By Cecilia Nasmith
Northumberland County Warden Bob Sanderson was in attendance last week at the annual inaugural meeting of the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus in Kingston.
A press release reporting on the meeting announces that Mayor Andy Letham was appointed chair for 2020, with Warden Rick Phillips as vice-chair.
Letham, returning for a second consecutive term as chair, is Mayor of the City of Kawartha Lakes. Phillips is Warden of the County of Hastings and Mayor of the Township of Tyendinaga (and EOWC chair in the 2013 term). Both are long-standing EOWC members who bring valuable experience to their positions to the caucus, which represents 13 upper-tier Eastern Ontario municipalities (including Northumberland County).
“I am honoured to return as the 2020 EOWC chair in order to continue advocating on behalf of the 103 municipalities and the 750,000 property taxpayers across rural Eastern Ontario,” Letham said.
“Last year, the EOWC once again proved the efficiency and reliability of its research and its advocacy, as well as its ability to respond quickly to proposed policy changes that impact municipal services. I look forward to working closely with Vice-Chair Phillips and my fellow caucus members to deliver these same results for eastern Ontario.”
Phillips said the greatest strength of the EOWC is its ability to speak with a unified voice for the entire region.
“As we work towards advancing EOWC priorities in 2020, we will continue to work closely with the provincial and Federal governments, as well as key partners, in order to best serve Eastern Ontario residents.”
For the purposes of continuity, the EOWC will be continuing its 2019 advocacy efforts for the first few months of 2020, starting with next week's delegation at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference. Priority topics of discussion will be the overhaul of the provincial health system, affordable housing, funding for long-term care, and the Eastern Ontario Regional Network Cellular Network Improvement Project and Broadband Gap Strategy.
Priorities will be reviewed in the spring, at which time the caucus will decide its focus for the remainder of 2020.
