And that brings us to today. I am delighted to report on where WE as a city are going and what our vision is for Waterloo’s future. 2008 will be remembered for more than just the year we broke the snow fall record or the year of the Pothole. 2008 marks the beginning for this Council and this city to start building on our strategic priorities. As I stand here this morning addressing the state of Waterloo I want to say that the next 2 years will be marked by ones of implementation.

We have seen a substantial amount of growth and change to our city and along with that we witnessed world renowned recognition and the opportunity to highlight exactly what Waterloo has to offer. These two factors play a crucial part in the direction of Waterloo. We are at a point where we must work together to address the direction and future of Waterloo. We are leading by example as other countries and other communities look to us for answers on global pressing issues, such as the environment, education, and health. We are at a pivotal turning point where Waterloo has a global association. And we are going to build on this turning point and use the leverage we have as being an intelligent, innovative community and expand our already prosperous City.

Our blue print for this action was cemented this past fall in our City of Waterloo Strategic Plan. I say “our”, because it truly is a plan that speaks to the needs and desires as expressed by our community and our constituents through forums, surveys and presentations to Council. We asked you “What’s in Your Waterloo?” and you answered. Our Plan outlines five key areas that are integral for our Waterloo and that will carry us successfully into the next decade. These include: Our living Environment, A healthy and Safe Community, commitment to Excellence, Economic Vitality, and Partnerships and Collaboration. I would encourage you to review a copy of our strategic plan on the city website. Copies are also available today.

Our Living Environment

Waterloo is known for its environment first policy which quite simply means that at the beginning of every process, the impact on the Environment must be considered. And as the City of Waterloo continues to take on a path of implementation we are and will continue to improve upon our environmental measures and continue to strive towards reducing our environmental footprint.

We will be undertaking several initiatives to achieve these goals including a revisit of our Environmental Strategic Plan to ensure we are continually updating and adapting to the changing times. We are working on a Green Procurement policy to enhance our Environmentally friendly purchasing policies. We have already been successful in transforming a portion of our City Centre atrium glass into solar panels and the roof at the City Centre into a Green Roof. Choices which proved to be both economical and environmentally friendly. And we will continue to promote the use of these roof treatments as we build new facilities. We are looking at integrating Silver bins into the uptown core in our continued efforts to recycle and minimize trash. And our schools are playing an important role in working on initiatives to incorporate recycling on their campus. We are continuing to implement the Environmental Lands Acquisition Strategy a strategy that was born with the initial acquisition of the McNally lands, lands which Council just recently reaffirmed our promise to preserve and protect. We will continue to focus on the rehabilitation of creek systems, conserving energy, exploring alternative energy uses such as wind and solar and reducing resource consumption. We plan on improving the air quality and reducing carbon dioxide emissions through result oriented research initiatives. In 2006 the City adopted the development of an Energy Management Program to reduce City facility energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by the year 2012. However, after study and feedback from staff and consultants Council just last month approved the adoption of the Energy Management Plan and Amendment with the goal to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 30% within two years of the project start date. We also approved expenditures of $4.2 million to meet these objectives, however once the plan is completed the City expects to see annual savings of $960,000. In addition, Council approved a Green Building Policy and implemented a minimum sustainable design, construction and certification standard of LEED Silver for all new City of Waterloo facilities over 500m2. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system provides a comprehensive list of guidelines to improve environmental and energy performance of institutional, high-rise residential and commercial buildings. With a Silver certification we can anticipate 35-50% energy savings.

We have also undertaken a further initiative by appointing a Pesticide By-Law Review Task Force to provide input and guidance into the creation of an independent City of Waterloo Pesticide Bylaw. This will include an examination of guiding principles for the pesticide bylaw, options related to implementation details, provide opportunities for public involvement activities and to deliver recommendations to Council on a Pesticide Bylaw and implementation elements. In addition to our own review, we are providing comments to the Provincial review currently underway.

And recently, I have personally shown my support for a pilot project run by Sustainable Technology Education Project (STEP) a group of University of Waterloo students who are committed to educating the public at large about the potential of renewable energy.

A Healthy and Safe Community

In addition to environmental factors, social factors are a key component to providing a healthy and safe community. As we continue to change so too does the social aspects affecting us. More focus must be placed on the social well being of Waterloo.

I have remained committed to improving health care opportunities in the City of Waterloo. We are short doctors, we do not nearly have enough readily available to support our growth. To compound this matter, we have been identified as a region within Ontario to grow the future population of the province. It requires more intensification and what will follow will be an even greater need for adequate health care services. As a former health care professional I am aware of the growing crisis that is present and I will continue to work with Local Health Integration networks to ensure that our health care needs are addressed and that progress will be made within the coming years. I want to continue on with my health care initiatives to ensure that children, seniors, families, and women will have more readily available access to physicians and health care professionals. This past November I hosted the first Mayor’s Round table on Health care Opportunities & Solutions. Over 60 members of the general community, local associations, politicians and individuals associated with the health care field attended the session. This was a starting point of opening the community dialogue and brainstorming as a collective group what Waterloo needs. The next steps will follow shortly and I will be taking an active role in meeting our community’s need for Family Health Care. At a city level we will continue to work towards expanding adult day services and home support services for seniors living in Waterloo. We are working to create a Safe and Healthy Communities Committee to advise Council on related matters and we will continue to represent our community’s need at the Provincial level of government through partnerships and collaboration.

Waterloo is committed to creating this Safe and Healthy Community and as such have responded to community concern by requesting the Region of Waterloo hold a plebiscite on the fluoridation of water during the next Municipal Election. We believe in the importance of making an informed decision and have been receiving a great deal of information on this topic over the past few months.

In addition Council is committed to implementing the Fire Master Plan and will be constructing the east side fire station projected to begin operations in late 2008, early 2009.

With our continued growth comes the question of how to address living conditions and the amount of living space that is available. “Affordable housing, both owned and rented has a dramatic impact on a healthy thriving community” The region of Waterloo is recognized across the nation as a leader in the creation of new affordable housing. I have been meeting with representatives from the region and we will continue to meet with the KW Home Builders Association as well as new developers to ensure that housing costs remain affordable for everyone in this community.

Commitment to Excellence

As part of our commitment to excellence Waterloo will continue to explore ways to leverage technology to better support the needs of our constituents and customers. We are in the process of implementing a customer-relationship management tool software program which will assist City staff in providing superior customer service. We will be expanding our e-service initiatives such as the ability to pay tickets online and will continue to support an organizational culture of leadership and innovation.

Economic Vitality

There has been much reported lately about the state of the economy. On one hand there have been many plant closures or reductions within our region. The impact of the high Canadian dollar on our manufacturing sector cannot be denied. And there is no doubt the automotive industry within Ontario is facing a restructuring that will likely have a lasting impact and forever change our economic focus.

However, our local economy continues to do what it historically has always done and that is to adapt to the changing times.

There is no doubt the importance that our education sector has played in shaping the past and will play in shaping the future of Waterloo. We must continue to solidify our partnerships with the universities, college and school boards. It is by attracting and retaining bright minds that Waterloo will continue to prosper. And that is why I am proud as Mayor of the role the City played in the historic partnership that will create the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Waterloo is becoming known world wide as being on the forefront of research and innovation. This will help drive us forward and as noted recently by many economists, the innovation coming out of Waterloo in the form of new technologies will position our region as a whole, to best weather this storm.

But, we cannot be complacent, we must continue to take advantage of the opportunities that exist within our strong technology and construction sectors and continue to work towards attracting inbound investment. I am taking initiative to meet and work with perspective international business prospects as well as continuing to work with local business to extend working relationship and partnerships.

One of my personal priorities is for continued support for our Uptown core. We have invested much into this area and I want to continue to have an active role in how the global economy can positively affect Waterloo. By developing and redeveloping the Uptown lands with the utmost thought and planning for the future, we can continue to create a core that thrives. And as many know, a healthy core helps to make a healthy city. That is why I am proud of the role the City has played in the past with helping to revitalize our Core and will continue to do so in the future.

But recently we have been bringing another need to the forefront of discussions. We are making the case for the importance of adequate infrastructure in creating sustainable and economically prosperous communities. We have been lobbying for additional funding from all levels of government and it appears with the Provincial and Federal Announcements that were made this week, that our call is being heard. But we are not simply waiting for others to assist us with our issue. Council is taking a prudent and financially viable approach to creating a Capital Infrastructure Reserve. We asked staff to find a way to save $500,000 from our budget, it was not an easy task, but they met our goal. This is just the beginning. We must continue to revisit our priorities and recognize the importance of investing in the infrastructure that keeps our city moving. It is not just the population of today that we are building for, it will be the population of the future as we reach our hard edge boundary and development intensifies.

As part of our budget process this year we approved a 3 year plan which will drive efficiencies throughout the organization. We have stuck to the tax rate target of MPI and worked hard to keep the budget to a level which would not be too much of a hardship on our rate payers, but was also financially sound and responsible. Our goal is to provide citizens with stable sustainable tax increases over the next three years.

Partnerships and Collaboration

This year is a year that I want to expand partnerships and bridge gaps between groups. Waterloo is intelligent, we are home to the best institutions and we have an entrepreneurial spirit that has helped in the prosperity of this city, we are going to continue on this path of success by working together and working on initiatives that affect all of us.

Arts and Culture is an area of interest for the City of Waterloo and the importance that art has on our community needs to be addressed as we take on initiatives to help out this aspect of our city that without help will deteriorate. We are taking part in more cultural activities and recruitment. We have an entertainment industry in this community that needs attention. The next few years more efforts to highlight our artist community will be present as we look to promote a community within our City. I recently attended a successful charity fundraiser hosted by a local Gallery and it is clear that more attention needs to be focused on funding as many of our museums galleries and theatre facilities are under funded and lacking in support.

We have A new executive Director at the KW Symphony we have a strong artistic community and we plan on highlighting that throughout the next few years and showcasing what exists here in our own backyard. We will be inspiring our artistic population to stay within the community as they are an important part of our society. We will be focusing more attention on promoting our events within the community as many of our residents are unfamiliar with exactally what Waterloo has to offer.

Our cultural sector is another area where we will see unprecedented efforts to work with the diversity that exists within this community. We are fortunate to have a very ethnic city and with that there is opportunity for partnerships to evolve. We will continue to work with programs such as the new Canadian program and continue to encourage interaction with all cultures and ethnicities as the numbers of immigrants to this area have and continue to rise each year. We will be working with multicultural groups like never before.

But we also must recognize our partners at the Provincial and Federal level of Government. We will continue to vigorously represent out community’s interests. One initiative that I have personally take on is the matter of the Heads and Beds tax. As a Council we have appealed to other municipalities to support us in our initiative to create a more fair system of calculating payments in lieu of taxes on public hospitals, universities, colleges and correctional facilities. These payments are intended to provide the municipality with the funding to pay for municipal services that are required as a result of these facilities. They are funded and paid by the provincial government. However, the rate currently stands at $75 for each provincially rated hospital bed, for each full time student in a University of College and for each resident place at a correctional institution. The last time this rate was increased was 1987, 20 years ago. This amount has not kept pace with inflationary pressures. If the payment-in-lieu was calculated using Current Value assessment, multiplied by the municipal tax rate, we estimate the payment should be closer to $132 for 2007. The City of Waterloo is home to two universities and a college. Waterloo’s population is projected at 115,000 ; 23,000 of which are students. That represents 20% of our total population. Many of our neighbouring municipalities also have more than one post-secondary institution in addition to hospital and correctional facilities. As you know, with these facilities does come a cost and pressures on municipal services and infrastructure.

A further partnership that I am so pleased to discuss is the Mayor’s Student Advisory Council. I believe that we do not tap into one of our greatest resources in this city enough and that is the resource of the bright and energetic post secondary student population. So early in my term of office I began discussing with many of them what they wanted to give back to the community. What I found was a group of students eager to give back whether it be by cleaning up our community parks and trails, to shoveling sidewalks or doing their part to dispel the myth that all students are destructive. This new Council has just been struck and I am proud to lend my name to its support. I look forward to hearing and being a part of their initiatives as they strike their place in our network of community groups and associations.

WHAT NEXT AND WHERE ARE WE GOING?

I look to my council as well to reach out to their respective constituents, to make sure that the voices of our community are being heard and continue to work with the residents. We are your elected official’s, and with continued ongoing interaction and communication we will ensure that issues pertaining to our city will be addressed. Going forward Waterloo will soar to new heights. Our economy will continue to grow and we will address our infrastructure needs.

The coming years will be filled with continued development. Through collaboration and working partnerships we will remain Committed to Excellence. We do face some challenges in our community such as the extent to our growth and how to effectively grow a community within a hard edged boundary. We have growing transit concerns as we look for alternative ways on how we can build a more efficient transit system. We will be hearing back shortly on our Uptown Parking Strategy and have undertaken a Transportation Master Plan review. In addition we will soon be receiving the results of our Recreation & Leisure Services Master Plan Review, Waterloo Park Master Plan Review and Cemetery Services/Bechtel Park Master Plan. And not to be forgotten, the City is currently undergoing an Official Plan review which will take into consideration Councils’ 4 principles that outline what makes a good city including: Diversity and Adaptability, Accessibility and Equity, Connectivity, Health and Vitality. Staff are continuing to work with the Region who are also completing a Regional OP and hope to be at a final draft stage by late 2008, early 2009.

What I want to drive home today is the theme that collaboration and partnerships are key to these next few years of implementation. We as a community all need to be on the same page and we all have to work together to achieve sustainability.

My initiatives for the next few years include working with local businesses as well as reaching out to the international business opportunities that are continuing to present itself.

As stated earlier education plays a central role in our Community and we plan on focusing on student relations and incentives to keep young people in Waterloo. Brain drain should not be affecting this community with as many opportunities that exist for young professionals. The Mayor’s Student Advisory Council will further the goal of understanding the needs of the students and working with students to address employment issues and building better relationships between students and the residents of community.

Waterloo is in a great position. We are at the pinnacle of success as we turn the page to the next century. I think we have surpassed previous expectations and as we do turn the page we realize nothing is constant. Change is the only thing guaranteed and through our commitment to excellence change will be positive. As Charles Darwin once said “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”

In closing I want to thank all of you who are here this morning, I see many people representing various organizations this is an excellent example of our diversity and that all of us here this morning are committed to our community and to Waterloo. We are in a position where what we do impacts not only this community but the nation and people are listening. When we all stand united only greatness can be achieved, I am not denying that fact that we face challenges but we are ahead of the game by addressing these head on and working TOGETHER for solutions.