With Georgina voters heading to the polls on Monday, October 26, the town’s three mayoral candidates are offering their views on some of the most pressing issues facing the municipality. Incumbent Mayor Margaret Quirk is seeking re-election against current Ward 4 councillor Dale Kerr Genge and former Ward 4 councillor Frank Sebo.

The Georgina Post asked all three candidates the same 10 questions, covering property taxes, municipal spending, long-term debt, water bills, economic development, housing affordability, homelessness and flooding.

Genge: I am running for Mayor because I feel this term of Council made some decisions that were not in taxpayers’ best interests. Georgina has the lowest average income of comparable municipalities, including all other York Region municipalities.  Council needs to keep this top of mind when making all decisions. I am running to put taxpayers first and to bring back the trust in municipal government.

Quirk: I love this community!  I believe Georgina’s future depends on experienced, respectful leadership to build a stronger community. As a Councillor 1994 to 2010, Mayor since 2014, I have seen our community grow and evolve. We’ve made important investments in infrastructure, recreation, economic development and community services. We are facing development pressure, affordability challenges, and aging infrastructure, all while residents are feeling the squeeze of rising costs of living.  Experienced leadership is needed for these issues:

•Continue to work with Southlake Health on building their Georgina Advance Care Centre.

•Continue planning responsibly for growth, supporting businesses and working with and listening to residents to ensure Georgina remains a welcoming, vibrant community for future generations.

Sebo: Georgina is the jewel of York Region and the crown jewel of the G.T.A. We are close to the city, yet worlds away and I love living and owning a business here and being a part of this amazing community. It was an honour to serve Georgina residents, as a member of Georgina Council from 2014 to 2022. I took the job seriously, as one should, and I am proud of the work that I did as Ward 4 Councillor. We accomplished a lot! There is always more work to do. I am excited to bring my energy, enthusiasm, passion and vision, my thirty years’ experience, as a Georgina resident and business owner, and my eight years’ experience, as a Ward Councillor, to bear serving Georgina’s residents as their next Mayor.

Common-sense decision-making with the best interests of residents always top of mind.

Better value for every tax dollar collected. I look forward to working collaboratively with fellow Municipal and Regional Council members, staff, residents, and all stakeholders to build a strong team and make Georgina an even better place to live, work, and play.

Beholden to no one, accountable to all. I will provide responsible, respectful, experienced, strong and honest leadership.

The future is bright!

Genge: The most important issue according to taxpayers is the level of taxes. Our residents on average pay a higher percentage of their income on property taxes than comparable municipalities. We need to reduce expenses by looking first at our single largest expense item, which is salaries. I will freeze hiring for new full-time positions (except firefighters). Another important issue is the state of infrastructure. We need to address flooding that has the potential to cause property damage.  Finally, we need to bring more businesses to town to relieve some of the pressure on the residential tax base and provide employment.

Quirk: Affordability: Continue to keep our operating budget tax increases below the rate of inflation, maintain services and provide for our infrastructure needs.  Find budget efficiencies to manage property taxes.  Continue to seek non-tax levy dollars: grants, investment income. Economic Development: Continue to attract new businesses to add jobs, relieve the pressure on residential taxes. Work with businesses on what incentives can help them locate/expand their businesses. Provide the environment where businesses want to invest and grow. Advocate for opportunities for job skills development for our youth. Growth:  Keep our small-town feel, protect  Lake Simcoe and our agricultural lands and ensure growth is done responsibly;  growth pays for growth.

Sebo: In short, infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure! For now and for the future.

While being fiscally responsible and fully transparent, Georgina must invest in its core infrastructure, from roads, sidewalks and bridges to facilities, parks and waterfront amenities. We need to instill civic pride, show pride of ownership, put a little polish on the jewel that is Georgina, provide a solid foundation and plan responsibly for the future.

I will work closely with fellow Council members, staff, residents and all stakeholders to identify priorities and concerns and to find cost effective solutions. I will seek out funding from higher levels of Government to help ease the burden on Georgina taxpayers and I will forge strategic partnerships that will ensure optimal outcomes.

Genge: Ideally, I would like property tax increases to not exceed the average percentage increase of our residents’ income. This would help ensure our residents do not end up in worse financial shape due to tax increases.  This might be hard to achieve, especially in a year or two, so the next threshold is to not exceed the cost of living.  To do this, we first freeze hiring and ensure staff resources are optimized. We then must focus on only the need-to-do capital projects, like controlling flooding and roadwork, not nice- to-do or vanity projects.

Quirk: Keep the operating budget increases under the rate of inflation. (past 10 years average 2.56% inflation average 2.71%) Work with council, staff and taxpayers to find efficiencies and streamlining opportunities. Continue the Capital levy for repair and maintenance of our roads, parks and facilities. That funding avoids higher tax increases, or long term debt. Continue and expand nontax levy sources, such as investment income and grants ($20M and $12M in the past 4 years), to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Georgina’s total tax levy collected has increased over the years, it is misleading not to mention that over half relates to assessment growth, new revenue from new residential, commercial and industrial properties, not tax increases.

Sebo: Georgina residents need a break from ever increasing property taxes, while ensuring that programs and services that residents have come to expect are retained and expanded upon. I will work in partnership with Council, staff, residents and all stakeholders to find operational efficiencies and cost savings across all departments.

I will strongly advocate for more funding from the Regional, Provincial and Federal Governments to ease the burden on Georgina taxpayers, and I will work closely with members of our local business community, through the Chamber of Commerce and our local Business Improvement Associations, to support them and to help them grow, expand and thrive. I will strive to attract more commercial businesses to Georgina, which will broaden the tax base and take some of the pressure off of our residential taxpayers.

Genge: The first step here is to not take on any additional long-term debt unless absolutely necessary. We need to continue to apply for grant money from other levels of government. I realize money from other levels of government is still tax dollars, but better if Georgina gets the money rather than other municipalities. We should also work harder to get sponsorships from private enterprises for things like naming rights.  Lastly, as already noted, we need to focus on bringing more businesses to Georgina.

Quirk: Currently just over half (66.4M) is funded through development charges (DC’s), meaning non tax dollars  are paying  for growth-related infrastructure,  including interest costs. (MURC, South Keswick Firehall) Water and wastewater projects (23.2) are funded through their rates not general tax levy. The remaining $37.9 million is funded by the tax levy, including High St. streetscaping ($ 2.8 M) and burying hydro wires ($ 4M+). (Both nice to do but not truly needed.) The Civic Centre will be fully paid within 10 years.

Long-term debt peaks in 2027 at 127M and then declines. The capital levy ensures our 10-year capital plan can be done without additional long-term debt.

Sebo: In order to reduce the Town’s long-term debt without further burdening taxpayers we need to tighten the purse strings and find ways to do more with less. We need to stick to an aggressive repayment plan and we need to secure more funding from higher levels of Government to help pay for the things Georgina needs. I believe that a slight budget reduction in each Town department is achievable without sacrificing any of the programs and services that residents have become accustomed to. Monies saved could be used to accelerate the paying down of our long-term debt, which is largely being done through the use of development charges. It is important to note that much of the Town’s long-term debt was incurred to accommodate the completion of two large projects, the Multi-use Recreation centre in South Keswick and the new Civic Centre. Both facilities were well demonstrated as being much needed. By building them when Georgina did, although we had to go into debt to do it, taxpayers were saved millions of dollars. If we had waited until now to start construction the price tags would most certainly be substantially higher.

Genge: I too am concerned about the number of reports I have heard about people suddenly getting large water bills without an associated increase in water usage, often followed by a return to normal usage. I will initiate an investigation of the performance of the water meters to ensure they are being installed and calibrated appropriately. My preliminary investigation has already revealed that other municipalities have had similar incidents with Neptune water meters.

Quirk: Water rates must fund essential infrastructure while remaining affordable. I would continue reviewing rate forecasts,  work with York Region to manage regional cost pressures. Preventive maintenance and planned replacement can help avoid more expensive emergency repairs. Pursue available funding opportunities, communicate clearly about the reasons for rate increases and examine opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising service or water quality. Residents deserve transparent explanations of what they pay for. Host open houses to provide clear information and answers to concerns. Move forward with the ability for residents to track in “real time” their water usage to deal with any issues faster than waiting for their bill to arrive.

Sebo: Water is life! Maintaining a stable supply of safe drinking water is one of the most important responsibilities of the Municipality. Unfortunately, it comes at a significant and ever increasing cost to the end users, residents. Frustratingly, despite efforts on the part of residents to conserve water use, costs still go up because the infrastructure has to be in place and working properly when we do turn the tap on. As Mayor of Georgina, I will ensure that strategic, fiscally prudent investments are made in our water related infrastructure, so that we can continue to take clean drinking water for granted.

Genge: To find new businesses, I will approach commercial real estate agencies, as they are where companies go first when they are wishing to relocate or set up shop. Once they are made aware of Georgina, we need to work with them and make it easy to set up their business. The concierge service that is extended to large businesses needs to be expanded to small and medium sized business.  Staff need to “Find Ways to Say Yes”.

Quirk: Continue to work closely with the Business Park landowners to have them service the entire business park, currently only 60 acres has full servicing.  This is critical for the growth of new jobs and business into Georgina.

Expand outreach into our business community to learn who is looking to expand, what their issues are and work to find solutions.

Provide the environment where businesses want to invest and grow by streamlining processes, reducing wait times for approvals and provide incentives to invest here.

Advocate for training and post-secondary institutions to come to Georgina.

Market the opportunities with agriculture, Lake Simcoe (marine business) and tourism for new businesses to come.

Sebo: Through investing in our core infrastructure, not only will we make life better for residents, Georgina can better position ourselves to be able to attract new businesses. We need to improve on our curb appeal. Servicing needs to be in place. Capacity needs to exist. Roads and sidewalks need to be in order. Transit options need to be in place.

At the same time, targeted business attraction strategies and initiatives need to be in place. Business sector clusters need to be encouraged.

We can do a better job of leveraging the incredible assets and advantages that Georgina has to offer prospective new businesses to the area, but we have to be ready for them when they come.

Genge: Georgina already offers several incentives for affordable and rental housing, including up to $30,000 in development charge exemptions and deferrals to build additional residential units (ADUs) and up to $15,000 to upgrade existing ADUs. Development charge exemptions and rebates are available for affordable residential units and rental housing.  I would not add further incentive programs but rather would improve communication so more are aware of the existing incentives.

Quirk: While the Town does not build homes, we can provide developers with the environment that allows for a variety of housing types. The Town can help by streamlining planning processes, reviewing development fees and zoning bylaws to ensure that developers have the ability to build what our community needs.

Continue the grants for additional dwelling units, provide incentives to build rental units with servicing allocation made available to those that commit to affordable housing.

Housing affordability requires co-ordination between all levels of government and developers. My relationships were key in the partnership with Housing York Inc. for the 86-unit development on The Queensway South.

Sebo:  (provided the same answer for questions 7,8, and 9)

Issues surrounding housing affordability, purpose-built housing for seniors and homelessness can only be appropriately addressed by working collaboratively and in partnership with higher levels of Government, residential developers and applicable service and support providers. Georgina cannot do it alone. In order to build a sustainable community, it is important that a range of housing options, including affordable and rental housing, be available to all residents, from young families to seniors. As Mayor of Georgina, I will ensure that Georgina works closely with higher levels of government, along with residential developers to better match supply with demand.

In-house we will develop strategies to incentivize infilling and the building of a broader range of housing types, including mid-rise condos and apartments in urban areas suitable for increased population density. To encourage a broader range of housing types, we will look at updating local zoning codes to allow missing middle housing like duplexes, townhomes, and accessory dwelling units. We will also streamline approval processes for multi-family projects, possibly reduce minimum parking requirements and potentially utilize surplus municipal land for public-private housing partnerships. Strategic infrastructure investments in things like transit, active transportation and water and sewers, on the part of the Town and the Region, will also help to pave the way.

We absolutely have to ensure support systems are in place to help those who may be dealing with financial hardships, mental and/or physical health challenges and drug addiction. By working together, we can improve the quality of life for all residents.

Genge: The supply of housing is not a municipal responsibility but rather falls on upper levels of government.   I will work with the appropriate people at those other levels of government and will seek a seat on Housing York’s Board of Directors.  I am evidence-based, so I would push heavily on data related to the number of seniors we have and the anticipated increase in that number compared to other municipalities.

Quirk: I have spoken to many local seniors who want to downsize their current home, the demand is there and growing.  Different options are needed: rental apartments, assisted living and supportive housing. The Town has vacant land that could be developed for affordable senior housing, and I would do a call-out to developers to partner with us, non-profit housing providers, health care agencies and senior advocacy groups.  I recently met with a member of Seniors for Social Action Ontario and would like to work with them on real solutions for our seniors. Seniors deserve housing that provides them with the ability to age in place in the community they call home.

Genge: In September of 2023, I made a motion that proposed five measures to help the unhoused, including opening warming and cooling centres when the temperature reached a specified level, allowing the unhoused to use showers in town facilities, provide serviced land so subsidized housing could be built, allow unhoused to live in leisure vehicles, and the establishment of a tiny home community.  Unfortunately, the motion was not supported by the rest of Council.  However, I will again propose a similar motion.  I have also made two deputations to get the Ontario Building Code changed to allow park model trailers to be used year-round.

Quirk: Homelessness is a real issue here in Georgina and requires compassion, practical solutions and partnerships.  While York Region is responsible for homelessness services, I would continue supporting partnerships that expand emergency housing and access to support services.  We have recently partnered with York Region on the Queensway South project, with 36 emergency housing units.   We also have the Drop-in Centre at the Link, the Sutton Youth Shelter and temporary emergency shelters at local churches.  There needs to be a greater focus on the root causes of homelessness.  Advocate for increased provincial funding for homelessness prevention, mental health/addiction treatment, education and training supports. Everyone deserves dignity, safety and housing stability.

Genge: I will initiate an inventory of all areas that are prone to flooding, prioritize areas based on their potential to cause property damage, and include money in the budget each year to address flooding issues.  The areas of flooding that have the potential for property damage need more regular cleaning to prevent back-ups and/or new storm water systems need to be installed.  If flooding does occur, the emergency management team needs to be prepared to act quickly to get pumps in place to alleviate some of the flooding.

Quirk: Areas of historical flooding need investments of capital work. I would prioritize proactive stormwater management, identify vulnerable neighbourhoods and invest in solutions. Georgina’s current stormwater fee and dedicated funding supports the maintenance and improvement of the stormwater system. (3.5M annually) Eliminating the Stormwater fee and placing it back on the general tax levy would substantially increase taxes or reduce maintenance or cancel planned projects. Prepared in advance of the spring thaw and predicted heavy rain events by clearing catch basins and culvert inspections.  Have the equipment necessary to assist in flood prevention (sandbags, inflatable dams and pumps).  Explore a municipal subsidy program to help homeowners install backwater valves and sump pumps to protect private properties from basement flooding.

Sebo: Effective stormwater management is critical to reducing flooding in residential areas. It is also a key component to ensuring the health of Lake Simcoe.

We must make sure that remedial work continues. As Mayor, I will ensure that ditches are graded properly, that culverts are cleared and that appropriate natural buffers are reintroduced to alleviate flooding in low-lying areas. We simply cannot treat stormwater management as an afterthought any longer. In conclusion, it would be my great honour and privilege to serve the residents of Georgina as their next Mayor. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work with fellow Georgina Council members and Municipal colleagues at the Regional Council table. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, “the future is bright”!