May 27, 2017

Yesterday’s blog discussed problems in the community that are not being addressed by Council.  Many of these problems are directly caused by unfettered development in Milton.  Accordingly, density giveaways, such as we witnessed with the latest rezoning on Hopewell Road, are perplexing to citizens.  How is it that Council’s priorities are often so different from the priorities of citizens?  Aren’t council members stuck in the same traffic?  Sending their kids to the same overcrowded schools?  Subject to the same threat to their property values?  The answer is mostly NO.

Consider traffic congestion, for example.  All of the current Council members mostly work from home, commute to neighboring cities, or work locally.  They do not suffer the long commutes endured by many of their constituents . . . commutes that make it virtually impossible to attend and participate in Council meetings that commence at 6 pm.

Overcrowded schools are also not a personal concern of most Council members.  Only 2 Council members have kids enrolled in the local public schools.  For the other 5 Council members, they either never had kids enrolled in our local schools or their kids have long since graduated.

Lastly, all of our current council members are (or were recently) homeowners, so they are subject to the same risk of lowered property values as ordinary citizens.  However, 6 out of 7 Council members work in the development industry or are tied to it through business relationships or large campaign contributions.  The benefits they receive from development in Milton far outweigh any diminishment in their property values resulting from that development.  Some council members are able to separate their decision-making from their ties to development; others clearly are not.

So it is fair to say that many council members do not personally feel the pain of the ordinary citizen.  It is time to change the composition of Council to more closely resemble the community of Milton.  It is time to elect council members whose priorities align with the priorities of citizens.