This is your opportunity to give the government your ideas on how to spend the tax dollars they collect.

News 100 blueBy Staff

October 16th, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

Your provincial government wants your ideas – and if they are any good they are going to reward you. It can’t get much better than that,

The province of Ontario is making $5 million available to bring these ideas to life.

Queen's Park winter

This is where the spending decisions get made – have you got an idea that you think will make a difference?

Ontario launched Budget Talks, an online consultation, was launcged last week; its purpose is to allow the public to help shape policies and programs that will be part of Ontario’s future.

The government will provide up to $5 million to fund up to five proposals identified and voted on by the public as part of the 2018 Budget.

This is the fourth year in a row the government has engaged the public in the development of the Ontario budget through Budget Talks, and the second year that funding will be allocated directly to citizen-led proposals.

Through www.Ontario.ca/budgettalks, people are invited to share ideas on five focus areas: child care, seniors, small business, students and healthy living.

To be eligible, proposals must:

• Be submitted online by midnight on November 3, 2017
• Be for a new fund, pilot project, study, event or digital service
• Fall within the scope of the Ontario government to deliver
• Help support one of the five focus areas outlined on Budget Talks
• Require a one-time investment of no more than $1 million
• Show progress or completion by spring 2019

In January 2018, people will be able to comment and vote on ideas generated during the first phase of Budget Talks.

In 2017, people submitted 404 ideas, wrote 923 comments and casted 19,229 votes as part of Budget Talks.

Reducing and preventing food waste, improving digital services for libraries and accessing digitized health data were the three ideas that received the most public votes and were included in the 2017 Budget. View the project tracker to follow our progress, as we work to implement the ideas.

The next time you feel the need to complain about government not listening – remember – you were given a time to talk. Use it or lose it.

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3 comments to This is your opportunity to give the government your ideas on how to spend the tax dollars they collect.

  • George Ward

    Please consider this proposal:

    Currently the Halton District School Board (HDSB) and Trustees have voted to close two Burlington high schools through implementing a discredited and flawed plan and program which is currently undergoing an Ontario Ministry of Education Administrative Review. This is despite the fact the Ontario Minister of Education announced a moratorium on the Pupil Accommodation Review Plan.

    The HDSB plan and program consists of closing two Burlington high schools (Lester B Pearson and Robert Bateman) and having Frank J Hayden high school running over capacity with currently 12 portables and 6 more portables planned.

    As well the Halton District School Board plans “… to provide the staff of HDSB with a 21st century work environment: a new 95,000 sq. ft. facility to accommodate 350 staff within a single building.” Calculation “95,375 sq. ft x #310/sq. ft. = $29.6 M”.

    Published statements issued by the HDSB include “The Halton District Administration is experiencing significant growth pressured due to growth in student population and the increasing complexity of its work. As a result the Board’s existing office facilities have become woefully inadequate. This is not a question of quantity of space but rather of quality of space.” and “The sale of the existing J. W. Singleton site would make this project possible and in turn , create a facility that reflects the Board’s values, resulting in the delivery of the highest quality education for the Board’s students.”

    My proposal is: Move the portables from Frank J Hayden high school to the J. W. Singleton site and move the HDSB Administration and staff into the portables which will save the taxpayer $29.6 Million dollars (I doubt the HDSB Administration and staff would object to this proposal because surely if the portables were good enough for pupils to go without washrooms, etc. the HDSB staff would accept these conditions as well).
    Then keep Lester B Pearson and Robert Bateman high schools open and reassign the improper current high school catchment areas to move the students from the overloaded schools (Frank J. Hayden) to the existing non closed high schools.

    This proposal is one: “that (actually) reflects the Board’s values, (and Burlington citizens values) resulting in the delivery of the highest quality education for the Board’s students.”

    This proposal will be far less than the $5 million dollars that the provincial government has to offer so the rest of the $5M can go to other worthwhile projects. Also everyone is happy. The citizens of Burlington have their high schools intact; the taxpayer saves some $29.6M; there is room for the HDSB stated significant growth pressures due to the growth in student population; the HDSB staff is all together at the J.W. Singleton location and the student have the highest quality education from the Board.

    • Tom Muir

      George,

      What a story!! Thanks for these insightful suggestions.

      You have clearly been schooled by your experience with the PAR and the Board telling us constantly that this is all for the benefits of the students, to give them the highest quality education experience possible.

      I always thought that this was a bunch of BS to cover-up the surplus seats they built that caused the problem, but now they have the chance to make it right and actually deliver something like the Bull.

      In this light I especially like your idea of moving the portables to Singleton, and giving the Board staff something of the best experience they can offer the students, as you describe. No problem for the staff, right? It’s the best.

      It will cost a lot less than $5 million, and certainly nowhere near the $30 million they want to blow on themselves. Indeed, at a minimal 2% return on the $30 million they can save would yield about $600,000/yr at least, going a long way to paying the operating costs of the 2 schools they want to close.

      Oh, I don’t want to forget that they will no longer have to spend $12 million or more to replace equipment and so on at Nelson as a result of closing this same equipment at Bateman. Another $240,000 or so in savings to keep school assets we already have open.

      And Oh again, what about the staff hire in charge of transition at another $100,000 to $150,000. Man, if we keep going like this who knows how big the pile of saved dough will get.

      But I guess thinking like this that our education bosses are themselves educated and possessed maybe of some common sense is too much to ask.

      These guys and girls in charge of the money and direction are, I venture to say, insensitive, and seem to be losing their way.

      But please keep that a secret. That is after all how this Board has worked all along. We don’t want to out them – or do we?

  • James

    Let me get this straight… the government is going to spend $5 million of our hard earned tax dollars for ideas on how to spend the remainder of our tax dollars? Like they’ve run out of ideas on how to toss away our money? Here’s an idea – DON’T WASTE OUR MONEY!!!! IF YOU DON’T HAVE TO SPEND IT, DON’T SPEND IT!!!