The Ontario Sunshine List came out last Friday, and while there are still only a few people working for local townships who receive over $100,000 a year in salary (two from South Frontenac, one from North Frontenac) the number at Frontenac County has climbed to 15.

Kelly Pender, the new Chief Administrative Officer, is not one of them because he was only hired in May of 2014, the subject year of the list.

Twelve of the $100,000 plus club at the County comes from employees of Frontenac Paramedic Services (FPS), including Chief Charbonneau and the two deputy chiefs, Gale Chevalier and Dave Gemmill. Most of the rest are supervisors, and two advanced care paramedics, who have come onto the list over the past two years and earned just a bit over $100,000 in 2014.

The minimal difference between the pay of supervisors and some advanced care paramedics, which was illustrated in graphic detail by the Sunshine report, underlines a potential problem in paramedic and other emergency services that has been identified by CAO Pender in the past.

In Frontenac County, the highest paid advanced care paramedic (ACP) earns more than three of the six supervisors, and almost the same as a fourth. And further up the ladder, the deputy chiefs only earn marginally more.

This is not, however, a major concern at FPS, according to Chief Paul Charbonneau.

“Vacant management positions within FPS are most often filled by long serving paramedics who wish to take their career down an administrative path. Many ACPs are quite happy to spend the full duration of their careers on the road providing patient care, and they are well compensated for their technical expertise and life experience.

“It's generally not a wage increase that attracts medics to the administrative side of the industry; supervisors, deputy chiefs, and chiefs find rewards in improving the service as a whole and supporting medics to provide the best patient care possible,” he said.

Principals and vice principals working in rural Frontenac and L&A schools, as well as a number of senior teachers, are featured on the Limestone District School Board's list (which is over 120 names long in total)

As well, among the thousands of police officers in the province who earn over $100,000 per year are a number who work out of the Frontenac Detachment, its Sharbot Lake affiliate, and the Kaladar Detachment.

It is 2:00 in the morning. Your child has a fever and the fever has spiked. You give the child some medication to control the fever but you are in a quandary. Should you sit with your child and see if the fever drops? Should you drive to the emergency department? Should you call 911 for an ambulance?

These kinds of dilemmas occur in all kinds of families; those with young children, elderly relatives, or a member who is chronically ill. It occurs for people who live alone or who are caring for a spouse or a parent.

The Rural Kingston Health Link is holding three public information sessions to talk about what options people have when they are in need of medical help and don't know where to turn.

Dr. Ken Edwards from the Emergency Department at Kingston General Hospital, Gale Chevalier from Frontenac Paramedic Services, and the staff of the Verona Medical Centre will be on hand at Trinity United Church in Verona next Tuesday, February 24, from 7 until 9 pm to talk about what is available and to listen to public concerns.

One of the concerns among those who provide emergency care is that over 50% of emergency room visits would be better dealt with through other means.

“There is a difference between urgent care and emergency care,” said Lynn Wilson, of the Rural Kingston Health Link.

This distinction has implications both in terms of costs for the emergency departments and land ambulance, and for patients, who might find themselves spending a sleepless night in the waiting room at KGH when they would be better off at home.

One example of an alternative to emergency room visits is the option to contact a doctor over the phone. By calling their local family health teams or family practice in Sydenham, Sharbot Lake, Northbrook or Tamworth after hours, patients from those clinics will be referred to Tele-Health Ontario, and through Tele-Health they can access an on-call doctor from one of the local clinics. Patients of the Verona clinic are directly referred to the on-call doctor.

Even if that doctor is not from their own clinic, the doctor will still have access to the patient's medical file, and can offer advice tailored to the patient's medical history.

All of the clinics also have extended-hour clinics throughout the week, during which time they accept patients from any of the other clinics in the region.

Frontenac Paramedic Services is developing a community paramedicine program, to make better use of the skills of paramedics in between emergency calls, and to help reduce unnecessary visits to the emergency room. They will be using the meetings to help them tailor their programs to local needs, and to help them avoid duplicating services that are offered by other providers.

For those who cannot attend the meeting in Verona on the 24th, similar meetings are scheduled for Sydenham on March 10 and Sharbot Lake on March 24.

The public meetings are meant to foster a two-way conversation. Those attending will be encouraged to share their own experiences and their ideas for how they could be better served.

For more information see the ad on page 2.

Frontenac County is one of the recipients of $6 million in provincial funding for community paramedicine pilot projects.

Community paramedicine is an attempt to make use of the skills and infrastructure of paramedic services to help serve the senior and chronically ill population before they require emergency services

It has been pioneered in Ontario by the Renfrew County Paramedic services, which conducts wellness clinics and an ad hoc home visit program; offers an exercise program; has trained thousands of people in CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation); and more.

Frontenac County will receive a total of $156,800 in funding over two years to establish a framework for future community paramedicine programs within the County of Frontenac and the City of Kingston.

In announcing the funding, Frontenac County communications officer Alison Vandervelde described the project in the following way: “The research project will focus on identifying solutions that could provide a more cohesive healthcare system for the residents of Frontenac County and the City of Kingston and has four main areas of focus: wellness clinics, community paramedic home visits, paramedic referrals and improved communication links between paramedics and other health care providers.”

The County applied for $195,000 in answer to the call for expressions of interest from the province. The main shortfall between the request and what was given is in salary dollars. Instead of the $116,000 that the county requested for a project developer, the province provided $83,000, which will fund the position for 18 months.

The rest of the application was approved as requested, with the exception of a $5,000 request for money to cover legal fees, which was denied.

In addition to the project developer's salary, $33,000 will be spent on project co-ordination.

Only a small amount of the overall money that has been received will be directed to existing or new programming.

$1,800 is earmarked for expanding the existing Wolfe Island Wellness Clinic project, and $3,900 will go towards a pilot wellness clinic project in the northern half of the county.

Another $30,000 is to be spent covering wages for four-hour training sessions for 140 paramedics.

The primary impetus of the project, in the words of the funding application, is to “establish a solid framework for future core Community Paramedicine Programs ... of critical importance is the development of a comprehensive communication plan, within the framework, between Paramedics and other healthcare providers.”

Healthcare providers who will be contacted initially by the project developer, once they are hired, are the Community Care Access Centre, Rural Kingston Health Links, Kingston Health Link, Northern and Southern Frontenac Community Services, Kingston General Hospital, and the Local Health Integration Network.

As part of the planning for the project, a staff member has been appointed by each of the above agencies to participate in the project.

Gale Chevalier, Deputy Chief of Performance Standards with Frontenac County Paramedic Services, will oversee the project.

“Our residents will benefit greatly from this funding,” said Warden Denis Doyle. “One of County Council’s strategic goals includes supporting our seniors’ efforts to safely age in their homes. This project will allow people to remain in their communities longer, maintaining their closeness to family and friends, and eliminate long travel times for routine preventative healthcare. Ultimately, this funding will make positive differences for our residents and enhance the strength and vitality of our communities.”

In a formal ceremony at last week’s Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs’ Awards Gala, two Frontenac Paramedic Service paramedics received the Governor General’s Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service Medal, and a third received the McNally Award of Bravery.

“I am very proud of our paramedics who work every day to keep us safe, and continue do so in a manner that warrants such prestigious acknowledgement,” says Denis Doyle, County of Frontenac Warden. “I encourage the citizens of the City of Kingston and Frontenac County to express gratitude to all of our dedicated paramedics for their commendable service.”

Major General Richard Rohmer presented Exemplary Service Medals to paramedics Marc Lawler (for 30 years of service) and Richard Russell (for 20 years of service), for performing services to the public in an exemplary manner, characterized by the highest standards of good conduct, industry and efficiency.

County of Middlesex Warden Joanne Vanderheyden, OAPC President Norm Gale and Keith McNally, son of Dr. Norman McNally presented the McNally Award of Bravery to FPS paramedic Joe Ferguson. The McNally Award recognizes acts of conspicuous bravery by paramedics in the performance of their duties. It was established in 1976 to honour its namesake who many consider the “father” of the Ontario ambulance system.

Joe received the award for his actions during a call he attended on December 4, 2013 where a car went into the side of a house, coming to rest on a natural gas meter and creating a major gas leak. Combining factors meant there was high potential for an explosion, and the driver was trapped in the car. Without regard for his own safety, Joe pulled the driver over the gear shift, out the passenger side door and dragged him twenty feet to safety, where he began to perform emergency medical treatment.

Major-General Richard Rohmer is Canada's most decorated citizen and the Honourary Chief of the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs.

Over 20 representatives from various groups and organizations that offer essential services to residents and guests in the Township of North Frontenac showed off their gear and know-how at the third annual Essential Services Fair, which took place at the Barrie Hall in Cloyne on July 26.

Mayor Bud Clayton, who was in attendance at the event, said that the fair is a way to let residents and potential residents of the township know that it is well looked after by a number of service groups in the area. “We are here to let the public know that we do have these services in the area and that the Township of North Frontenac is a safe and great place to live,” Clayton said. “It is also a way for these organizations to get important information out to the public.”

Matthew Doyle from KFLA Public Health passed out information about the free dental services and the tobacco reduction services they offer, as well as information about ticks and West Nile virus, septic system guidelines and the free well water testing they offer. Kelly Skaug of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters was spreading the word about the numerous invasive species in the area including spiny and fishhook waterfleas, Eurasian watermilfoil, rusty crayfish, zebra mussels and more. Randy Moore of the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority spread the word about the regulations for safe septic systems and docks along with information about how to properly maintain natural waterfronts.

Members of the OPP detachments from Napanee and Smiths Falls were also present and did demonstrations showing off some of their gear. Members of the North Frontenac Fire Department had a number of their vehicles on site and gave demos of their new vacuum tanker, which empties and then reloads water in just a matter of minutes. They also offered up a BBQ lunch. Members of the Kaladar/Barrie Fire department were also on hand with some their new equipment including a new water rescue boat.

Members of the 150th Anniversary of the County of Frontenac committee were also present making visitors aware of the celebrations that are coming up in 2015.

Frontenac County celebrated the completion of its rural infrastructure last week with the opening of the third ambulance base in the County.

The new base is located at Hwy. 509 and Robertsville Road, and although it is odd to see an ambulance base at such an isolated location, it is located strategically to serve residents of North and Central Frontenac, Lanark Highlands and Tay Valley, while being within a short drive of Hwy. 7. It also eliminates a situation that was one of the first things that Charboneau wanted to address when he first arrived at Frontenac County eight years ago.

At the time, the ambulance serving the north end of the county was parked outside in the parking lot at the works garage for North Frontenac at Lavant Road and Road 509. Because of the equipment and medicine in the vehicle the ambulance had to be left running in order to prevent freezing throughout each shift through the winter season, costing money for fuel and causing unnecessary pollution.

“That was the first thing I wanted to address when I came here,” Charbonneau said a couple of years ago, “it was the impetus for us to commission the IBI [consulting group] report into rural service delivery in 2009.”

That report recommended that an ambulance post be built in the vicinity of Ardoch Road and Road 509 in Central Frontenac to serve the northern portion of the county for 12 hours a day; that a 24-hour a day service be established in Sydenham; and that the 24-hour service that was already running out of the Parham base be maintained.

Although the stated priority of the department was the so-called 'northern' base, and funding was already in place to build it, the Sydenham base was built first. This happened for two reasons. For one thing, South Frontenac Council applied for and received an infrastructure grant to build the base, and the money had to be spent within a limited time frame. As well, North Frontenac Township Council did not want to see the northern base located so far south, at a location that is not even in North Frontenac. The Mayor of North Frontenac at that time was Ron Maguire, and with the support of his own council he urged Frontenac County to consider an alternate plan, which had also been referred to in the report but not recommended as a first option by the IBI group. That plan was to build a base in Ompah, almost 20 km to the northwest of the preferred location. The caveat to this plan was that the Parham base would eventually need to be closed and replaced by a base in Sharbot Lake in order to cover calls from Hwy. 7.

North Frontenac Council purchased a piece of land in Ompah to house not only the ambulance base but a township fire hall as well in the same building, Frontenac County Council agreed to enter into a joint project with North Frontenac. However, that project never came about, as costs rose to a level that North Frontenac Council could not accept. Eventually, North Frontenac pulled out, leaving Frontenac County to go back to the drawing board. They settled on the Robertsville site, which is just north of the site identified by the IBI group, and is in North Frontenac rather than Central Frontenac. Travel time to Hwy. 7 is almost the same, and the Robertsville Road, although it is a hilly gravel road, is the fastest route to Lanark County from that part of North Frontenac.

For local history buffs, the location is directly across the road from the former Robertsville mine site, where protests against uranium exploration took place in the summer of 2008.

As the building project was getting underway, a decision was made by County Council to upgrade the status of the Robertsville location from an ambulance post to an ambulance base. As a post attached to the Parham base, the paramedics would report each day to Parham at 6 am to pick up their ambulance and drive it to Robertsville. They would also return to Parham by 6 pm. By making Robertsville a base, the ambulance stays there and the paramedics report directly there, making it a true 12-hour a day service.

“Whether they live in one of our small hamlets, on one of our lake fronts, in agricultural lands or deep in the forest, residents of Frontenac County value their independence,” said Bud Clayton, Warden of Frontenac County and Mayor of North Frontenac, at the ceremonial opening of the base last Wednesday, July 16. “Ensuring that adequate services, like strategically placed ambulance stations, are in place allows our residents to continue enjoying the rural lifestyle that defines Frontenac County.”

The ribbon cutting ceremony came after Frontenac County Council held their monthly meeting in the base. Lunch was provided by the Snow Road FLAGS (Fire Ladies Auxiliary Group) – ham, turkey, salads, homemade biscuits and squares.

David Jones, a member of Frontenac County Council representing the Township of Frontenac Islands, expressed his continuing unhappiness at the rate of absenteeism among Frontenac County employees at a meeting of council last week.

His comments were occasioned by two reports by Colleen Hickey, the county manager of human resources - a quarterly attendance management report card for April to June of this year, and a monthly attendance report for June. The reports were ordered by county council last year in an attempt to get a grip on rising rates of absenteeism at Frontenac Paramedic Services and Fairmount Home, the county's two major operations.

Although the reports show that the rate is trending down at Frontenac Paramedic Services, Jones was not satisfied.

“We are near the end of our term, people,” he said, “and we saw that the numbers were going up and up each year. Just because they are down a little does not mean we have accomplished anything. We are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each year here. Folks, if this was your business you wouldn't stand for it.”

Then, looking at the report on his computer screen, he said, “We will see what happens to the numbers now that summer time is here. I wonder if they will go up again.”

Jones' comments were not unusual, or unexpected. He reportedly made similar comments earlier in the week when new County CAO Kelly Pender was making a courtesy call to a meeting of Addington Highlands Council.

However, this time Chief of Paramedics, Paul Charbonneau, took offence and spoke up in an unprecedented manner.

Noting that there have been ten suicides among emergency services personnel recently in Canada, he said, “It is cumulative stress dealing with the shit that we deal with every day that is responsible for this. You can't compare what paramedics face each day with what happens in the private sector where people sit on their asses all day at a desk.”

When Jones was questioned after the meeting as to whether he believes that Frontenac County paramedics have been faking illness to get time off, he replied, “I did not say that.”

When further pressed about his comments regarding whether workers are more likely to call in sick during the summer, he paused, then said, “I was just musing, that's all.”

Shauna Dunn, the newly minted president of OPSEU Local 462, which represents the paramedics, commented on news reports about Jones' comments by elaborating on some of the points made by Paul Charbonneau: “ Paramedics are frontline health care workers, in close contact with sick people, multiple times per shift. We routinely face situations where we are exposed to saliva, mucous, blood, vomit, urine, and feces. We work outside in extreme weather. We work inside homes that can be described, at best, as unsanitary. We lift heavy patients in environments where proper body mechanics are not always possible. We work shift work. We see, hear, and smell things in the course of our duties that the average person would be horrified by if they were subjected to once, let alone multiple times. All of these factors affect us. Both physically and mentally.”

Both Charbonneau and Dunn were also surprised by the context of Jones' remarks, given that the reports he was commenting on both showed a marked decreased in absenteeism among Frontenac County paramedics in 2014.

Compared to 2014, absenteeism has been lower than the corresponding month in 2013 for each of the last four months. The county has set a target of a maximum of 12 sick days per unionized Frontenac Paramedic Services employee per year. In 2012, 45% of employees exceeded that target; in 2013, 42% exceeded the target; and in the first four months of 2014 (with a target of four sick days since it is only 1/3 of a year) only 16% of the paramedics exceeded the target.

Early in 2013 the Local 462 and Frontenac Paramedic Services were at loggerheads over absenteeism. A plan put forward by Paul Chabronneau to leave some shifts uncovered if paramedics were not available in order to save costs led to a grievance being filed to the Ontario Labour Board by the union. The County responded by abandoning the plan, and instead cut a 12-hour a day ambulance in the City of Kingston, which in turn cut the Local 462 work force by four full-time equivalent positions.

Relations were tense following that decision, but according to Shauna Dunn there has been a marked improvement in 2014, brought on partly by new leadership at the local and a new attitude at Frontenac County.

“We held a workshop session in the winter with our new executive, and management people and I think both sides found it very helpful,” she said.

For his part, Paul Charbonneau said that “We are working on a culture change between ourselves and the union, and I think it has been good for everyone.”

That change was reflected in a request by County Warden Bud Clayton that Shauna Dunn be part of the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Robertsville Station.

That being said, the labour contract between Local 462 and the County ran out on January 1 of this year, and negotiations have not begun for a new contract. Before bargaining can begin, both sides need to agree on a level of service that will be maintained in the event of a strike or a lock-out, and they have not been able to come to terms. A meeting was held with a labour board official last month to try to work one out, unsuccessfully.

A full hearing is set for October, and bargaining will presumably begin once the Labour Board rules.

Sick pay is likely to be one of the key items in those negotiations.

The new Robertsville Ambulance Station at 15405 Road 509, North Frontenac Township, became operational at 6:30 am on Monday morning, June 16.

“I am exceptionally pleased to see the Robertsville Station operating,” says Bud Clayton, Warden of the County of Frontenac. “It’s taken a long time to realize this goal, and doing so means we are better equipped to serve Frontenac’s full- and part-time residents, especially those who live in the north.”

A 12 hour a day ambulance service is being run out of the new station, covering parts of Central and most of North Frontenac as well as Highway 7 between Maberly and Arden. The base has been in the planning stages for a number of years, and at one time was slated to be built in Ompah, but a planned combined ambulance base and fire hall was eventually dropped by North Frontenac Township and the county proceeded with the building at the Robertsville Road across from the former Robertsville mine, which was the site of an anti-uranium exploration protest and occupation in 2008.

County Council will celebrate the opening of the Robertsville Ambulance Station on July 16 by hosting its regular meeting at the station. The community is invited to join County Council for a Grand Opening Celebration at the base on July 16 beginning at 2 pm.

The opening of the Robertsville station completes Frontenac County’s implementation of the recommendations in the Rural Area Ambulance Service Review, as commissioned by County Council in 2008 and completed by the IBI Group in March 2009.

Serving a population of over 150,000 people in rural and urban environments, Frontenac Paramedic Services responds to approximately 20,000 calls per year.

Short-term disability (sick time) on the county table

At the request of Council, a monthly report on absenteeism is now being provided, to supplement the quarterly reports that were requested last year.

The report shows the monthly and annual costs for both unionized and non-unionized employees on short-term disability, which ranges from a day off for the flu to a 15-week absence due to an illness or injury.

“The cost of short-term disability is covered directly by the county” said Colleen Hickey, Manager of Human Relations, “whereas long-term disability is covered by an insurance program, and is not part of the reporting that is being presented to Council each month."

The monthly report for January, 2014 includes a breakdown of sick time for 2012 and 2013, and the trends over that two-year period show that while the number of days lost due to illness at Fairmount Home went down in 2013 by a significant margin, they went up for Frontenac Paramedic Services and for the Corporate Services department of the county itself.

Fairmount Home lost 11,500 hours in 2013 in sick days, down from 14,800 in 2012, a drop of 23%.

Frontenac Paramedic Services and Howe Island Ferry Services, which fall under the Emergency and Transportation Department (the statistics from the two operations are combined in the report), lost 21,900 days in sick days in 2013, up from 19,650 in 2012, an 11% increase.

Corporate services is the smallest department in the study, and it saw the largest change, 977 days lost in 2013 as compared to 481 in 2012, a 100% increase in one year. While the corporate services numbers seem extreme, it should be noted that when the numbers of employees are small, the impact of one or two illnesses can have a large statistical impact.

“In general, the absenteeism rates at Frontenac County are comparable to those in other similar institutions,” said Colleen Hickey, when asked to compare the numbers.

In her more comprehensive quarterly report, which was delivered to Council in October, Hickey pointed out that among unionized employees, 47% of emergency services staff, 35% of Fairmount Home staff, and 15% of corporate staff were absent more often than the amount targeted by their collective agreements. Over all, 42% of unionized employees were above their target as compared to only 9% of non-unionized employees.

She noted in October that two-thirds of Frontenac County staff work with the “most vulnerable people in our communities.”

Paul Charbonneau, Chief of Paramedic Services for the county, said those employees are working “in high risk jobs, dealing with sick people, and sometimes when dealing those people they get sick themselves.”

In receiving the absenteeism report, Councilor David Jones took aim at Frontenac Paramedic Services, which undertook a controversial cut in ambulance service in Kingston last year, partly in order to deal with the cost of absenteeism.

“We moved up 11% this year, despite mitigation promises last year,” he said to Charbonneau, “despite a strategy devised by yourself and the former CAO, we had promises of mitigation, but we are still climbing and climbing. It looks like we are up to seven weeks of sick time per employee. I'm wondering if you've got a comment on that.”

“The mitigation strategy you refer to was to mitigate against a budget increase; it did not address absenteeism. We have not had an absenteeism program in the paramedic services for couple of years. We introduced a new program at the beginning of this year. We hope to see improvements coming from that program," Charbonneau replied.

The cut in absenteeism at Fairmount Home that has been noted in both recent reports has been attributed to the improved implementation of the Employee Attendance Awareness Program in 2013.

The program is being revamped this spring.

Sticker Shock Over emergency communications 5-7M Price Tag

South Frontenac Fire Chief Rick Cheseborough, speaking for the fire and public works departments from across Frontenac County, asked Frontenac County Council to make a major investment in internal communications last week.

In place of the current system in which signals are sent out from one communications tower at a time, Cheseborough proposed a “simulcast” system in which every message that goes out will be simultaneously sent from every tower in the county.

This, he said, would mean that the county would be able to approach the Industry Canada standard for emergency communications whereby 95% of messages can be delivered to 95% of the locations in the county.

He also said that the simulcast system will enable communications between firefighters from multiple departments at complex emergency scenes.

“Back on December 17 [the date of a major fire at a construction site in downtown Kingston] we couldn't communicate with each other or with Kingston dispatch. Nobody knew what anybody else was doing,” he said,

He proposed that top tier communications radios be provided to firefighters, with second tier radios for public works departments to support a system that will be used for public works as well as fire departments across the county.

Although Cheseborough made the presentation to Frontenac County last week (February 19) the fire chiefs and public works managers from all of the Frontenac townships were in attendance, signalling their support for the proposal.

Before talking about the cost of the system, Chesebrough said there were risks involved with not making a change.

“What will it cost if we do nothing?” he said. “What is the cost of putting public members of our communities at risk, putting our firefighters at risk, and putting our public workers at risk? By doing nothing it could cost more than just money. I can't stress enough how critical the situation is right now,” he said

The cost of the project is estimated at $5 million to $7 million. Because the system will be in place for a long time, Chesebrough said it made sense to finance it over a 15-year period.

Members of County Council, who had been listening attentively to Cheseboroug's presentation, then suffered from sticker shock.

“We will have a challenge coming up with $7 million,” said Deputy Warden Dennis Doyle from Frontenac Islands. “It has taken us weeks to find nickels and dimes in our budget talks.”

“I was supportive when you first came in. Quite frankly, I'm shocked at the price. I had no idea. I don't know how something that was adequate ten years ago has slipped so much that now you are saying it is mission critical,” said Councilor John Inglis from North Frontenac.

Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski asked if the ambulance service, which operates on its own communications system, has been consulted.

Cheseborough said it had not.

Paul Charbonneau, the chief of paramedic services for Frontenac County, said that his service uses a system that is owned and operated by the province, and although there has been talk of sharing communications systems among services on a provincial level, nothing has come of it thus far.

South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison said, “I am somewhat concerned about how we are going to find that kind of money. I know we have some money available, but nothing like that.”

The proposal will be aired further at a Committee of the Whole meeting of Council on March 5.

Feature Article February 3, 2005

Feature article February 3, 2005

LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb Home

Contact Us

County budget depresses Frontenac Councillors

by Jeff Green

All the talk of successes in the past year from County officials did little to lift the spirits of township Councillors from the four Frontenac Townships at a meeting held in Sydenham last Thursday night, January 27. A handout outlining a draft budget with a 10.41% increase in the County levy kept them in a sombre mood.

It didnt help the general mood when County staff and the four township mayors that make up County Council pointed out that most of the tax increases came from expenditures that the County does not control.

County Treasurer Marion Vanbruinessen talked about the largest increase: an increase in the cost of shared services with the City of Kingston that is responsible for over half the budgetary increase, or 5.6%. Negotiations between the County and the City over the cost sharing formula for non-profit housing, child care, Ontario Works and the Ontario Drug Supplement Program ended up before an arbitration panel.

Although we are paying more than under the old agreement, we did keep the increase to a lower number than the City was hoping for, Vanbruinessen said.

Other factors in the budgetary increase included increased costs at Fairmount Home, much of which has come about, according to Fairmount Chief Administrator Julie Shillington, as the result of costly new regulations from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

What cuts have you made? asked Councillor Frances Smith from Central Frontenac of County Chief Administrative Officer Elizabeth Fulton.

To what? Fulton responded

To anything in your operation. Ten percent is going to kill our township budgets, Smith said.

We run very lean in terms of administration, Elizabeth Fulton said, It is 3.1% of our budget, much lower than the average for Ontario counties, which is over 4%.

As it was presented at the meeting, the only possible savings from the 10.41% increase are through holding off on a proposed enhancement to the Ambulance service. Paul Charbonneau of the Ambulance service has requested that an additional 24-hour car be funded in Kingston, and that a 12-hour Emergency First Response Vehicle, which is based in Ompah, be exchanged for an ambulance. The emergency vehicle can do just about everything an ambulance can do on scene, but it cannot transport people to hospital.

The cost of these ambulance enhancements would be $144,000 to the County. (The City of Kingston would pay about $600,000). This accounts for 2% of the proposed budget increase. At this point Mayor MacDonald from Central Frontenac and Mayor Maguire from North Frontenac support the increased ambulance expenditure, and Mayors Lake from South Frontenac and Vandenhoek from the Frontenac Islands, oppose the expenditure.

Paul Charboneau argued that the constant increase in call volumes experienced by the ambulance service make putting the new vehicles on the road necessary. He pointed out that the Kingston ambulance service does an increasing number of calls in South Frontenac and the Frontenac Islands, hoping this information might sway either Bill Lake or Jim Vandenhoek in favour of the ambulance enhancements.

The ambulance enhancement would cost taxpayers about $6 for every $100,000 of assessment.

Whether the enhancements are funded or not, the County is now being forced to put two extra ambulance shifts on the road to cover for lunch breaks because of a recent ruling by the Ministry of Labour. The Frontenac County service is the first in the province to be faced with this cost, and the County is exploring its legal options.

The Frontenac Mayors, as members of County Council, expressed their frustration with the provincial government, which has frozen transfers to the townships, for services that were downloaded by the province, at 2002 levels.

They also committed to paying for 50% of the cost of ambulance service, said Mayor Vandenhoek, and they are now only paying 40%, and they will pay nothing towards enhancements of the service.

Vandehoek has just ended a year serving as Warden of the County, and as such was involved in the lobbying efforts of the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.

The fact of the matter is that the province is pulling back, he said, The chance of our getting more money is very unlikely.

A 10.41% increase in the County levy will amount to an increase of approximately $28 in taxation for every $100,000 worth of property assessment. The County budget represents about 20% of property taxes raised by the townships. A 10% increase in the County levy translates into about a 2% increase in the cost to taxpayers.