Body: Committee of the Whole Type: Minutes Meeting: Committee of the Whole Date: January 25, 2011 Collection: Council Minutes Municipality: South Frontenac
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Minutes of Committee of the Whole th
January 25m, 2011
Meeting No. 4 th Date: January 25tn, 2011 Time: 7:00 p.m. Location: Sydenham Present:
Mayor, Deputy Mayor Councillors,
Gary D avis on MarkTiulin
John McDougall Allau McPhail Cam Naish Bill Robinson Del Stowe Ron Vandewal
Larry York Staff:
Wayne Orr, Chief Administrative Officer
Alan Revill, Chief Building Official Ashley Brown, Recreation Coordinator
Rick Chesebrough, Fire Chief
Mark Segsworth, Public Works Manager 1.
Call to Order
The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Declaration of Pecuniary Interest.
There were no declarations of pecuniary interest. 3.
Delegations - nil
Business Items
(i)
Report from Anne Levac, Plannmg Assistant, re: Closing of unopened road allowances between Concession 12, Part Lots 5 and 6, District of Bedford
The CAO reviewed the report from Anne Levac with regard to a request for a closing of a road allowance. In this situation, the property owner is seeking to close a road allowance that crosses a peninsula having owned the property on either side of the road allowance. This would allow the creation of two lots that
are in greater conformity with township standards. Councillor Vandewal questioned how setbacks would be applied in this situation
and Alan Revill was able to address this question by stating there are existing buildings on the property.
Councillor Stowe commented that any requests for new buildings would require a permit that would require appropriate zoning requirements to be applied. Councillor Vandewal recognizing that this will increase the value of the two properties had no objection to the sale of the road allowance Direction from council was to proceed with the closure of the road allowance at the full purchase price. (ii)
Memo from Wayne Orr, Clerk-Administrator, re: 2011 Budget Direction Wayne Orr reviewed with Council a Power Point presentation that provided the background with regard to 2010 budget values and the allocation across various departments. He also reviewed budget changes by the previous Council and provided an indication of where the township tax assessment base is.
Minutes of Committee of the Whole th January 25" 2011
?n^as=f^lTi f^?Q^un^,^T!b^d^t ^dlng-prin?;iplesmclu?e Providin§ core services adequately funding those services; mimmizmg the ‘risk and exposure for the township and protecting and investing in assets.
Council was advised that any decisions made with regard to budget need to be made w,th full knowledge so that they can acknowledge the impact and be accountable for the outcomes.
The.2011. operatin§ pr?ssluleswere hlghlighted. The likely impact of these
pressures is approximately 2%. The initiatives for 2011 were outlined as well as the staffing priorities.
Funding options were reviewed including tax increases, drawing down reserves and increasing user fees and capital levies. The alternative is to reduce services and/or defer the initiatives.
^T^i?^^r^d!^i?1^ ^^^f^^^^aLi^^tiv^-?-T i^Tt_?cco^li^
the following will be provided: operatmg budget, capital budget, a listing of
initiatives included and not, and the impact on reserves and taxes. The timeiine
for the budget process includes tabling the draft budget on March 8th with full
Committee of the Whole meetings on March 22nd and 29th to review
departmental budgets. The first opportunity for budget approval will be April 5th. Councillor York asked if dump closure costs are approximately $1 million
per dump.
Mark Segsworth clarified that that was not the case.
Councillor Vandewal pointed out that one item to be addressed that was not
mentioned in the presentation was the funding of the Sydenham Water Plant. He acknowledged limited control over the operational budget and that obligations need to be met. He recognized that Council does have more control
over the capital budget He indicated support for looking to the future and setting
the budget this year with the information available and moving towards the future in next year’s budget. He indicated a preference for contract employees rather than additional permanent staffing should they be needed.
Councillor Stowe indicated support for asset management recognizing that the
need to take care of facilities is the same issue that Councillors face at home. He
cited the Bedford Hall as an example. He also noted that the Roads Department needs more money and cautioned that if we are not prepared to invest
in roads they will deteriorate. His priorities were strategic planning, improved communication, asset management and roads investment.
Councillor Robinson indicated that South Frontenac was no longer four little townships but a larger organization. He questioned why we do not have an inventory in particular with regard to smaller equipment such as chainsaws, generators and bmshes.
Councillor Naish asked how a capital levy would work and a brief explanation was provided,
Councillor McPhail indicated a need to look at strategic planning but felt that some issues were at cross purposes in the Powerpoint presentation. He wondered
whether Council was now putting the cart before the horse in terms of trying to address the budget before a strategic plan was in place. He felt that administration needed to put forward clear priorities for their needs. He felt that a capital levy may be appropriate for the second budget of this Council.
Councillor York suggested that the budget be based on growth as growth occurs and this should be reviewed every six months so that as new houses are brought on we would look at our budget needs at that time.
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Minutes of Committee of the Whole
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January 25th, 2011
Councillor Naish asked about the previous Council budget changes in the
Powerpoint presentation and this was explained.
^lS^!o,r^^de^^indica^ed .that he woul<^ notj)e,ab,le ^ commlt to permanent
positions until such time as the issues were identified clearly. He also commented
fram_a_facilities point of view that it should not be sunply looking at rebuilding: but rather investing in existing structures
Councillor Stowe asked what the break even point is. Mark Segsworth clarified that with an additional year we should have a better handle on what the infrastructure demands are for roads so that the assets do not deteriorate any further.
Councillor McDougall indicated that strategic planning is something that would
not likely be achieved until the second year. He commented that he was
supportive of staffing, acknowledging that work loads need to be managed and
they are an important factor in maintaining consistency in staff. He
highlighted a number of issues that were not identified and felt needed
consideration including water and sewage for other areas within the township beyond Sydenham, lanes and lake associations and dealing with their needs,
heritage preservation beyond municipal buildings, tourism and emergency planning. He believes that in partnership with the County we could leverage things such as community improvement plans, broadband, asset mapping and green energy. He felt there needs to be a long term strategy
for
roads,
accessibility for municipal buildings, affordable housing for seniors as well as medical services. He encouraged partnerships where necessary to achieve these objectives. He questioned the funds that are transferred for social services, library and medical and questioned why we do not receive feedback as to what those services are accomplishing. In addition, he questioned the feedback
directly on policing and conservation authorities rather than just simply asking for budget requests.
Mayor Davison clarified some of the points and provided additional background for Councillor McDougall.
Councillor McPhail acknowledged that contracted services for specific functions can be appropriate but with regards to asset management he felt this would need someone on an ongoing basis to implement not simply identify and assess. He felt that this initial stage may lead to a position. Deputy Mayor Tinlin pointed out that there may be alternatives for policing including contracted services with the City of Kingston. He identified priorities as communication, waste management staffing and road mvestment. He commented that his first priority with regard to communications was essential
v
because without that citizens could not understand why decisions are being made as they are. He did state that zero is never a realistic approach to budgeting and that if they do go up, Council needs to be in a position to explain the rationale and
identify what services are being delivered. He asked staff to identify the top 6 priorities and cautioned that reserves can’t Just be drawn down that they need to that be maintained for emergency situations. He acknowledged jurisdictions are starting with a 2.5%.
Councillor Vandewal indicated that from a facilities perspective, he felt that the third Building Inspector when hired could take on some of those
responsibilities through the Building Department. He suggested that budgets could be presented in three scenarios, what is necessary to maintain, what we should have and what we would like.
Councillor McDougall indicated that in his assessment of the discussions he has
heard a general support for most of the initiatives presented in the Powerpoint .
presentation.
other
Minutes of Committee of the Whole th January 25ttl, 2011
Councillor Naish indicated that his commitment was for communication and waste management.
Councillor Stowe asked staff to follow up on the opportunities for the Building
Inspector to be actively involved in facility maintenance.
The Mayor instructed staff to go back with the direction provided from Council and to move forward with the budget papers.
Other Business
Wayne Orr advised Council that emergency work was being done on the Old School House in Hartington and that the belfry was dislodged and needs to be
moved to address safety concerns. The building has been designated as a heritage
property in 1985 by Portland Township and further details will be coming back to Council for next steps.
Councillor Vandewal brought forward the issue of Sydenham water and felt that
te needs to be addressed in the first year of Council to address both capital and the hook ups to the system.
Councillor York spoke to Council with regard to a plastic bale wrap recycling program. He understood that these could be recycled and would generate revenue
of $1500.00 per transport truckload and felt a $10,000.00 capital purchase of a packer would be justified. Large quantities of bale wrap are purchased throughout the township routinely and if we were to provide an avenue for farmers to recycle that would prevent materials from going into our dump sites. Councillor Robinson pointed out that bale wrap is not accepted at the Portland dump and Councillor Vandewal indicated that council should not be so naive as
to believe that farmers are not burning the product. Mark Segsworth indicated that the Household Hazardous Waste site already has provisional approval to accept bale wrap. Councillor Vandewal indicated that if improvements to the electronic waste strategy were implemented then they may generate savings that could fund the cost of operating bale wrap recycling. The item was referred to the Public Works Services committee for farther review.
Councillor Stowe raised the issue of compensation and expense reimbursement for volunteers highlighting increased costs in operating vehicles. Deputy Mayor Tinlin brought forward the issue of having name tags purchased so that Council members can be identified when they are attending functions on behalf of Council. –^^f
Adjournment The Committee of the Whole meeting adjourned at 8:58 p.m.
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