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Financial accountability top priority for Creston mayor candidate Bill Hutchinson

Town of Creston: Hutchinson, Bill — Mayor Candidate was former Creston administrator for 24 years, works supt. for three...
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Bill Hutchinson is running for Creston mayor in the Nov. 15 municipal election.

Rhonda Barter, Bill Hutchinson, Jared LeBlanc, Tom Mann and incumbent Ron Toyota are running for Creston mayor in the Nov. 15 municipal election.

 

What experience do you have that would make an effective mayor?

I worked for the Town of Creston for 27 years, three as works superintendent and 24 as administrator (now called manager). In that timeframe, I had the pleasure of working with four out of the last five mayors. I retired in 2006 and formed a consulting company. My aim was to help municipalities find and hire CAOs and to help developers stickhandle through municipal bureaucracy. Prior to moving to Creston in 1980, I worked for two consulting engineering companies and was engineering superintendent with the City of Timmins for approximately three years. I gained valuable experience working on municipal infrastructure in Ontario and British Columbia. During the time as administrator in Creston, I conducted numerous training sessions outlining the roles of mayor and council and staff, and can bring that experience to the decision making process.

 

What is your top priority for the next town council?

Financial accountability. Creston has always been a retirement town and the stability that comes with that fact. I want it to remain a place where young people can find a job, raise a family and seniors can come to enjoy our climate and many local attractions.

 

Should the Creston Valley have a single, locally managed form of government?

In the late 1990s, Gary Williams prepared a district municipality study for Creston but the necessity for the upgrading of roads outside of existing town boundaries made the expansion cost prohibitive. In the next four years, the study should be updated with an extensive public process initiated. Once the impact to taxpayers is known and the provincial government assistance identified, a referendum should be implemented in conjunction with the next municipal election seeking input from the Town of Creston and the Regional District of Central Kootenay taxpayers. The hierarchy should only be expanded following a positive consensus from the referendum, not before.

 

How many council/committee meetings have you attended in 2014?

I have attended between six and 10 council meetings in the last year. It probably goes without saying that I attended four council meetings a month in the 24 years I was working as administrator.

 

For a profile of Bill Hutchinson, click here.