Municipal Politics

[Snark]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

my wages went up 1.25% (thanks, Doug Ford).
my taxes will go up 7.3% (thanks, Josh Morgan).

We pay more, and keep less. will the quality of services rise by 7.3%? I think not. I imagine that the police are getting more than 1.25% pay raise (Doug Ford only likes to keep wages down for the occupations that don't vote for him).

Why are the tax rises higher for London than for other comparable cities? It is not like we offer residents so much more.

Shitty times.

To compare London with the closest comparable in size community, Waterloo Region (70 km away), the 2025 property taxes (not including the education portion) are slated to go up 5.9%, 6.7%, or 7.4%, depending on which city in the Region you live in. So, 75% of the Waterloo urban ratepayers will pay slightly less than London, and 25% will pay about the same as London. In Wilmot (adjacent satellite community very comparable to Kilworth/Strathroy adjacent to London), taxes are going up over 20%.

[Djeffery]

Waterloo has quite the sprawl going on themselves. I remember when Trussler Rd was some "out in the middle of nowhere" country road, now they have a Costco to the west of that. We talk about London and St Thomas growing together. Between the furthest northeast sprawl of Woodstock and the southwesternmost sprawl of Waterloo is about 16 miles now.

[Djeffery]

Council has decided to dock councillor Susan Stevenson 30 days pay for daring to ask questions about the homeless problems in London. I guess using "sad" emojis in a tweet is harassment of city officials. Quite an interesting interview Craig Needles did with her Monday on his podcast. Never really thought much of her in the campaign but I kind of like how direct she is and how she is dogged in asking the questions about where the money is going.

Also hadn't heard previously that she is seeking the Conservative Party nomination for London North Centre. I think Peter Fragiskatos is doing a decent job as MP but should be get swept out in a blue wave (whether Stevenson is the candidate or someone else, as I haven't heard who else is running yet), I wonder if he might seek the Mayor's chair in 2026.

[CanadianTalk]

Originally Posted by Djeffery

Council has decided to dock councillor Susan Stevenson 30 days pay for daring to ask questions about the homeless problems in London. I guess using "sad" emojis in a tweet is harassment of city officials. ....

It's my understanding (from the CBC article tonight) that the main incident that sparked this whole thing was that she included the name of a city hall staffer in a post on all her social medias. The staffer privately contacted her asking to remove their name from the post. She refused to do so, and that is when the staffer filed a complaint with the city's Integrity Commissioner.

Also, I agree that the homeless problems in London are really really bad. Like really really bad. But the thing with Stevenson is that she has never proposed any solutions. I truly believe she "asks tough questions" just for the publicity to make it seem like she is the only one who cares, and of course to make the headlines..... which seems to be convenient now that we all know her goal all along was to seek higher office (as she is now running to be a Conservative MP).

There is nothing stopping her from bringing forward a motion to Council to put/take x amount of dollars towards/from something, or bringing forward a motion to advocate to upper levels of gov't for treatment centres, or bringing forward a motion to see the budget details of whatever program she is inquiring about... but that doesn't make the headlines.

She is one of only 15 people in our city of 450K with the power to do all the things I mentioned, so why doesn't she?

[K85]

"(as she is now running to be a Conservative MP)"

first I've heard of this... what a joke she can be. I agree with you, mouthpiece

[bolognium]

Stevenson is a blowhard. She can ask the "hard" questions while still being professional, but she doesn't. People keep framing this like it's a freedom of speech thing, but in reality it's an etiquette thing. I'm happy to see her finally face some repercussions. Consequences of your actions and all that.

Also, regarding London property tax increases. Did any of the comparable municipalities enjoy two years of artificial property tax freezes in their recent past? People keep pointing to neighbouring municipalities like KW saying their increase is less than ours, but are they still making up the difference from two years of 0% increases and deferred projects? London's past councils have kicked the can down the road over and over again, only for those decisions to finally come back to bite us in the ass.

People cheer 0% increases and deferred spending, only to be surprised when the chickens come home to roost. On top of deferring projects and spending, the costs of those projects and that maintenance have ballooned significantly in the meantime. Costing us much more than if we had just taken the hit back then and gotten that shit done in the first place.

[MolsonExport]

nothing worse than blowhards that have no plans. it amounts to grandstanding, and it is a distraction.

usually the approach taken the same type of people that offer simple solutions to complex problems.

"lock 'em up!"
"bootstraps!"
"axe the tax!"
"witch hunt!"

[CanadianTalk]

Looks like Mayor Josh Morgan intends to seek re-election in the next municipal election (campaigning starts in a year and half, so still quite a way to go).

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/q-...in-2025-with-mayor-josh-morgan-1.7421771

Interesting fact... if he wins, it will be the first election in 20 years that a London mayor was re-elected.

[Djeffery]

I bet he has more competition this time. I don't know if anyone currently on council has the stones to try to unseat him but I wouldn't be shocked if Peter Fragiskatos runs if he loses the federal election. I could see one of the political "power couple" of Jesse Helmer or Kate Graham make a run as well.

[jammer139]

Looks like City councillor is being removed from Library Board.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/co...board-after-he-missed-too-many-meetings/

[Djeffery]

Originally Posted by jammer139

Looks like City councillor is being removed from Library Board.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/co...board-after-he-missed-too-many-meetings/

He should be removed from Council completely.

[CanadianTalk]

Originally Posted by jammer139

Looks like City councillor is being removed from Library Board.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/co...board-after-he-missed-too-many-meetings/

Originally Posted by Djeffery

He should be removed from Council completely.

For added context, this was the same councillor that was on CTV London a few days ago for being aggressive to a political consultant after refusing to pay $32,000 in consulting fees (didn't even realize that there was a need for city councillors to get that much in consulting)

https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/co...-political-consultant-in-shocking-video/

Surprised that CTV London is the only news agency that picked up this story (not even the Free Press or CBC London).... this even made national news and went viral on CTV's tiktok page ... 1 million views!

Last month the city approved the new ward boundaries that will be in place for the next election, which means that my house will now be in his ward... I wasn't planning on voting for him anyway, but after this, for sure I won't be.

[jammer139]

The new HART hub announced today for the Salvation Army building downtown.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ne...-salvation-army-centre-of-hope-1.7449828

https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/lo...ss-and-addiction-recovery-treatment-hub/

[jammer139]

It's been about a year since the RFP for redevelopment of 185 Queens Ave was put out by the City.

Bid website:

https://london.bidsandtenders.ca/Module/...ail/a73121ba-2d50-4573-8861-31e341ccc717

https://globalnews.ca/news/10295113/london-ont-parking-lots-high-density-housing/

Still nothing but crickets on the analysis of the bids received.

[jammer139]

City hall files $3M lawsuit after community centre's partial roof collapse
London city hall is suing the builder and architects of an east London community centre.


The $21.4-million community centre opened in December 2021 after years of delays and setbacks.

https://london.ca/living-london/parks-facilities/community-centres/east-lions-community-centre


https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/city...-community-centres-partial-roof-collapse

[jammer139]

Reining in property tax hikes on the agenda. Must mean the municipal election is on the horizon.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/how-can-london-mayor-rein-in-property-tax-hikes

[jammer139]

Annexation talk as projected growth on city edges increase pressures on planning.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/requ...re-of-arvas-sewage-spurs-annexation-talk

[jammer139]

next Municipal election is Oct 26 2026.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/mayo...long-path-to-13m-in-cuts-savings-or-both

[CanadianTalk]

Several city councillors have wrote a letter to Council requesting that the London Transit Commission be dissolved, and be replaced in the interim with a board consisting of three city councillors.

7 people sit on the commission; two city councillors, and 5 members of the public.

Three members on the commission (including 1 of the 2 councillors) have already quit.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/lo...o-take-over-running-bus-system-1.7491666

"Concerns have been raised by council and the public: around accessibility issues, ridership experiences, route extensions into new developments, growth hours, rapid transit implementation and council directions," the four [councillors] wrote in a letter.


"Through these interactions, council as a governing body has attempted to strike a collaborative tone to partner in addressing the challenges. However, it has become clear that there is a breakdown in the working relationship."

"Increased funding for transit is essential, and building strong relationships with all key stakeholders is vital. The current relationship between the LTC and the city remains divisive. This is further impacting LTC leadership credibility and exacerbates the ability to procure needed resources."

The commission in its current form isn't able to hold the transit leadership to account or implement changes needed for an effective transit system, Little added.

[Ward 13 Councillor David] Ferreira said he has pushed for more effective transit, but the current structure of the LTC stalls any kind of "substantive progress" that the public transit requires to meet the needs of Londoners.

The board is unable to make decisions, and progress has been "incremental at best."

"With respect, my resignation is a call to action: to strengthen the foundation of our transit system by realigning governance under direct council oversight until the upcoming governance review is complete and a permanent, more modern governance structure is implemented," Ferreira wrote.

[jammer139]

Push to find a new Integrity Commissioner.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/article/po...grity-commissioner-and-find-replacement/