Paul Gilmore will be seeking re-election as Reeve for the R.M. of Montcalm this fall.
He highlighted some of his priorities heading into the October 26th municipal election.
"We'll continue to keep an eye on good governance, no question. We do expect that there will be other projects and we're hoping our past four years of projects will ease somewhat. It would be nice on everyone including the staff. One other thing that I've got my eye on is, growth in our municipality has been rather limited and I think my thoughts would be to give some of our time to economic development, coupled with population growth. That would be one of my focuses," commented Gilmore. "Another one is, as always, fiscal responsibility always remains a key part of our responsibilities. I will continue to focus on finances. Definitely would like to see property taxes remain at the present level but I think it's inevitable that minor increases seem a normal part of any fiscal program. I think with those thoughts in mind, I'll hope to get on for another four years."
He says the municipality was inundated with projects over the last four years including the paving of Caron Street in St. Jean, finishing off the drain on St. Mary's Road, establishment of a transfer station, new lagoon in Letellier, completion of the St. Jean Fire Hall in 2019, and the installation of high speed internet.
"I've found that my past work experience and board experience that I've had with other boards has helped me along with the projects that we oversaw," added Gilmore. "My learning curve was mainly in the public works area, which I learnt a tremendous amount about ditching and drainage and roads, that in my field of work were foreign to me. Now that I've got four years of that kind of stuff, it will help me going forward no doubt."
He notes flooding in 2019 and 2022 were major challenges for the municipality.