Inaugural Meeting of 2022-2026 City Council

At their inaugural meeting Monday, Nov. 21, Mayor Martin Ritsma and members of the 2022-2026 City Council - Brad Beatty, Lesley Biehn, Taylor Briscoe, Jo-Dee Burbach, Bonnie Henderson, Mark Hunter, Larry McCabe, Harjinder Nijjar, Cody Sebben and Geza Wordofa - each read the Declaration of Office, administered by the City Clerk.

The meeting also featured greetings from local dignitaries, and a musical presentation by members of the Avon Public School Choir.

Here is the text of Mayor Ritsma's inaugural address:

Good evening Council Members, City Staff, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.

It is with great gratitude that I stand before you as the Mayor of the City of Stratford.

This is certainly a privilege and an honour and I am humbled to have the opportunity to serve as your Mayor.

In accepting the Chain of Office, I accept it on behalf of all of the residents of Stratford. In wearing it, I know it comes with the responsibility to serve all residents.

I pledge myself to this service.

To our former Mayor, Dan Mathieson, and Councillors, a huge thank you.

Your commitment to the City, and your work in the Council Chamber will be a big part of our work and direction moving forward.

You have passed the torch onto the new Council.

Our responsibility is to not stand still with it, but to use it to shed light on the issues, to light the way for the work of our new Council.

I am so proud to be part of this new team.

We need to be ambitious in our work.

build on our past and face the future with courage and optimism.
the creation of attainable housing, rental and privately owned, to meet the needs of our current residents, and also for the newcomers to our community
housing for our homeless, young families and those wishing to downsize.

We need to continue to retain and attract residents to our community to address the labour challenges across all sectors of our local economy.

the training and re-training of workers to respond to our local labour needs.
to respond to a current unemployment rate of 2.3%, the lowest in our province.

Our work must include the protection of our environment within the development that must and will take place.

We need to place an environmental lens on this development.

We need to be respectful of the farmland, knowing that we live in the heart of the most productive agricultural region in the country.

We need to continue our necessary work on equity and inclusion.

Decisions that we make need to reflect the growing diversity in our community.

A project that previous Councils invested a great deal of time with is the former Grand Trunk Railway shops.

I believe that this past work and our continued work will bring this historic gem back to life and make it a centerpiece of our City’s future.

More immediate work will be that of our City’s Strategic Plan and Priorities, and the City’s budget.

I believe that the truth about a city’s aspirations isn’t found in its vision, it is found in its budget.

The budget will reflect what we value and how we embrace and support our strategic priorities.

And it must be respectful of our taxpayers and be fiscally responsible, having a watchful eye on City debt.

All of this work will require collaboration with Council and City Staff.

And as Ghandi stated, where “honest disagreement is a good sign of progress”.

The City of Stratford is truly blessed with a team of caring, committed and talented staff - an amazing team lead by an exceptional CAO.

We need to be committed to respectful dialogue and work with our City staff.

Personally, I am committed to and look forward to working with our local municipal councils, with St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee and the County of Perth Warden Jim Aitcheson, and Deputy Warden Rhonda Ehgoetz, our MPP Matthew Rae and the Provincial government, and our MP John Nater and the Federal government - this for the betterment of our community and all those across Perth County.

* Ensuring the necessary financial commitments to support City infrastructure, and the daily services for our residents.

I commit to servant leadership that engages the community with open communication.

to preserve the safety and security of residents and businesses

to be accountable for decisions made by Council and the CAO’s office,

and to monitor and report to our residents.

In closing, I am proud to be the Mayor of a City which celebrates and advocates for the arts, and industry - a community where all are valued and where residents are measured only by the size of your heart and the kindness that you share.

I believe that in the City of Stratford there is always more that unites us than divides us.

Let’s walk together, let’s work together and build a future together in this beautiful home called Stratford.

I wish to thank the residents of Stratford for this honour.

Thank you to my family for their love and support, especially my wife Kathryn for her love, wisdom and guidance and perhaps I should add patience.

Thank you.