Rising taxes. Decaying infrastructure and services. Fraying of the urban fabric and quality of life. People as diverse as the TD Bank, former Finance Minister Paul Martin and Canada’s mayors are saying that there is a crisis in our cities, but everyone seems to think that the solution is more money, more spending by senior governments, more jurisdictional entanglement. Isn’t there a mayor out there who has a story to tell about rolling up his sleeves and solving his own city’s problems by self-reliance, creative thinking, innovative approaches, more thoughtful service delivery and fiscal discipline?
The answer is yes. Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist is seen as one of America’s leading lights in reforming city governments and he will be in Halifax to share his remarkable experience at an AIMS Luncheon, Friday September 26th.
Mayor Norquist’s presentation “You Can’t Build a City on Pity” outlines an impressive record of streamlining city government, improving public safety and spurring job growth in Milwaukee. A leading “New Democrat” with a high national profile in the United States and internationally, Norquist is revolutionizing conventional thinking about urban issues as diverse as encouraging more urban parking space to the transformation of welfare into work-based income. Under his leadership, Milwaukee city government has become more efficient and less costly for city taxpayers and now in his fourth term, Norquist continues to be widely regarded as a leading figure in the reform of city government in the United States.
As part if its ongoing initiative on Canada’s Cities and National Urban Strategy, AIMS and its partners Corporate Research Associates, Deloitte Touche and the Greater Halifax Partnership welcome John Norquist, Mayor of Milwaukee to Halifax to speak with public and private sector opinion leaders and the public September 26, 2003.