Mayor and counsellor speak about the importance of ward meetings

By Pauline Bunay

Mayor Drew Dilkens and Counsellor Angelo Marignani are organizing meetings to educate residents about how their budget is being used.

These organized meetings with multiple city employees are divided into tables and sections dedicated to answering residents’ questions, as well as taking into consideration their concerns for future projects.

A meeting was held for Ward 7 on Nov. 7 at the Forest Glade Arena.  

The meeting was made to explain to residents where their taxes are going to and to listen to them in order to take in notes of their requests and implement them in future plans.

“We appreciate the residents that came out to share their feedback,” said Dilkens. 

The extended budget the city is using to make important changes cannot be overlooked, that’s why according to Mayor Dilkens and his team, they invite residents to join their meetings and care about what the future of their budget.

“The city of Windsor is an organization with a billion-dollar budget with three-thousand employees,” said Dilkens. “It’s important to understand how we’re delivering these services.”

Dilkens also expressed his concern for meeting residents needs in case of a future election.

“There’s no better year for a ward meeting than an election year where people actually go to the ballot box and choose who they want to represent them and if you haven’t hit the mark, they will let you know that for sure,” said Dilkens.

The meeting began explaining where the budget will be used for future projects in 2024, then mayor Dilkens and counsellor Marignani took their time to answer some resident’s questions about the way they’re handling the city, residents were unhappy with the management of construction.

Residents seemed less interested in future projects but more concerned about the traffic issues which cause chaos and affect everyone equally around the city. Residents also mentioned complaints about not having roads to get to their jobs or homes and having to take detours which lead them to drive longer than they are used to.

Mayor Dilkens responded to this saying those were the sacrifices that needed to be made to take the city to the next level and he understood how this affects them.

“All of us who were elected pay taxes to the city of Windsor, the decisions we make impact us personally,” said Dilkens.

Mayor Dilkens was asked if this kind of meetings and information was valuable in schools to which he responded;

“People don’t really care about taxes until they have to pay them,” said Dilkens “Once they have to pay them, they become really passionate about the amount they are paying and where the money is going…My daughter is really considering now as they are being taken out of her paycheque every two weeks. She’s a little more concerned about where that money’s going.”

On the other hand, counsellor Marignani offered opportunities to young students who are interested in being part of their team and getting involved in something important as the future of their city.

“Municipal government and working at city hall is a great opportunity for students in all fields, being security, being engineering, being social services so there’s a lot of opportunity I think for students if they get interested to maybe benefit from this sort of events,” said Marignani.

Being involved in these kinds of events is a chance not only for common citizens to express their concerns but also for younger students to be part of something important and provide their support for the future of their city.

The city of Windsor invites you to be part of this important meeting to listen, correct or create the plans for 2024. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and become part of these great meetings.