Chatham-Kent council is putting the wraps on its first year of a four-year term.
Looking back at the past year, Chatham-Kent mayor Darrin Canniff said it has been a very productive year for the council, with council sharing a common vision of growth for the community, as well as having citizens engaged with council and the community.
“Certainly this year has been very productive,” Canniff says. “We were able to come together as a council, we’re sharing a common vision of growth in the community, getting people engaged in the community.”
The municipality’s council just wrapped up the first of their four-year term, and the mayor says that the municipality is at a turning point where they now have to invest in the community to grow.
“I want to see everybody in Chatham-Kent saying they’re proud to live here and I want to see more people moving here,” Canniff says. “That’s going to be the ultimate test for us in the end, when there’s more people here than when we started. To see that more people want to live here, play here, and work here. ”
The current Chatham-Kent council featured eight rookie councillors. Additionally, Canniff was in his first year in the mayor’s chair. While there was a steep learning curve, Canniff said all the newcomers weren’t a hindrance in their first year as they learned the ropes.