Frontenac County approves 2020 budget

Jeff Green | Apr 15, 2020

It’s been 4 months since Frontenac County Council approved a draft budget, but with all that has happened since then, it might as well have been 4 years ago.

County policy dictates that in all years, except those following a municipal election, the budget process is to be completed in the fall preceding the calendar that is covered by the budget. 

Last November, in the face of potentially significant changes in provincial funding for some of the programs that the county operates, Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender recommended that final approval of the budget be put off until the provincial funding situation was settled.

“Whatever number we plug in for provincial funding will be wrong. I don’t know by how much or if it will be over or under, but it will be wrong,” Pender said at the time.

Four months later, all talk about provincial reform and funding changes for paramedic services, long term care, or any other government service, seems like it comes from the long-forgotten past. The Province of Ontario maintains a singular focus now, on COVID - 19, whose impact on both the revenue and expense side of the 2020 Ontario budget, dwarfs everything else.

Frontenac County met last week, via teleconference with only Warden Smith, Clerk Amini, and CAO Pender in attendance, along with the press. The rest of Council and staff participated in an old school teleconference. 

The major item on the agenda was the formal approval of the budget, which is unchanged from the document that was tentatively approved back November, 2019. The same tentative provincial numbers that were plugged in the budget in November, remained.

The final budget estimates a shortfall of $115,000 in provincial funding, a little over 1% of the total levy to ratepayers.

The overall increase is just under 5%, but the county treasurer department deducts a percentage for growth, 2%, reporting an after - growth increase of 2.93%. 

(Editor's note – The Frontenac News reports budget increases for all of the municipalities we cover in the same way, by comparing the amount to be raised through taxes with the previous budget year.

That figure includes an allocation of 0.65% for building up a reserve fund to cover infrastructure replacement costs.

The only change in the budget document had nothing to do with the tally, just with a side provision.

During budget talks in November, Council decided to phase out its support for transportation programs that operate in Frontenac County.

The money had been requested by Southern Frontenac Community Services ($48.000) and Frontenac Transportation Services ($48,000), which is a division of Rural Frontenac Community Services.

Frontenac County has supported the two transportation programs for almost 20 years, but in November, Council decided that 2020 would be the last year.

In order to make that clear, the motion to approve the budget included the following statement: “During the budget deliberations, the Committee of the Whole recommended $96,000 to be funded from reserves for the Rural Frontenac Transportation Services and Southern Frontenac Community Services, and further, that both organizations be advised that all future funding from the county will cease.”

Since November of last year, the mayors from South, Central and North Frontenac have been hearing from ratepayers who expressed support for the two transportation programs. The programs help seniors, disabled adults, children, Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program recipients and the general public get to medical appointments, programs, and shopping destinations.

“I’ve received a lot of emails and comments about that statement. People depend on these services. I'd like to remove that statement,” said North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins.”

All of the other council members agreed and the statement was pulled.

“We could simply revert back to our old way of funding them,” said Councillor Bill Macdonald.

“They should know they are invited to come to us in the summer with their budget, as they have done in the past. We don’t automatically fund them,” said South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal.

“Should we let them know the statement has been pulled,” said Councillor Alan Revill.

“They will know,” said Warden Frances Smith.

Ron Vandewal voted against the budget, and since he has two votes as Mayor of the largest township, the motion to approve the budget was listed as a 7-2 vote.

Statement from the Warden

Warden Smith delivered a statement at the start of the meeting.

“We are 15 days into our state of emergency,” she said. “Paramedics and nursing staff have been going above the call of duty. Kudos to them. The Howe Island ferry has been making sacrifices to limit the number of cars. Our economic development team is still doing work to support businesses. All county staff have been working behind the scenes, but doing a lot. I would like to thank the health unit, and Dr. Moore, for keeping us all in touch. I’d like to thank everyone for coming together at this time, our front-line township staff have been going above and beyond to serve the community. Kudos to them all.”

Housekeeping 

Council approved a number of proposals that were left over from the March 15 meeting, which was canceled due to the onset of a state of emergency in the province. One of those was to accept $45,000, in funding from the province, to undertake a review of the economic development department. Another was to accept the final report of a review of ambulance services. 

The report on remuneration for council members in 2019 was also received. Council members received $12,000 each plus expenses, the deputy warden, $14,300 plus expenses, and the warden (Ron Higgins in 2019) just under $29,000 plus expenses.

Subdivision approval processes extended – Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the draft plans of approval for three subdivisions, the Johnston Point subdivision, the 2292 Sands Road subdivision (Ouellette) and the Cranberry Cove subdivision, all located in the former Storrington Township in South Frontenac, will be extended until January 29th, 2021. 

The draft plans were set to lapse this coming summer, but those deadlines will be difficult to meet under the current circumstances, and the planning department recommended they be extended.  Council agreed.

Upcoming in May

South Frontenac Mayor Vandewal said that a report concerning a proposal to permit motorised vehicles on the K&P trail between the trailhead at Hardwood Creek in Verona, to Craig Road, north of Verona, will be coming in May.

“I will recommend that we make it a one-year trial period and review it after that. That is how we handled Sunday hunting and ATV’s on township roads, and it worked well,” he said.

North Frontenac Mayor Higgins submitted a notice of motion to review seniors housing at the May meeting of council.

Frontenac County is set to meet next on May 13. The regular April meeting, which was to take place on the 15th, has been cancelled.