Making City Hall Work Better For Citizens – Improved IT Services

I come from an IT background. When I look at the service offerings of the City of St. John's I see a lot of room for improvement.

Currently there are a lot of forms available at http://stjohns.ca but not a lot of functionality. I think we need to change this.

For example, one of the biggest complaints from people that I've spoken to centers around the permit process. If we could simplify some of this by allowing approvals for smaller jobs to happen online, we could greatly improve an important service for the citizens of our city.

Sport, Recreation, Fitness, and Healthy Living

Last week we watched another Canada Summer Games come and go and we congratulate the athletes, coaches, and organizers on their achievements.

One lingering question however focused on the lack of medals that the Newfoundland and Labrador contingent was able to bring home. Our lone medallist, wrestler Angel Hiltz-Morrell, has an inspiring story but why was she the only one.

As someone who has been involved in sport my whole life, I see the need for greater investment in sport and recreation and the City of St. John's has a critical role to play.

Permits and Inspections

While out knocking on doors I have had lots of great conversations on a host of topics. Everything from garbage and traffic speed, to walking trails and taxes has been discussed. Nothing, however has generated the kind of anger and frustration that permits and inspections have.

Tax talk...

What a beautiful night to be knocking on doors and speaking to residents.

A lot of people wanted to talk about Andy Wells jumping in the race for Mayor. Some of it was positive and some of it wasn't but love him or hate him, everyone admitted he had some valid points around taxation and the need to lower tax rates for homeowners and businesses.

I spoke to a small business owner tonight that was hit hard by tax increases in 2016. It forced her to lay off staff. Now that is not how you support small business or the local economy.

Time to give people a break.

From the trail...

I spent a beautiful afternoon yesterday talking to residents in the Churchill Square area. Lots of people would love to see the area re-developed and re-vitalized and who can blame them. The area is a great example of smart development but it needs a re-fit. Lets get to work and make the Square better than its ever been.

Scott

Let's Get Started

I'm excited to put my name forward to be the next Ward 4 Councillor for the City of St. John's.

I value diversity and inclusiveness; honesty and transparency; culture and the arts; smart development and preservation of our history; fitness and healthy living; family and quality of life.

I love St. John's and I am proud to call it my home. Let's make it even better, together.

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(Photo by Tolivero~commonswiki)

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