Central Frontenac Council - Jan. 24

Jeff Green | Jan 26, 2012

Central Frontenac Council cuts $400,000 from budget, asks staff to find another $100,000

Central Frontenac Council took another jab at their 2012 budget at their regular meeting on Tuesday night, cutting the increase in their own budget to just under 7%.

When CAO Shawn Trépanier presented the amended budget at the start of the meeting, about $250,000 had already been cut from the first version of the budget, which had been presented a couple of weeks ago. The amended budget still called for $6.16 million in taxation for local services, up from $5.4 million in 2011.

Part of the reason for that increase is a cut in transfer payments from the Province of Ontario in the amount of $200,000 and a $60,000 increase in policing costs, both factors that council cannot control.

The increase in costs for township operations has been set at 1.9%, leaving the capital expenditure portion of the budget, which was up by $300,000 from 2011, as the only place council could really look to for cuts.

They decided to pay for a new document management system and server out of reserve funds, cutting $40,000 out of the levy. They then cut the purchase of one of two tandem trucks out, saving $210,000, and finally decided to pave only 2.5 kilometres of the Arden Road instead of 5 km, saving another $150,000.

Plans to do paving and other work on the Arden bridge, a $178,000 item, remained in the budget, as did $55,000 for work on the new ball field in Mountain Grove and a $100,000 contribution to a reserve fund for a new fire hall in Parham.

Councilor Frances Smith then asked that staff come back with cuts of 0.5% in their operating budgets, but Mayor Gutowski said it would be better if staff are given more leeway to find savings in operating or capital expenditures because operating budgets have already been trimmed.

“We don’t want to compromise the level of service we offer to the ratepayers,” Gutowski said.

The 6.8% increase in the taxes Central Frontenac is set to collect from ratepayers will be combined with money they collect for Frontenac County and for Education taxes. Since those rates are not going up as much as the township rate is, the net result to the average Central Frontenac tax bill is an increase of less than 5% at this point. That could drop another percentage point by the time the budget process is complete.

Councilor John Purdon sounded a precautionary note, however.

“Our level of reserve funds has been dropping, from $4 million five years ago to just over $1 million now, even though we have raised taxes over that time by about 7% per year,” he said.

Mark MacDonald to resign as Central Frontenac Fire Chief.

After eight years, Mark MacDonald will stop commuting from Belleville to Sharbot Lake every few days to fulfill his responsibilities as Central Frontenac Fire Chief.

In an emotional statement at the tail end of his report on the last three months' activity of his department, MacDonald, flanked by Deputy Fire Chiefs Art Cowdy and Bill Young, informed Council that he has been promoted to the full time job of deputy fire chief in his home fire department in Belleville, and will be resigning as fire chief in Central Frontenac.

The township would be well served, Mark MacDonald offered, it he were replaced with an internal candidate. “I would endorse one of these two people who are sitting next to me,” MacDonald said.

After thanking his department, the council, and the residents of the township for supporting him over the years, Mark MacDonald talked about what one of the Hinchinbrooke District firefighters said to him the first time he attended a meeting at the District 4 fire hall in Parham.

“'Are you going to stay long enough to have a cup of coffee?' he asked me because at that point there had been three chiefs in a short period of time, and that stuck with me. I thought that this department deserved a longer term commitment than that and I think we have accomplished a lot in eight years.”

Among the improvements that MacDonald referred to were new facilities and equipment (2 fire halls have been built and a number of new vehicles have been purchased), enhanced training, and a third element, working with the department to create the kind of atmosphere at the fire halls so that they became places that firefighters enjoy coming to for training and meetings.

“I have no doubt that my experience here has been instrumental in me receiving a promotion to deputy chief in Belleville,” he said, “I received a great deal more here than I gave, and I will always be grateful for that.”

Although he has tendered his letter of resignation, the exact date when Mark MacDonald will leave has yet to be determined.

Facilities review

Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven presented a 50-page report outlining the state of repair of the 22 buildings that the township owns, including major buildings such as the township office, fire halls, township halls and public works garages, and smaller structures such as change rooms at ice rinks and the band shell at the Sharbot Lake beach.

The report includes details about the type of construction employed in each structure, and heating and plumbing system details.

It also includes the yearly heating and hydro costs associated with each facility as well as recommendations for repairs or upgrades that are required immediately, and within 2, 5 and 10 years.

“In most cases what I recommend in the short run are what you might call ‘low hanging fruit’, measures such as putting in programmable setback thermostats that offer a quick payback of a year of so and will lead to savings in heating costs,” said Neven.

As furnaces and water heaters are replaced, he said that more efficient systems would lead to savings in heat and hydro costs.

The report also included charts that compare the cost per square foot of heating and hydro costs.

Neven pointed out that the former Olden township office in Mountain Grove and the Mountain Grove rink change room have some of the highest costs per square foot to operate, as does the former township garage on Wagner Road near Sharbot Lake.

The report does not include any recommendations regarding the long-term viability of the buildings, but the information it contains can be used by the township to consider mothballing some facilities during a strategic planning process that is slated to be completed by the end of this year.

Mayor facing challenge – After a presentation by Mike Procter about some of the new and returning events at this year’s upcoming Heritage Festival in late February, CAO Shawn Trépanier said he is willing to participate in the Polar Bear Plunge so long as a member of Council will do so as well. Councilor Jeff Matson said he would plunge as long as Mayor Gutowski agreed to be the rose between the two thorns, as it were. The mayor said she might, and as a public service, the News is offering a $100 challenge to other local businesses to match the amount on the condition that the so-called CF3 do indeed take the plunge.

All proceeds from the plunge are going to the Youth Program of Northern Frontenac Community Services.