{"id":98856,"date":"2024-01-12T13:37:35","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T18:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/editionap.ca\/?p=98856"},"modified":"2026-02-17T20:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:52:11","slug":"affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking back on the year that was, Mayor Mario Zanth said there is plenty Clarence-Rockland has to be proud of \u2013 and plenty more to improve upon in 2024.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year was a challenging year for many municipalities. Rising interest rates, provincial government funding cuts and a murky economic outlook made for difficult decisions, particularly when it came to housing and services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AMO, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which represents nearly all the more than 440 municipalities across the province, stated that the year prior, 2022, municipalities spent $3.8 billion more than they received in areas of provincial responsibility (housing, social services, paramedics, long-term care and childcare, to name a few).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The result across the board was an increase in taxes in 2023 and the same goes for 2024, as was the case in Clarence-Rockland.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIndividuals are going through such a tough time right now with interest rates, cost of living, rent, affordability,\u201d said Zanth. \u201cAnd while we don\u2019t directly control those things as a city, we have to be mindful of them.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That being said, Zanth also acknowledged that the growth of the city can\u2019t be stopped.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to make sure the city has the funds it needs for tomorrow,\u201d he added. \u201cThat\u2019s where essentially every municipality is across the UCPR and the province. They are all around a four per cent tax increase.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless, Zanth believes the municipality is heading in the right direction and growing to serve its community. The beginning of the process to start development on the waterfront, progress on bringing a new tennis and recreation facility to town and establishing a task force to determine the future of the Jean-Marc Lalonde arena have all been positive steps in 2023.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThose are successes that prove we\u2019re moving in the right direction as a city,\u201d he said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, communication and engagement with the public lacked, according to Zanth. For the city\u2019s \u201cTalktober\u201d outreach event in October, only 150 people completed the survey out of a population of nearly 25,000 \u2013 and for the in-person events, just 70 people showed up.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to have more surveys, we need to have more interaction, and we need to better gauge their views,\u201d said Zanth of the city\u2019s connection with residents.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCity council are the ones that go door to door to hear what people have to say. We have to be able to take that and translate it into something that the city will be able to implement,\u201d he said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Big Things for 2024\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2024, Zanth has his eyes set on a number of big-ticket items. The uploading of County Road 17 to the province remains high on the list of priorities, as well as ensuring the province and federal government \u2013 through the United Counties of Prescott and Russel (UCPR) Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus \u2013 fund affordable and social housing in the region. A shuttle to the new train station at Trim Road in Orleans (once completed), and the extension of Baseline Road passed Canaan Road through to Orleans are also transportation solutions Zanth hopes to see progress on in 2024.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, discussions with the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital (HGH) for an urgent care solution in Clarence-Rockland will continue in January.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be better aligned for the challenges that are coming tomorrow, versus those that were here yesterday,\u201d said Zanth. \u201cAs the city continues to grow, we need to anticipate residents\u2019 needs and not just be reactive. That\u2019s what we are looking forward to in 2024.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking back on the year that was, Mayor Mario Zanth said there is plenty Clarence-Rockland has to be proud of \u2013 and plenty more to improve upon in 2024.\u00a0 Last year was a challenging year for many municipalities. Rising interest rates, provincial government funding cuts and a murky economic outlook made for difficult decisions, particularly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":98857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politique"],"acf":[],"featured_media_global":[],"yoast_head":"\nAffordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024 - Vision<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking back on the year that was, Mayor Mario Zanth said there is plenty Clarence-Rockland has to be proud of \u2013 and plenty more to improve upon in 2024.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024 - Vision\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Looking back on the year that was, Mayor Mario Zanth said there is plenty Clarence-Rockland has to be proud of \u2013 and plenty more to improve upon in 2024.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vision\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-12T18:37:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-17T19:52:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joseph Coppolino\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joseph Coppolino\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joseph Coppolino\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/25dbd073b952565ed09ca19dbbfccc27\"},\"headline\":\"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-12T18:37:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T19:52:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":585,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.editionap.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politique\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/\",\"name\":\"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024 - Vision\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.editionap.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-12T18:37:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T19:52:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/25dbd073b952565ed09ca19dbbfccc27\"},\"description\":\"Looking back on the year that was, Mayor Mario Zanth said there is plenty Clarence-Rockland has to be proud of \u2013 and plenty more to improve upon in 2024.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.editionap.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.editionap.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":480,\"caption\":\"Le maire de Clarence-Rockland, Mario Zanth.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/politique\\\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Vision\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/visionrockland.ca\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/25dbd073b952565ed09ca19dbbfccc27\",\"name\":\"Joseph Coppolino\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/68b588951b507643baa44096457818fb7c15c73a18975a47ba0caf868bab32aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/68b588951b507643baa44096457818fb7c15c73a18975a47ba0caf868bab32aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/68b588951b507643baa44096457818fb7c15c73a18975a47ba0caf868bab32aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Joseph Coppolino\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024 - Vision","description":"Looking back on the year that was, Mayor Mario Zanth said there is plenty Clarence-Rockland has to be proud of \u2013 and plenty more to improve upon in 2024.\u00a0","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024 - Vision","og_description":"Looking back on the year that was, Mayor Mario Zanth said there is plenty Clarence-Rockland has to be proud of \u2013 and plenty more to improve upon in 2024.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/","og_site_name":"Vision","article_published_time":"2024-01-12T18:37:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-17T19:52:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":480,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joseph Coppolino","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joseph Coppolino","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/"},"author":{"name":"Joseph Coppolino","@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/25dbd073b952565ed09ca19dbbfccc27"},"headline":"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024","datePublished":"2024-01-12T18:37:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T19:52:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/"},"wordCount":585,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg","articleSection":["Politique"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/","url":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/","name":"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024 - Vision","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-12T18:37:35+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T19:52:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/25dbd073b952565ed09ca19dbbfccc27"},"description":"Looking back on the year that was, Mayor Mario Zanth said there is plenty Clarence-Rockland has to be proud of \u2013 and plenty more to improve upon in 2024.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.editionap.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/01\/638048928971625087_Final.jpg","width":640,"height":480,"caption":"Le maire de Clarence-Rockland, Mario Zanth."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/politique\/affordability-community-engagement-top-of-mind-for-zanth-in-2024\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Affordability, Community Engagement Top of Mind for Zanth in 2024"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/","name":"Vision","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/25dbd073b952565ed09ca19dbbfccc27","name":"Joseph Coppolino","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68b588951b507643baa44096457818fb7c15c73a18975a47ba0caf868bab32aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68b588951b507643baa44096457818fb7c15c73a18975a47ba0caf868bab32aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68b588951b507643baa44096457818fb7c15c73a18975a47ba0caf868bab32aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Joseph Coppolino"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98856"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132382,"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98856\/revisions\/132382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visionrockland.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}