Town Council

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Council chambers were filled with local residents and business owners to hear, and speak to,  the council’s debate.

Last year, the Image Committee received $23,800, whereas, this year, it is to receive only $18,800 from a budget that has been consistently cut over the past four/five years. The Image Committee is mainly responsible for maintaining and keeping the downtown core of Walkerton looking "... beautiful and enticing", along with other organizations such as the Horticultural Society.

Although several councilors said that raising the budget would be a “dangerous precedent” and that the Image Committee should perform some fundraising on their own, the majority of councilors, including Mayor David Inglis, disagreed. “ There is a close relationship between economics and the Image Committee,” said Inglis, “I think we’re doing the right thing by providing enough money for this group to carry on the good they’ve been doing in the community.”

After canvassing the downtown core, one committee member said that the general feeling of the general public was that  "the Image Committee was doing a wonderful job". Some members of council felt that the Image Committee has proven how effective it is. Mayor Inglis also felt that "...giving the Image Committee a budget of $18,800 would  allow them (the Committee) to know where they are going in the future".

Dennis Ryan, ex-President of the Chamber of Commerce and ex-Chair of the Image Committee questioned how much the Committee would be able to do after consistent cuts from the Municipality of Brockton. “Our basic image is to make this town beautiful so it doesn’t look like the mess in Hanover,” said Ryan. He also mentioned that the  Committee decorates for the Buskers Festival and the 'Dirt Pigs' events held every year in Walkerton.

Kirstine said that the Image Committee had helped create a downtown core that is thriving when compared to a time when there were very few businesses.

The final decision on the proposed $18,800 was passed by a majority vote.

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Thursday, April 28, 2011