St. Thomas has a new city manager and the hiring committee only had to turn their gaze slightly to the west.
Mayor Joe Preston announced Thursday (Dec. 19) morning that Southwold CAO Lisa Higgs will fill the void left by Michael Bradley’s departure in November.
He assumed the city manager post at city hall on May 15 of this year. Exactly five months later, a media release from Preston announced, “City to begin recruitment for new city manager.”
Bradley accepted the position of CAO with the City of Brantford – his hometown – and departed the city in mid-November.
Higgs has served as CAO and clerk in Southwold since 2017 and prior to that worked in SW Oxford, Tillsonburg and the Township of Malahide.

Preston indicated her dynamic leadership and ability to inspire in her current post sealed the deal.
“The ideas we were looking for as we went through some fantastic interviews – some 70 resumes or more – we really were looking at that being part of it.
“Someone who can take a really exciting job in St. Thomas right now and grow with St. Thomas.
“And we really think that Lisa Higgs is that person.”
Higgs will assume the role of new city manager on Feb. 10.
Southwold Mayor Grant Jones admitted the St. Thomas native will be dearly missed.
He advised he was not aware of the decision when he was elected County of Elgin Warden on Dec. 10.
“Lisa is a rarity. We’re going to miss her dearly, but at some point, I knew Lisa wouldn’t be with Southwold forever.
“And now we know.
“We know we have a good person in the city that we can communicate with and hopefully communication will be better in the future than it has been.”
Preston praised Higgs as a great addition to the team at city hall.
“I think the relationship between Lisa and I is going to be a lot of fun and very good.
“She knows what she is doing. She is not of the ilk just to go along to get along.
“She really does set forward great issues and that is going to be great for the team of mayor and council to have a leader like that in our community.”
Higgs was born and raised in St. Thomas and volunteers with organizations such as Crime Stoppers, the Central Community Health Centre and St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital.
“She grew up in St. Thomas and went to Parkside (Collegiate Institute) and certainly knows our community well.
“There are no walls between our communities and we are doing a good job of getting along. So, it’s great when you can offer a local person a great opportunity like this.
“But, it’s also great that St. Thomas can find someone local who already knows all the issues we have.”

“We are confident that her vision and dedication to public service will help propel St. Thomas toward continued success, innovation, and a brighter future.”

Preston added she will fit in perfectly with the team at city hall.
“This is a great opportunity and we will benefit from it also.
“We know that the staff has been supported by Lisa for the last number of years in Southwold and are very capable too.
“This is a team (at city hall). It’s a team sport and I wasn’t sure I thought that when I first became the mayor. This is much more like a team sport than you would think.”
In a statement released by Preston, Higgs noted, “I am deeply honoured to serve this vibrant and growing community. It is an exciting time to join the city, and together with council, staff, and residents, I look forward to building on St. Thomas’s strong foundation to achieve our shared goals.”
A memorable takeaway moment I have of Higgs dates back to October of 2018 – not long after her arrival in Southwold – when she did an admirable job of keeping concerned residents in check at the Keystone Complex in Shedden as they voiced numerous concerns regarding a 348-home subdivision that is now well established in Talbotville.
Very cool under fire. And a very accomplished soccer player, to boot.
Preston concluded, “Lisa’s dynamic leadership and proven ability to inspire teams make her an ideal fit for our city.
“We are confident that her vision and dedication to public service will help propel St. Thomas toward continued success, innovation, and a brighter future.”

2025 BUDGET MOVES FORWARD

The city’s treasurer Dan Sheridan had some late developments to juggle, but he still came through with the promised 3.93 per cent increase to the municipal property tax levy in 2025.
At the final council meeting of the year this past Monday (Dec. 16), Sheridan advised the assessment growth numbers were not as generous as hoped for, coming in about $800,000 light.

So to shave a percentage point off the initial budget proposal of a 4.93 hike, Sheridan advised he had to come up with $1.5 million in savings.
That was accomplished by using federal gas tax money for capital budget projects.
“So, basically we’ve reduced the contribution from the (tax levy) to the capital budget by $1.5 million,” explained Sheridan.
Some of that money will go toward the purchase of a new pumper truck and 60 portable radios for the fire service.
An additional $450,000 or so was taken out of reserves to finally break ground next year on the long overdue new animal shelter adjacent to the Douglas J. Tarry Sports Complex.
And an environmental assessment related to a possible arterial connection from Dalewood Drive to Balaclava Street was shelved for this year.
It was an undertaking that received a lukewarm reception from several members of council, most notably Coun. Steve Peters.
Here’s the kicker, according to Sheridan.
“Essentially, what all this does is it leaves less money next year for capital, not a lot, but it probably will be a smaller capital year in 2026.”
So the hike to ratepayers is under four per cent next year and on Jan. 16, council will be asked to formally accept the 2025 capital and operating budgets.

Related post:

Is the 2025 City of St. Thomas municipal tax levy relief simply a case of delaying the inevitable?

RESERVATIONS ABOUT PROPOSED AQUATIC CENTRE RESERVE FUND

As we see from the budget item above, dipping into reserve funds has become a go-to manoeuvre designed to shave a percentage point or so off next year’s municipal property tax levy.
And now a member of city council wants to establish a new reserve fund for a very specific project.
The motion presented at the Dec. 16 council meeting reads as follows: “The establishment of a reserve fund to include but not limited to gaming revenue, vacant land tax, and other sources of income for a future aquatic and community centre and subsequently for other land and building capital projects. We would like to establish that reserve fund as a separate line in the budget.”
This is the personal project of Coun. Lori Baldwin-Sands and while little preliminary work has been undertaken at this time, the projected cost would be well north of $100 million.
This is at a time when treasurer Dan Sheridan has cautioned members of council about assuming more long-term debt.

“So I don’t want to get us caught in not being prepared. That we’ve just moved something that was very critical to somewhere else.”

As noted in last week’s budget item, at the beginning of next year, the city has almost $44 million in long-term debt.
With more anticipated related to the development of the Yarmouth Yards industrial Park and upgrades/expansion of Valleyview Home.
A lengthy discussion ensued at Monday’s council meeting about the establishment of such a fund.
Sheridan pointed out, “Well we’re talking about two separate things. Establishing a reserve is one and adding money to it is the second part right?
“So if council wishes to add money to a reserve from the 2025 budget that money has to come from somewhere. Let me better clarify.

“I mean we can establish reserve funds for five or six things that we think we’re going to want in the next five or ten years, that’s fine with me, but it’s where are you going to get the money from?”

“I’m okay with establishing the reserve fund. It’s a great future-looking thing for a very large expenditure we may have in our future but, for example, casino money or gambling money the city currently gets a portion of we must spend it somewhere now and now it would be going instead into that reserve fund exclusively.
“So I don’t want to get us caught in not being prepared. That we’ve just moved something that was very critical to somewhere else.”
On the establishment of such a fund Coun. Gary Clarke observed, “Well to me it seems premature. Just last week, we talked about the number of people who are on waiting lists at Valleyview for both the day program and for the number of beds.
“We’re in the middle of trying to do a recreation masterplan. I mean we can establish reserve funds for five or six things that we think we’re going to want in the next five or ten years, that’s fine with me, but it’s where are you going to get the money from?”
Clarke continued, “I’d rather talk about what debt we have and have a fulsome discussion of what we see as our major needs over the next five or six years.
“We’re finally going to get the animal shelter built and that’ll be a new debt situation.
“I just think it’s a wider conversation. I don’t have any real objections to it because I don’t think we can address and put any money in it there yet, but I think it doesn’t serve any purpose at this point.”
Coun. Tara McCaulley added, “I would agree with my compatriot. In theory, this is a good idea and I believe it is a step in the right direction, but I don’t know that we’ve had enough conversation to understand where the funds would be coming from, so therefore I don’t know that there’s a rush to create the fund until we’ve had that fulsome conversation.”
Coun. Steve Peters suggested the city treasurer report back to council with options related to such a reserve fund.
“We’ve got a figure built into the 2025 budget for gaming revenue. Could a policy be that going with what Coun. Baldwin-Sands said that should we exceed those revenues that potentially could be allocated (to the new reserve fund).

“There’s only so much debt we can take on. And so I really look forward to the treasury department analyzing the whole thing and kind of figuring out when we can afford to do this so that we don’t set people up for false expectations that this is something that can happen right away.”

Coun. Jeff Kohler raised the possibility of establishing a tourism tax as undertaken by larger municipalities with some of that revenue directed to the new reserve fund.
And he agreed with Coun. Clarke that there needs to be a wider discussion.
Clarke continued, “I wanted to comment on Coun. Baldwin-Sands’ comments about things happening quickly. And that’s my worry about setting up false expectations as far as I’m concerned with the recreation centre.
“We just had, I think, a $100 million shortfall for infrastructure needs in Yarmouth Yards that we’re deferring or we’re taking on debt to complete a lot of large projects. “And so I don’t want the public to get the sense that we’re going to get a civic centre built in the next year or two because we’ll hear the same thing about the animal shelter. Why isn’t it built yet? It’s taken you four years to get it done.
“There’s only so much debt we can take on. And so I really look forward to the treasury department analyzing the whole thing and kind of figuring out when we can afford to do this so that we don’t set people up for false expectations that this is something that can happen right away.”
In the past couple of years, the debate over a possible civic centre has turned into a circular argument.
We’re missing out on potential government funding because we don’t have a plan or a location for such a centre.
Well, we don’t have either of those because they cost money.
Coun. Baldwin-Sands alluded to that as part of the work undertaken by a committee established by council to explore such a civic centre.
“We don’t have a shovel-ready project. We have nothing on paper, and even to put something on paper costs money, and that’s our hope is that there are multiple steps that are available that we have to go through, and we have to cover each one of those steps.
“And many of those steps do cost money, and that was the hope of the committee is that we establish this fund. When the monies are needed for projects like that, they’ll always come back to council, but the committee has that comfort level of knowing that there is a source of funding available.”
In the end, her motion to establish a reserve fund for a civic centre was deferred until staff can bring back a report to council in the new year on the implications of such a fund.

THE ECHO CHAMBER

Responding to our item last week on the City of St. Thomas proposed budget, Clynn Smith posted the following on our Facebook page.

“Tax hikes are one thing but this town NEEDS to do better with accessibility.
“Improvements were to be made for 2025 for businesses and access. Where are we with that?
“It took me three years of lobbying the city just to get wheelchair parking at the library and they put it back down the sidewalk and not near the ramp. Does no one get it???? “Disabled patrons are finding it difficult to access the stores and services they need as most businesses have steps. “Come on- we CAN do better!!! Inclusion and growth should be for ALL abilities.”

OUR CHRISTMAS WISH FOR YOU

As has been the custom for quite some time now, we offer these last-minute gift suggestions to distribute appropriately.

To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
And, to all faithful City Scope readers, in particular, those with birthdays at this time of year – when your special day too often is lost in the hustle and bustle that is the lead-up to the day itself – may this Christmas bring you peace, health and happiness.

Questions and comments may be emailed to City Scope

Visit us on Facebook

And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.