South Frontenac Council - Aug. 27/11

Wilma Kenny | Sep 29, 2011

Strategic Plan for South Frontenac

In the summer, council worked with a facilitator to develop a strategic plan for the Township. Council reviewed the summary document, which contains Mission, Vision and Strategic Directions, and agreed it should be brought to the next meeting to be adopted, so timelines could be set, and further direction for implementation be given to staff. In summary, the five strategic directions were: 1)Develop a policy framework for managing growth, the planning process and the demand for services, 2) Develop a plan for managing assets included a consolidated capital plan, 3)Develop and implement a communications plan, 4) Develop along-term plan to manage human resources, 5)Improve governance and processes. Once adopted, the full document will doubtless be posted on the website (see #3 above).

2012 Budget

When approving the last budget,Council directed staff to bring the 2012 budget forward in time for approval in 2011. In spite of the need to orientate a new treasurer, and the fact that some information will not yet be available from other agencies (eg. Ministry and County funding and Conservation and OPP costing), Council agreed that it should still be possible to complete the 2012 budget before the new year. They have suggested a full-day Saturday meeting may be necessary. Mayor Davison reminded Council that when deciding what would constitute a reasonable amount of growth, it was essential to remember that the percentage of increase in the budget was not the same amount as the property tax increase.

Other Items

Deputy Mayor Tinlin, who chairs the Police Services Board, distributed a sample of an eight-page information flyer published by another detachment. The PSB has recommended this would be an excellent means of communicating information about police services to the public. Council agreed to include supporting a portion of the cost of a one-time publication in their budget discussions.

A letter from the Verona Community Association expressing ‘concern about the current condition of the Verona cemetery’ led to a more general discussion of township cemeteries, which are all South Frontenac services. Mayor Davison noted that as such, their regulations and fees should be consistent across the township. In response to the suggestion that perhaps the cemetery boards should be amalgamated, Councillor Vandewal noted “It’ll go as smooth as SF recreation, but worse.”

In response to a request from the Nature Conservancy of Canada, which has purchased the former Hewlett-Packard property in Loughborough/Storrington areas, Council reaffirmed their long-standing policy to not close and sell unopened road allowances leading to waterfronts.