Mayor Brown thanked Rotary for its tremendous contribution to the community and in particular commended John Sanderson as the “pulse” of downtown Brampton and noted that John always seems to know what is happening in Brampton before anyone else. The Mayor noted in particular John’s tip and valuable assistance in a recent highly publicized community safety issue.
Mayor Brown shared that he community grants were continuing to support Rib ‘n’ Roll and that the City is continuing to meet with Rotary about Gage Park sponsorship and the development of the Glen.
The Mayor highlighted some recent achievements:
- City Budget had passed with a tax freeze, the only one of 25 of the largest cities in the country to have a tax freeze.
- Emphasis on infrastructure and education development (e.g. Chris Gibson, Pearson Theatre, new cricket field, Hwy 413, transportation corridor).
- $2m for new playground enhancements and focus on “active” transportation.
- 45 new buses and by 2020 – free transit for seniors.
- Ryerson cyber security partnership (included in federal budget).
- New incubator space for entrepreneurship and tech innovation.
- Algoma University School of Business expansion in DT Brampton
- Return of express Go Train
- Council more unified (many votes are unanimous).
Mayor Brown noted his five main areas of focus/themes including:
- City of opportunities
- Celebrate our cultural mosaic
- Green city/sustainability
- Healthy and safe city
- Well run city – leveraging partnerships.
He noted how underfunded Brampton is and gave examples in the areas of transportation and health care (e.g. Brampton has 0.96 beds/1,000 pop versus the provincial average of 2.19 beds/1,000 pop). We are funded as if Brampton has a population of 300,000 instead of $650,000+.
Mayor Brown invited all to participate, attend or promote upcoming events such as the Mayor’s Easter Seals Hockey Tournament coming up in May.