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It’s Your Money

The taxpayers of Kanata North have witnessed large tax increases, levies, a long bus strike that highlighted the never ending transportation problems for Kanata commuters, and a payout of $37 million to settle a single lawsuit. City council has forgotten whose money they are spending.

As your city councillor, I will vote to hold city council and senior management salaries at the level they are today; I will only vote for new spending that is balanced with a reduction in current spending; I will work to find alternative sources of finances through the provincial and federal levels of government.

Our current councillor has supported increases in property taxes, increases in water and sewer rates, increases in hydro rates and then imposed her own special levy on the residents of Kanata North. This levy is being used to bury 200 meters of hydro cables. I guarantee you that I will not be in favor of any special levies. Once elected, I will immediately begin to remove the $2.5 million dollar special levy added by our current councillor to bury cables along Kanata Avenue.

Published on YourOttawaRegion.com September 10, 2010

Kanata business owner Jeff Seeton registered for the Kanata North councillor race on Friday, Sept. 10. Seeton, who ran against incumbent Marianne Wilkinson in the last municipal election, signed up just after noon on the last day of registration.

“There are a lot of issues,” said the 40-year-old for signing up. “Right off the top the inability for council to get anything done is at the front end of that. Candidates at the council level are keeping their mouths quiet and I don't think we're seeing the whole picture of what's happening in council.”

Seeton created JobMatcher.ca, a national recruiting and consulting agency four years ago, which is based in Kanata.

Published in Kanata Kourier-Standard September 16, 2010 by Jessica Cunha

Kanata business owner Jeff Seeton registered for the Kanata North councillor race on Friday, Sept. 10. Seeton, who ran against incumbent Marianne Wilkinson in the last municipal election, signed up just after noon on the last day of registration.

“There’s a lot of issues”, said the 40 year old for signing up. “Right off the top the inability for council to get anything done is at the front end of that. Candidates at the council level are keeping their mouths quiet and I don’t think we’re seeing the whole picture of what’s happening in council.”

Seeton created JobMatcher.ca, a national recruiting and consulting agency four years ago, which is based in Kanata.

Aside from his business background, the married father of two also has experience in politics. “I’ve been a political consultant, worked on federal legislation, municipal bylaws,” said the former president of the Village Green Kanata Town Centre and vice chair of the Kanata Food Cupboard.

Seeton has lived in Kanata north for 10 years, in both Village Green and Kanata Lakes.

He said he believes the citizens of Kanata north are not being properly represented on the issues that matter most to them. “Ottawa city council needs to be able to work together to generate new ideas and new ways of doing business,” said Seeton. “We cannot afford to have another four years like the last four years.”

Seeton said the entire issue surrounding the Beaver Pond “makes me sick.” He said he believes Kanata north needs someone to lead the charge in protecting environmentally sensitive areas. “Kanata North has some of the most significant environmentally sensitive and historically sensitive land in all of Eastern Ontario,” he said.

“The fight is on to save as much of this land as possible but we have been fighting a losing battle. This is because of the agreement that our current city councillor made with the developers in years past. Her decision and the agreement lacked vision and now these environmentally sensitive lands may be lost because of it. We need to have someone new take on this fight and go in a new direction.

“This election is about the future of our community and everything we hold dear about it. We need a new leader and a new way of doing business if we are to prosper in the future.”

Seeton said council needs to limit the tax increases imposed on residents. “Council today seems to think they’re spending city money. But they’re spending my money, your money; we need a different perspective.”

He said his business background helps him when dealing with money. “Dollars and cents mean a lot and the way that we spend our money just doesn’t make sense.”

The biggest example he said was the cancellation of the north-south light rail project where the city paid out $37 million. “They just threw it off like it was nothing,” said Seeton. “It’s a great deal of money that could have paid for many other things. It could have bought the (Beaver Pond) land from the developer.”

Written by Jeff Seeton

Kanata candidate, Jeff Seeton offers an alternative plan to save the Kanata Beaver Pond and South March Highlands.

Jeff Seeton, a candidate for Ottawa city council in ward 4, Kanata North, will be asking city council to consider an alternative approach to preventing the development of the South March Highland, commonly referred to as the Beaver Pond.

“The Kanata Beaver Pond and the lands that surround it are as important to me and my family as I am sure they are to you and yours. Kanata North has some of the most environmentally sensitive and historically significant land in all of Eastern Ontario. These areas need to be protected. The fight is on to save as much of this land as possible but we have been fighting a losing battle. This is because of the agreement that our current city councillor made with the developers in years past. Her decision and the agreement lacked long term vision and now these environmentally sensitive lands may be lost because of it. We need to have someone new take on this fight and go in a new direction. I have a plan.”

Ottawa city councillor Gord Hunter recently wrote about his dealing with then mayor Marianne Wilkinson on the issue of the Beaver Pond:

“When I argued with the Mayor Wilkinson that all the beaver pond woods should be protected her retort was that ‘these woods will never be developed; they’re too rocky.’ I guess she didn’t know about dynamite.” (http://www.gordhunter.ca/content.php?sec=1#kanata)

Jeff’s plan is to create a nonprofit charitable Land Trust that will purchase the land from the developers. This Land Trust will solicit funds from corporations wanting to reduce their corporate tax burden (in the corporate world, a donation to a charitable organization can be balanced with a reduction in corporate tax); estates, levels of government and other nonprofit organizations.

“There are two key points here: the first is that we will pay a fair market price that the developers could agree on and the second point is that we will not be using property taxes to pay for the purchase of the property.”

The land trust will be governed by a volunteer Board of Directors elected by the membership. These volunteers will consist of people living in the community; some may have backgrounds in land-use planning, environmental studies, ecology, education, law, finance and fundraising.

This new Land Trust will purchase the land, slated for development, from the developers at fair market price. Acting on the principle that preservation of the South March Highlands, the new Land Trust will own the property and will work to preserve land for the benefit of the community and for future generations.

This idea is not a new one in Canada or around the world. There are many Lands Trusts in Eastern Ontario. The Rideau Water Way Trust is one such example.

Jeff says that, if the resident’s of Kanata North elect him to council, he will begin working on saving the South March Highlands immediately.