Barb Clumpus

It is truly humbling when the results are finally announced at the end of what seems like a long election campaign. I am very grateful for the support for me and the demonstrated confidence in the 2014 Council team. Congratulations to Shirley Keaveney, Steve Bartley, Tony Bell and Harley Greenfield, who were re-elected, and my heartfelt thanks and best wishes to them as well as Jaden Calvert and Mike Poetker for our strong progressive record that contributed to this win. ...I want to congratulate and welcome Paul Vickers and Ross Kentner who will be joining the Council 2018 Team and to share my excitement about the opportunities and potential for success over the next four years. Congratulations as well to all the candidates who entered the race with positive ideas to help make the Municipality of Meaford THE place to be on South Georgian Bay; your commitment to our community is much appreciated, and I encourage your support and your involvement as we move our municipality forward. Thank you to everyone who voted for me and for all those thoughts and concerns I heard along the way; they won’t be forgotten. It is an honour and a privilege to be of service to this wonderful community, and I’m inspired and energized by this decisive victory. With kind regards, Mayor Barb

Here's a press release update on the voting technical difficulties and how staff has worked to accommodate them in Meaford. Meaford, Ontario October 23, 2018 Due to technical issues in the last 3 hours of the voting period on Monday, October 22, the voting period has been extended to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 23. At approximately 5:30 p.m. on October 22, staff at the Election Help Centre and voters across the Municipality started to report problems with accessing the ...online and telephone voting systems. At times, voting was possible but had extensive load-time delays, and at others the voting site was completely unavailable. Following conference calls with Dominion Voting Systems, our service provider, and their other clients around the province, it became clear that the issue was not going to be quickly resolved. Section 53 of the Municipal Elections Act gives the Clerk authority to declare an emergency if circumstances have arisen that are likely to prevent the election being conducted in accordance with this Act. The Clerk determined that in order to ensure that all Meaford residents had the opportunity to vote, it was appropriate to declare an emergency and extended the voting hours until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. Announcements were made to the voters waiting at our Help Centre, at Meaford Hall, via e-mail to candidates, on our website, through social media, and through a media release. Voting will continue until 8:00 p.m. today, with the following help centers available to assist voters, provide access to computers, and continue to add voters to the voters list. Municipal Office, 21 Trowbridge Street West 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sydenham Centre, 458372 Grey Road 11 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The results announcement will take place at 8:15 p.m. tonight at Meaford Hall, and the unofficial results will also immediately be made available on our Social Media pages and website. The official statement from Dominion Voting Systems outlining how the problem was caused is attached. The bandwidth limit that caused the issue means no voter information was compromised, and that the integrity of the election has been maintained. -30- For Further Information, Contact: Matt Smith Clerk/Director of Legislative and Protective Services Municipality of Meaford 21 Trowbridge Street West, Meaford 519 538-1060 ext. 1115 | [email protected]

Voting period extended by 24 hours. From Kingston to Sudbury, many municipalities in Ontario have decided to extend voting due to technical difficulties experienced by Dominion Voting System. Unfortunately we've been affected by this problem as well. Because people may have had trouble voting in the hours leading up to the deadline, Meaford will extend the voting period to 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 23. This is disappointing to all of us; thank you to everyone for your patience.

Rural Meaford matters. When I think of Meaford, I think of the entire municipality, which encompasses a great diversity of interests, needs and ideas. I have r...egularly met with people in the community in the various areas of rural Meaford, and I look forward to continuing to do so. Here are some of the accomplishments of Council during the last four years. A pilot project on three rural roads replaced tar & chip or gravel with reclamite a long-lasting and recoverable hard surface treatment. Contributed annual surplus funds or unexpected other revenue to infrastructure projects. The State of Infrastructure report for bridges has determined action plans to guide future maintenance and repair. Our long-term care facility is slated for a rebuild and anticipates doubling the number of LTC beds. This means job opportunities for professional and support staff. Meaford hosted two county-wide conferences connecting agriculture production and technology, with a third to be held in November 2018. Reduced long term debt from a high of $10.65M to $6.5M. Annual budgeted operating expenses have remained static ($11.4M in 2009 to $12.1M in 2018), showing a budget increase of 5.7% while the Consumer Price Index over the same period was 13.5%. Discretionary reserves (for infrastructure) have increased from just under $4M in 2014 to approximately $7M. Upper-tier grants are dependent upon a municipality having sufficient reserves: skin in the game. Tax-supported capital expenditures have increased from $225,000 in 2009 to $3.7M in 2018. I personally championed the fight to the board of the NEC to successfully prevent expansion of NEC lands in the Municipality.

I had hoped that this election campaign would see the respectful, thoughtful sharing of ideas and positions, so that voters could make intelligent, informed decisions. I've been saddened to see less principled tactics employed by some in this race, who are deliberately misinterpreting decisions of the previous council. In lieu of positive, constructive contributions, these candidates seem intent on tearing down much of the hard work of the last four years. I do understand th...at some people are legitimately unhappy with some decisions, and this shouldn't be ignored. Our new council should work hard at communicating more clearly with our citizens, and we need to listen and remember that we work for you. Many people will remember the long period of turmoil that we endured in the years leading up to the last election. If you are new to the Municipality, you can find many references to the troubles at Council and in our municipal governance online. In the last four years, we've worked hard to fix what was broken and to greatly improve the perception of Meaford. I am personally concerned that we could easily slip back. Please look at what every candidate has to offer and vote for continuing our progress in the next four years. These are a few accomplishments of this Council Annually invested a minimum of 1.5% of operation budget to preservation keeping good roads good. Major road reconstruction projects completed across the Municipality $3.7M budgeted in 2018. Contributed annual surplus funds or unexpected other revenue to infrastructure projects Exceptional building permits growth $66M in last 18 months. Agribusiness grew with the addition of two cideries and a new 350-acre orchard operation. Fostered a welcoming environment for developers, investors, and new residents. Long term debt reduced by $4.2M 39% Debt management and reserve capacity has favourably positioned the Municipality to apply for infrastructure grants. Infrastructure reserves increased 75% to $7M Consumer Price Index has risen by 13.5% since 2009, yet operating expenses have been held to only 5.7% 7.8 points below inflation! Personally, I undertook the following initiatives. Championed the fight to the board of the NEC to successfully prevent expansion of NEC lands in the Municipality Created and led a team to fight the closing of all our schools resulting in the Province building a new $24.1M JK to 12 school Spearheaded community support to save our hospital operating room and challenged the hospital board, resulting in a successful outcome. Cultivated a team approach, building collaborative relationships with the community, staff, and all levels of government. Please consider this track record when you vote.