Toth Wants to Get Economic Development Moving, Fast

Dave Toth knows a thing or two about burning rubber as president of the local dragstrip and nearly four-decade long employee at the city’s Goodyear plant. And, if elected, he’s prepared to move fast to spark economic development in the city.

But first things first.

“You need to start by getting power back to city council so they can be dealmakers and players and get things happening,” said Toth. “Red tape needs to be removed so we can start building, get things going in the city.”

He said he hears a lot from Hatters about delays in being able to obtain permits for a range of different city regulated actions.

It’s something he’d like to see changed, especially if more housing is to be built in the city which will in turn make buying a home affordable for Hatters.

“We build less than 50 houses a year in this city. I know that most people can’t afford a house because of the cost of them,” said Toth.

Unnecessary additional charges to utility bills are another detriment to deal with the affordability crisis, he added.

And Toth would like to see a bigger emphasis on law enforcement as crime continues to be a concern of citizens.

Asked about whether there is a transparency issue at city hall, Toth stated, “we have nothing to hide. Why do you need to hide anything from any city resident. They are the tax base and have a right to know everything we do.”

Being open about how council conducts the people’s business is not something Toth says he’ll have any issues with.

Toth described himself as a “hands on guy” and he believes councillors need to be part of the pitch when attracting businesses to the community.

And his ability to work with businesses and make deals will come in handy if he’s elected.

But Toth reiterated councillors need to recoup the ability and power to do what people elected them to do.

“You can’t move forward with building and infrastructure without a bigger taxbase. The city has been stagnant for 10 years, it’s shown in the growth numbers,” he said.

But the city has tapped more taxes from existing residents rather than attracting more taxpayers to pay for new projects.

“You need to bring businesses in. You need to build house. You need to bring more people in and increase your tax base to pay for all your infrastructure the city needs,” said Toth. “You need infrastructure to moving forward to keep your city viable to keep moving forward.”

He says he’d like to the city provide either temporary breaks in utility rates or direct incentives to start attracting more businesses to the city.

And the council needs to work together as a team to spread the world that Medicine Hat is open for business, said Toth.