McNamara welcomed the members of County Council, Administration and members of the public and delivered the following greeting:
"Good afternoon and welcome.
Our annual Budget meeting is our most important meeting of the year and certainly the one to which I most look forward.
The leaders of our seven local municipalities gather to discuss our strategic priorities and lay the foundation for realizing our shared vision of a vibrant, progressive, caring municipality that puts the needs of its residents first.
I would like to thank CAO Mike Galloway for the incredible work he and his team have done in preparing this Budget while at the same time dealing with the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.
Mike started as CAO in the midst of this pandemic, when many employees were still working from home, and it has been a pleasure to watch County of Essex employees coalesce under his leadership with a sense of dedication and common purpose.
We will hear from Mike when we kick off our deliberations in a few minutes and we will also receive an overview from Sandra Zwiers, our Director of Finance/Treasurer.
Building a Budget like this for a corporation this size, one that addresses the needs of today while planning for the future, is a monumental task. But, year after year, Sandra and her hard-working team deliver for the County of Essex and our residents. I thank them for that.
I look forward to our deliberations this evening and, please, get your vaccine or your booster shot as soon as you are eligible.
Let’s stay focused on vaccines and not variants. We all have a role to play when it comes to keeping our community safe."