Life’s good in Sidney.
A survey of 300 citizens gave the municipality glowing reviews for the services it delivers, how it responds to its residents, council’s decision-making process and how life in general is pretty darn great in Sidney-By-The-Sea.
This should come as no surprise, considering some of the bigger issues facing the community include which direction people should be driving down the street or how local businesses can tell their stories better to a broader market. And, as outlined in Wednesday’s PNR, even local youth realize that they’ve got it good in Sidney.
In broad strokes, most people would agree Sidney has a lot to offer and life here isn’t that bad at all.
There are more serious issues, of course. Sidney isn’t perfect.
Mayor Larry Cross realizes this fact and is quick to point out that, despite the survey’s glowing picture of the town and how it’s being run under his watch, there is room for improvement. The municipality is taking steps to do just that — from recognizing a stagnant economy is having an impact and backing various marketing initiatives and events and taking their own finances in hand, to opening up new ways of communicating with residents about the goings-on at town hall.
He has to be bolstered somewhat by survey respondents’ apparent willingness to pay more taxes to maintain or improve local services. Normally, no one wants to pay more taxes. People must have been caught at home on a good day to answer so positively to taxation questions.
It’s great news that a representative portion of the population finds the local quality of life quite high. And apart from minor griping, most people and groups appear willing to work together to keep that lifestyle alive in Sidney.
There are certainly upgrades and tweaks to be made — plenty of people are stepping up to help inspire positive change — so let’s hope that future decisions keep Sidney on that path.