn’t exact a price for the “dirty” McMaster did when they pulled the planned McMaster building program out of the downtown core and plunked it on the South Service Road.
Fielding also arranged for 20% of the curriculum to be under his control. McMaster might know the fundamentals on executive management – but it is Fielding who really knows the municipal world.
A fifth of the classroom load will be courses directly related to municipal management. If you have friends who work at city hall, expect to see less of them socially for the next while. Probably less golf this summer as well.
It is now much clearer why Fielding was given the Award of Excellence from Western University’s Local Government Program Alumni Society. That event wasn’t given all that much attention at the time other than the reference the Mayor made to it at a city council meeting. Fielding’s colleagues in London clearly saw something that was worth recognizing that is going to be a significant benefit to this city.
 City manager Jeff Fielding ran a tight ship in London, ON and is doing the same thing here. We are all going to be better for his time with us. For Fielding the task he has undertaken amounts to a cultural shift in the way city hall is run. Staff are currently putting together an inventory of the services they deliver and attaching a cost to each of those services.
Then staff will be asked to do a business case for each service delivered; what is it costing and what are we doing. Senior staff tells of a service that was getting a 94% satisfaction rating from citizens yet city hall was still putting fresh money into the service. “If you are getting 94% why are we spending any more money someone asked: because it was in the budget. Ouch. .
 That number is not his age, closer to the number of years he has been working in the municipal sector. Fielding is one of the better net-workers in the city; he can work a room as well as any of the politicians in the Region. Fielding realizes that if you change the language you change the way people think. So instead of talking about spending he wants his staff to think in terms of “investing” and then determining how they are going to measure the return on that investment.
If the return and the need for the service pass the business case test then Fielding wants to see the item included in the base budget.
That’s a different kind of thinking which Fielding thinks is going to require about 18 months to work its way into the minds of staff and onto the work they do. Staff have, in the past, thought in terms of what has to be spent ever since the structure on Brant street was first opened – that was the way municipal people thought.
Fielding is saying to them; “There is a better way to do this” and he is in the process of showing his staff how to do it and investing significant dollars in the process.
Burlington’s boards, the Library, Performing Arts Centre, the Art Centre, the Economic Development Corporation and the Museums (did I miss any) are separate from city hall but attached to the place by the equivalent of a umbilical cord. “The Boards are extensions of city council which delegates certain responsibilities and service delivery tasks to them but they are not separate in that they can just go their own way”, explains Fielding.
During the budget delegations this year the chair of the library board had her nose very much out of joint when city finance people began asking a lot of questions about their financial needs before their delegation to the Budget and Corporate Services committee which suggested that perhaps there wasn’t a full appreciation as to just what the relationship between a board and city council is.
 City manager Jeff Fielding doesn’t win every time. Joe Lamb, negotiating for the Seniors’ Centre basically took Fielding to the cleaners with the deal he talked the city into. Fielding who is a friendly, open, accessible but no pushover (except for the time the seniors worked him over) and capable of coming down with a very firm hand. He may appear to wear a velvet glove but don’t let that fool you. There are a number of people at city hall who have learned that lesson.
Expect Fielding to have city hall align more significantly with the boards and work with them to develop connections between each other. The Art Centre and the Performing Arts Centre should almost be sleeping with each other – they are looking to the same core markets for their revenue and could be looking for ways to share promotional and marketing expenses.
Last weekend there were more than 3,500 people running through the streets of the city; at 3 in the afternoon you could have shot a cannon ball up Brant Street and not hit a soul. Why wasn’t someone putting together programs that would keep enough of that crowd in town for an event at the Performing Arts Centre. And by the way it doesn’t have to be the PAC people doing this – no reason why someone couldn’t have rented the place and put on a show geared to the running crowd. Then maybe put together dinner packages for this crowd as well.
We saw an example of how this works, in a very small way, with the private sector when the Different Drummer put a copy of a PAC promotional poster on his web site and then tied a promotion of a book on The Gruffalo performance to the books of the same name. The Drummer ran a contest for four tickets to The Gruffalo performance; all you had to do was drop by the bookstore and fill in the forms. The private sector calls that cross-promotion which Fielding just loves to see; expect him to push for this kind of initiative from the people he works with.
Ian Elliott, proprietor of The Different Drummer does these things or he doesn’t get to eat.
Our Mayor used to tell people that Burlington was the second best city to live in. Now he says ‘everyone knows Burlington is a great place to live, work and play’ which are nice verbal bromides. By the time he ends his second term of office he just might be able to say that Burlington is the third best managed city in the country. THAT is something substantial and worth talking about.
Expect Jeff Fielding to pull it off.
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