Re-Elect Barb Enright- Miller Ward 1

09/07/2026

“WHY CAN’T A COUNCILLOR JUST TELL CITY STAFF TO FIX IT?”

I think this is an important question, and after serving on Belleville City Council for the past four years, I want residents to understand what your councillors can and cannot do.
When you elect us as your Councillors, you elect us to represent you, not to individually run City Hall.
I can listen to your concerns, advocate on your behalf, ask questions, challenge recommendations, bring issues forward, introduce or support motions, scrutinize spending and vote on the decisions that come before Council.
What I cannot do is individually direct City employees, bypass policies or legislation, award contracts, approve permits, change budgets or simply order the City to take a particular action.
Council makes decisions collectively.
There are nine people around Belleville’s Council table our Mayor and eight Councillors. I have one voice and one vote. My responsibility is to use both wisely.
City staff have a very different role. They are responsible for the professional, technical and day-to-day administration of our City. They maintain our infrastructure, administer programs and policies, manage projects, prepare reports and budgets, and provide Council with professional advice.
That doesn’t mean councillors simply accept everything put in front of us.

We shouldn’t…..

Our job is to ask questions. Challenge assumptions. Question costs. Consider alternatives. Listen to residents. Understand the consequences and then make informed decisions.
There are also limits on what Council itself can do. Municipalities operate within provincial legislation. We have existing contracts, collective agreements, legal obligations, procurement rules, planning requirements and mandated services. Sometimes the answer residents want or frankly, that answer simply isn’t legally or financially available to us.
That can be frustrating, but I believe part of being an effective councillor is being willing to explain that rather than making promises.. to you, I may not have the authority to keep.
Does that mean we shrug our shoulders and say, “There is nothing we can do”? Absolutely not.

We push….and keep pushing …

We ask whether there is another way.
We challenge spending when necessary.
We advocate to other levels of government….
We bring residents concerns into the conversation…..
And when something is within Council’s authority, we make a decision and are accountable for that decision, popular or not.
I don’t believe leadership means promising that I can personally fix every problem….

Leadership means understanding how to get things done within the system, knowing when that system needs to be challenged, and being accountable to the people who elected you.
After four years at the Council table, I understand much more clearly where Council has authority, where staff have responsibility, and where provincial legislation or other obligations limit our choices. This experience takes time, and after 4 years You really just get to the point where you know how to navigate this big City machine.. I feel like it’s once you get time under your belt, find your voice, you can make positive change..

This experience matters.

I will continue to ask questions, challenge where necessary, work respectfully with our City staff and my Council colleagues, and most importantly, never forget who I am there to represent YOU….. the residents of Belleville.

Barb

09/07/2026

BUDGETS AND YOUR TAX DOLLARS

As current Chair of the City of Belleville’s Finance Committee, I believe one of my most important responsibilities is understanding not only how much we spend, but why we spend it, what we receive for it, and what the long-term consequences are of the decisions we make today.
Taxes are never an easy conversation. I hear from residents who are struggling with the rising cost of living, and I take very seriously every additional dollar we ask taxpayers to contribute.
But I also believe residents deserve an open, honest and realistic conversation about how a municipal budget actually works.
Trust me, I’ve spent my last 35 years in business creating budgets for my clients, ever year, year after year, small ones and very large ones, I understand budgeting and all that comes with it. What I have learned over the last 4 years is our City budget is much more complicated than simply deciding to increase or decrease spending. Before Council even begins its annual budget deliberations, there are financial commitments and pressures already in place which means we are not starting from zero..in place negotiated contracts(unions/non union ), policing and emergency services budgets to add in, legislated responsibilities, Hastings County to add in, all the other outside agencies to add in, existing debt commitments to add in, inflation, insurance, fuel and utility costs, contributions and the cost of maintaining replacing the infrastructure, our community depends upon every day.
Then there is Asset Management.
Belleville owns (which means all of us) hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, bridges, water and wastewater systems, buildings, parks, vehicles and other infrastructure. Responsible budgeting means maintaining those assets today while also putting money aside in reserves so future taxpayers are not faced with enormous bills because previous councils failed to plan ahead.
That is why promises of simply “lowering taxes” or delivering an arbitrary tax increase can sound appealing, but the responsible question must always be… what are we going to reduce, defer or do differently to achieve it? What will the consequences be?
There absolutely ARE places where Council should challenge spending, must challenge spending, do challenge spending.. . I have done that, and I will continue doing it on your behalf.
We should question costs.
We should look for efficiencies.
We should challenge increases.
We should ask whether programs are delivering results.
We should examine whether there is a better or less expensive way of providing a service.
But we also have to understand what is within Council’s control, what has already been contractually or legislatively committed, and what reductions would ultimately mean for the services residents rely upon.
Having served on the Finance Committee throughout this term as its Chair, I know how important it is to look beyond the headline number. I believe my responsibility is to understand the numbers, ask difficult questions, listen to residents and staff, and weigh today’s affordability against Belleville’s long-term financial health.
I will never promise a tax number simply because it sounds good during an election campaign…. Sorry it’s not fair to you nor is it a realistic promise, as no one individual on council has that power.
What I will promise is that I will continue to scrutinize the budget carefully, challenge expenditures where appropriate, look for savings and efficiencies, and make decisions based on the information in front of me. It may not always be the popular route but I’ll look at all the facts and hopefully make the decision you would too, given the facts.
And when I vote, I will be prepared to explain what we are spending, why we are spending it, what residents are receiving for it, and how that decision affects Belleville’s future.
Financial accountability isn’t about promising the easiest number.
It’s about doing the homework, understanding the entire picture, asking the difficult questions and being accountable to the taxpayers who ultimately pay the bill… I am a taxpayer too.
That is the approach I have brought to the Finance Committee and it is the approach I will continue to bring to the Council table if I am fortunate enough to earn your support for another term.
Barb

09/06/2026

Wow.. Thank you to the residents of the west hill for the heartfelt, passionate conversation this morning about this treasure of a location… it’s so evident this area means so much to so many. It was my pleasure to meet you all and I assure you we have learned, how and what needs to happen next. This is your City, we are fortunate to be the stewards of…. I do not take that responsibility lightly .
-elect Sean Kelly -elect Garnett Thompson

09/04/2026

Parks | Reminder that splash pad hours are changing next week! 💦

Splash pads will be closed on weekdays and open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m until Thanksgiving. There’s still plenty of time for some weekend water fun before the season wraps up! ☀️

Learn more: Belleville.ca/SplashPads

09/03/2026

09/02/2026

FOUR YEARS OF SERVICE AND A LOT TO BE PROUD OF.. BUT JUST GETTING STARTED, SO MUCH TO FINISH!

As I come to the end of my first four-year term on Belleville City Council, I have found myself reflecting on just how much has happened since I was first elected in 2022.

I have never believed that being a Councillor is about taking personal credit. Nothing meaningful at City Hall is accomplished by one person. It takes Council, our City staff, community volunteers, businesses, organizations and, most importantly, residents who care enough to get involved.
This is a team sport!

But, I was elected to work on your behalf…and I believe it is also important to account for that work. You allowed me this position, so I want to give you a high level overview of what I have accomplished for you!

Over these four years, I have had the privilege of serving in a number of leadership roles and working on issues that matter deeply to our community.

♿ CHAMPIONING ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

As Chair of Belleville’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, I have worked alongside an incredible group of people to keep accessibility at the forefront of City decision-making, through bylaw,planning, parks, overall services the city supplies, it’s a broad net.

During this term we advanced Belleville’s 2023–2027 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan, with the goal of identifying and removing barriers in our city through the services the city provides to our people through the lens of making our facilities, services and community more accessible. Especially accessible for the visible and invisible disabilities.

I am particularly proud of continuing to grow awareness through the Belleville’s Accessibility Excellence Awards, recognizing the businesses, organizations and individuals who are quietly making our city more inclusive every day. We introduced these awards and are heading into the third year of awards.

Accessibility isn’t simply about meeting legislation. It is about making sure everyone can participate in the community they call home. I am so proud of the work we have done through this committee, we have so much more to do.

💰 RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT

As Chair of the Finance Committee, I have spent countless hours reviewing financial reports, reserve positions, budgets, investments, and the long-term financial obligations of our City.

Municipal budgeting is rarely as simple as saying yes or no to spending. We have to maintain aging infrastructure, provide essential services, plan for growth and make investments today that prevent much larger costs tomorrow all while always remembering whose money we are spending. We apply for funding streams from other level of governments every chance we get to add revenues and are constantly looking at other revenue streams.

I have tried to bring my more than 30 years of private sector business and property management experience managing large building projects, intricate infrastructures, large budgets, managing people, to that table and ask the same question I would ask in my own business: Is this necessary, is it responsible, and are we getting value for money for the taxpayer? Risk vs reward, long term value vs short term.

👮 COMMUNITY SAFETY & POLICING

Serving as Vice-Chair of the Belleville Police Service Board has been one of the largest responsibilities of my term. The board must ensure and is legislatively mandated that our service provides adequate and effective policing to our community. That mandate filters down and has so many sub sections that we MUST provide. Freedom is not free and policing is expensive.
Since the invention of the force some 190 years ago the face of policing has changed and evolved so very much to the policing being delivered today.
Our community has grown and the nature and policing complexity of policing has changed with it.

One accomplishment I am especially proud of was participating directly in the development of the Belleville Police Service 2026–2029 Strategic Plan “The Way Forward.”
Rather than simply hiring consultants to tell us what Belleville needed, our Strategic Planning Committee took on much of that work ourselves, saving the City over $80,000.00

We went to the community… literally over months..

We held roundtables and town halls. We consulted businesses, we went and set up in businesses and asked the public questions and asked them to fill out surveys,
we consulted community organizations, vulnerable populations, police members and residents. Hundreds of people responded to the public survey.

That work helped produce a four-year roadmap centred on community safety and engagement, supporting our people, and operational excellence. It’s not sitting on a shelf it really is our operational roadmap manual..

It was an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, but important work that I believe will serve Belleville well into the future. I was so fortunate to be part of it because I personally learned so much about what our service does, is forced to do to protect us day to day. As well as hear from our residents about what they need and want from our service .. it was a great initiative to be involved in which took us about a year to complete.

🌳 PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT

Through my work with and as Chair of the Green Task Force, I have continued to advocate for practical environmental improvements and greater environmental awareness.

That has included supporting environmental initiatives, encouraging stewardship and recognizing the residents, organizations and businesses doing exceptional work through Belleville’s Environmental Stewardship Awards. We introduced the awards this past year much the same as the awards we started with our accessibility awards.. to highlight those who make real change in the environment through their work or stewardship.

I believe growth and environmental responsibility have to go hand in hand. As Belleville continues to develop, protecting the natural assets that make our community special must remain part of the conversation. We all know that once the creeks and green spaces are gone they’re gone.. we need to be stewards when ever possible to maintain these areas and exhaust every resource at our disposal to do so…. It takes, out of the box thinking a lot of the time, which I love to try to do to solve a problem. We have so much natural beauty around the city parks and wildlife that we need to respect and preserve, it take strategic planning of neighborhoods. To maintain these areas. It’s the right thing to do.

💡 LIGHTING display

My committee work here is so much fun and brings such joy at the Christmas season… it’s something we give back to the residents of Belleville with donations to purchase new displays each year… it takes a year of planning to get us to launch night and it’s the happiest of nights when we see the faces of the young children and their families in awe of the lights and Santa and Mrs. Claus . Each year we get to make it bigger and better full of joy and fellowship for all.

🏗️ PLANNING FOR A GROWING BELLEVILLE

Serving on the Planning Advisory Committee has given me the opportunity to participate in some of the most consequential decisions affecting Belleville’s future.

Growth brings opportunity, but it also creates pressures on roads, water and wastewater infrastructure, emergency services, policing, parks and other municipal services.

I have tried to approach development applications with an open mind, listen to residents, understand the planning legislation we are legally required to follow, ask questions and balance growth with the long-term interests of our community. Balance is the key when planning for growth.

🤝 SHOWING UP FOR BELLEVILLE

Some of the most rewarding moments of these four years haven’t happened around the Council table at all.

They have happened at business openings, ribbon cuttings, community celebrations, charitable events, committee meetings, neighbourhood gatherings, award events, and conversations with residents…

I have watched entrepreneurs take a chance on Belleville, welcomed new businesses, celebrated community organizations and met countless volunteers who give their time simply because they love this city. .. just like I do! Born raised and never left.. I have the context of where we have been and where I know we can get to.

And I have answered calls, emails and messages from residents, sometimes about very large issues and sometimes about something happening directly outside their front door.

That is also the job.

There are many other things I am proud to have supported during this term investments in infrastructure, economic development, housing, healthcare recruitment, Doctors,doctors,doctors, nurse practitioners…community safety, parks and recreation.. accessible ones, environmental initiatives and the many services residents depend upon every day.

I won’t pretend that every decision has been perfect or that everyone has agreed with every vote I have cast.

That isn’t realistic in municipal government.

What I can say is that I have done my homework, asked questions, listened, shown up and made the best decisions I could with the information before me.

There have been hundreds of meetings, thousands of pages of reports and countless conversations behind four years of Council service that most people will never see.

I didn’t run for Council because I wanted a title.

I ran because after more than 30 years in business, managing people, properties, infrastructure and multimillion dollar budgets, I believed I had experience that could be useful to my community.

Four years later, I still believe that.

There is more work to do.

Belleville is growing and changing, and the decisions we make over the next four years will matter for decades.

I would be honoured to have the opportunity to continue that work.

Thank you, Belleville, for trusting me with these first four years. It has truly been one of the greatest privileges of my life to serve you🙏😊.. I hope to serve you for the next four!

09/01/2026

Community | School is back tomorrow! 🏫 Slow down and watch for school buses and crossing guards! 🚸

As students head back to class, remember to slow down and stay alert, especially in school zones. Keep an eye out for students, school buses and our crossing guards as they help everyone get to and from school safely.

Have a great first day of school!