Whether based on fact or innuendo there is a real feeling that the rural folks in Pakenham are paying Almonte's way. We don't like it, we didn't vote for it but alas we're stuck with it. Current Council seems to think that as Almonte goes so goes Mississippi Mills.
In fact the opposite is true, Ramsay and Pakenham were viable prior to amalgamation. Residents feel we were doing just fine before amalgamation and now nothing but tax increases with no nothing to show.
Position - This is the perception. This is one of the reasons I am running for Council, it is the unspoken monkey sitting in the council chambers. I will lobby the Mayor to push the Minister of Municipal Affairs to increase the base population for the requirement to provide programs and services from 10,000 residents to 15 or more thousand residents. OR failing that look into having the Minister make the minimum size of a Municipalities' urban core 8-10 thousand residents. We simply can't afford many of these programs that only benefit Almonte.
