Feature article - February 17, 2005

Feature article February 17, 2005

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New rules for Paramedic lunch hours affect rural response times by Jeff Green

When the Ontario Ministry of Labour fined the County of Frontenac for not giving Paramedics a mandatory half-hour lunch break, there were implications for ambulance services throughout the province. In the case of the Frontenac County service, which serves the City of Kingston as well, the ruling could mean a half a million dollars a year in extra costs.

In Rural Frontenac County, however, it has already meant the County is serving communities such as Ompah and Plevna with an ambulance stationed well over an hour away, on Justus Drive in Kingston.

When the Parham ambulance goes off service, it is either covered off by an ambulance from the Lanark County Service, which is stationed at an old Ministry of Natural Resources Building on Highway 7 west of Perth [at Wemyss], from Northbrook, or from one of our Kingston ambulances, which is stationed on Justus Drive, said Paul Charbonneau, the Director of Emergency Services for Frontenac County.

Certainly, none of these are optimum circumstances, Charbonneau added, and we are seeking better solutions. For one thing, we have proposed turning the 12-hour Emergency First Response Vehicle, which is stationed at Ompah, into an ambulance. That way the Parham and Ompah units could cover each other off for breaks during the daytime.

The Emergency First Response Vehicle provides the same services as an ambulance does on site, but it does not transport patients to hospital.

The proposal to enhance the ambulance service in North Frontenac is linked to a proposal to put on an extra 24-hour ambulance in the City of Kingston. Frontenac County Council will be deciding whether to enhance the service this week as they finalize the 2005 County Budget.

Even if the enhancements are approved, it would still leave the far reaches of the County under-served during night time lunch breaks.

We are considering all of our legal options with regard to the Ministry of Labour ruling, including launching an appeal, Charbonneau said. We are the first service in the province to be hit with this kind of ruling, so others are watching what happens very carefully.

On February 8th, County Council held a Special Session, and decided to petition the Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of Labour, to amend the regulation of the Employment Standards Act regarding lunch hours to include an exemption for paramedics in the employment of municipalities across the Province of Ontario.

The resolution the County passed on the matter acknowledged the impact of the regulation on the public, stating there are times during shifts of the employees of land ambulance when taking a break may place patients at mortal risk.

For the time being, people in the far-flung reaches of the County are being placed at a greater risk that those living in the City of Kingston.

Feature artcle, February 24, 2005

Feature article February 24, 2005

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Frontenac County Budget rejected by Mayors

by Jeff Green

A funny thing happened on the way to passing the County budget last week. Three of the four Frontenac Mayors didnt like the 11% increase in the levy to taxpayers that it entailed and they voted to reject the budget as a whole.

This left Warden Bill MacDonald and County Chief Administrative Officer Elizabeth Fulton wondering what to do next.

The rejection of the draft budget wasnt entirely unexpected. It was widely known that the four member Council had been split down the middle on whether or not to approve a $776,000 expenditure proposed by Emergency Services Co-ordinator Paul Charbonneau for improvements to the ambulance service that was part of an earlier draft of the budget. Because the City of Kingston pays for 80% of the municipal portion of ambulance costs, County of Frontenac residents would have been paying $140,000 for the ambulance enhancements, about a 2% increase in their County levy.

Matters only became more difficult for the County budget when the implications of a Ministry of Labour decision ordering the County to establish meal breaks for paramedics was taken into account. This order will cost the service about $480,000 this year unless the County wins an appeal of the ruling.

By the time the draft budget estimates were presented to County Council for approval on February 16, there was an $834,000 increase in the ambulance budget.

Of that increase, about $420,000 was slated to cover for legislated meal breaks, $60,000 towards a new scheduler for the service, and about $350,000 towards enhancements to the service.

Paul Charbonneau told Council that the $350,000 enhancement included 8 hours per day of extra ambulance service for Kingston.

The enhancement included in this proposal puts an extra ambulance on the road for the two peak time periods faced in Kingston. It also includes putting a 12- hour ambulance on at Ompah in place of the Emergency First Response vehicle that is there currently, and a $7,000 enhancement to the service on Wolfe Island, Charbonneau said.

There were other options included as an addendum to the budget package, including one which would increase the ambulance budget by $1.2 million, which would cost County taxpayers $220,000. This option would fund the entire enhancement proposed by Charbonneau, as well as the extra 16 hours of ambulance time required for meal breaks.

The least expensive option, at a cost of $480,000, ($90,000 to County taxpayers), would cover only the meal breaks.

During the budget meeting on February 16, Mayor Jim VandenHoek of the Township of Frontenac Islands, said, We have to budget for the meal breaks; we have no choice, so I would like to see a budget document with that cost in it. Then we can look at enhancements to the service.

Vandenhoek also said that he would like to reconsider other items in the budget in order to see if money could be freed up to fund ambulance enhancements.

I realise that we have already passed the rest of the budget in principle, but that can be undone, VandenHoek said.

Mayor Ron Maguire of North Frontenac, attending the meeting through a telephone hook up, suggested that by going over the budget line by line, savings could be found that would help fund increased ambulance costs.

In my former career with the federal government, departments would be told to cut their budgets by 5 or 10 per cent by the Finance department, and they did, he said before asking about various administrative line items within the budget.

I realise some of these are small items, but if we take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves, he said.

Mayor Bill Lake from South Frontenac had trouble with the 11% increase.

We had a meeting in Sydenham on January 27 where the budget was presented to township Councillors. My Council didnt like the increase of ten and a half per cent. I cant come back to them with an 11 per cent increase, he said.

Marian VanBruinessen, the Financial Officer for the County, pointed out that an arbitrated settlement for shared services with the City of Kingston accounted for 5% of the increase, and legislated requirements for Fairmount Home account for an increase of almost 3%.

Only about 3% of the proposed increase actually comes from increases that we control, she said.

Mayor VandenHoek said he had a couple of items to discuss, but since they involved staffing they should be considered in camera.

Nothing came of the in camera session. Knowing that the budget may not pass, County CAO Elizabeth Fulton recommended that it would be preferable to amend the draft budget before voting. None of the Mayors suggested amendments, and the budget was defeated with only Warden MacDonald voting in favour of it.

Elizabeth Fulton was scheduled to leave the very next day for a ten-day holiday. She wont be back until March 1, and the Mayors will be meeting later that week to have another go at the County budget.

A frustrated Warden MacDonald said he didnt have time to reconsider the budget in the next two weeks in any event, and were planning to start working on our budget in Central Frontenac on the 1st of March, and now we wont know what the County numbers are going to be.

Feature artcle, February 24, 2005

Feature article February 24, 2005

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Paramedics unimpressed with County request to amend provincial regulation

by Jeff Green

County of Frontenac Officials were surprised when the Ministry of Labour ruled they must provide a hour break for paramedics after every five hours of continuous work. Although the County has complied with the ruling, it has also petitioned the Province of Ontario, through the Ministry of Labour, to amend the pertinent regulation to include an exemption for paramedics in the employment of municipalities across the Province of Ontario.

This decision has not gone over well with the Kingston paramedics working for the County.

Paramedic Spero Betas told the News that the meal break is a matter of heath and safety.

Were so busy in Kingston that we can go from call to call for our entire 12-hour shift with no chance to eat at all. At a certain point it becomes unsafe to be operating a vehicle or dealing with patient emergencies, he said.

The County responded to the Ministry of Labour ruling by putting extra ambulances on to cover for breaks.

At least now, we know that no matter how busy we are, and how stressed we become, we will have a meal break after five hours. It makes a big difference, Betas added.

Terry Baker, who was a union representative for the Paramedics with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) before the ambulance service was taken over by the County last year, and who will be involved in negotiating towards a first contract between OPSEU and the County this Spring, said that meal breaks were mentioned every time we met with the Hotel Dieu [the previous operator] and also every time weve met with the County. Finally one of he paramedics complained to the Labour Board. This should not have been a surprise for the County.

Both Begas and Baker said that the issue came to a head in Kingston because it is an extremely busy ambulance service, which has been under-funded for many years.

I also work part time for both the Lennox and Addington ambulance and the Leeds and Grenville ambulance and neither of them are as over extended as Kingston is. We cant handle the call volume, said Begas. If the County is worried about meal breaks, they should put more ambulances on the road. Its as simple as that. The County shouldnt be wasting their money on lawyers, and should realise they have to provide meal breaks. The morale of the paramedics in Kingston is really low.

Terry Baker said the biggest problem we have right now is we dont have enough vehicles on nights, and we definitely dont have enough vehicles on weekends. Baker also said that the general public is not aware of the work paramedics do.

In the rural reaches of Frontenac County, paramedics with the Parham Ambulance Service are not facing increasing call volumes as their urban counterparts are, but the meal break ruling applies to them as well.

As reported in The News last week, service to all of the County is provided from Justus Drive in Kingston during Parham meal breaks.

That wont change any time soon, although Terry Baker did say other arrangements could be made as part of contract negotiations.

Dave Gemmill, the former owner of the Parham ambulance and now an ambulance manager with the County, said the only way around the problem at Parham is to put more rigs on the road. Im confident thats what County Council will do.

Feature article, July 14, 2005

Feature article July 14, 2005

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Northbrook Ambulance station gets official opening

by Jeff Green

The ambulance base has been occupied by paramedics since July of last year, but with the opening of a brand new base in Napanee last week, Lennox and Addington County Officials decided to have an opening in Northbrook as well.

There is an ambulance stationed in Northbrook, with two paramedics to staff it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but that doesnt mean they are always at Airport road in Northbrook. The Lennox and Addington ambulance service is an integrated service, and when one rural ambulance gets a call, other ambulances are moved to strategic locations to cover more territory.

So, the Northbrook ambulance is often located up Highway 41 towards Denbigh, or south at Erinsville. There are even times when the Northbrook ambulance is called upon to cover for Frontenac County and moves to a location near Arden, or over to Hastings County to cover territory to the west.

George Mapp is one of 23 paramedics who maintain two 24-hour ambulances at the Denbigh and Norhtbrook stations. He says people dont always realise that an ambulance from Northbrook could end up quite far a-field.

If this ambulance from Northbrook happens to be sent to Kingston to transfer a patient, and is just starting back when a call comes from Kingston and it is the closes one to the scene, it will be dispatched to the scene. When the call comes, we go.

Laura Barnett is a relatively new member of the Northbrook team. She says that in the few months shes been working, shes delivered patients to Renfrew, Belleville and Perth, as well as Napanee and Kingston.

Along with ambulances, there is a helipad at Pine Meadow Nursing Home, which is a stones throw from the Northbrook base, for more grave situations.

Obviously when people are located in more remote areas, we cant offer the response times like they can offer in cities; but we do a good job for a rural service, says George Mapp. I got a call a while back from the end of the Hughes Landing road over on Sheldrake Lake. It was 26 minutes from Highway 41, so there was no way we could get there is 13 minutes, but we do the best we can.

Mapp is also licensed to deliver six drug therapies, including nitroglycerin (cardiac) glucacin and glucacell (diabetes), ventolin (lungs), Epiphinephren (allergic reactions, and ASA.

The Northbrook crew uses one of the larger ambulances, which has two stretchers and two extra seats, so it can do multiple transfers.

We cannot transfer two code 4 (the most serious cases) at one time by provincial regulations, but we can do a code 4 and a code 3 transfer, Mapp said.

The ambulance service also works hand in glove with the volunteer firefighters and the OPP.

Firefighters that are trained for emergency medical service are great in accident and fire situations, said Laura Barnett, You can imagine how hard it is to do CPR non-stop for an hour.

Also available from the Northbrook base is an Emergency Vehicle staffed by the base supervisor, who generally works weekdays. The Emergency Vehicle can go out to calls and stabilize patients while waiting for the ambulance to arrive to take them to hospital.

The Northbrook ambulance base was previously located on Highway 41 between Northbrook and Flinton, and there was more drive in traffic at that location than on Airport Road, but people are welcome to come to the new base. Its still best to phone 911 however, because the paramedics are not always stationed at the base.

Frontenac County will be taking more money from ratepayers in 2014 than it did in 2013

It won't be finalized until later this month, but after four sessions, Frontenac County Council is set to vote on a budget that is little changed from the one originally presented to them by Treasurer Marian Vanbruinessen.

In December, Council passed a motion asking for two versions of the 2015 budget, one with a 1% increase, and one with a 1% decrease.

What they received, and this caused some friction, was a budget that included an increase of over 3.5%, with some proposed costs for Council to discuss.

“I'm confused and disappointed by this,” said South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison. “Maybe I missed something but we asked for 1%. Were there no meetings of senior managers to look for small savings in their budgets?”

“We brought items forward for you to discuss in closed and open session which would have brought that outcome about. You are aware that we started in a bit of a hole because last year $150,000 was taken from reserves to keep the levy down, which is not something that is sustainable as a budgeting practice,” replied Vanbruinessen.

“I suppose it was wishful thinking on our part, but we were hoping that staff could find a way to get the budget to where we wanted it without cutting service,” said North Frontenac Councilor John Inglis.

Among the cuts that Vanbruinessen proposed was the option of turning down a request for an extra $10,000 from Frontenac Transportation Services, but Council left the money in. Another option was to delete $12,700 for an end of term warden's reception; however that was cut to $5,000.

Although the bulk of the proposed cuts, none of which were approved, were discussed in lengthy closed session meetings, it did slip out in open session that one of them was to close the Wolfe Island ambulance base. This did not happen.

As well, sources indicated that downgrading some management staff in the county administration, which would have meant pay cuts for the people in those positions, was also on the table.

Vanbruinessen did find some savings and brought the budget from its initial 3.5% impact to 2.5%. She also said that growth, mostly in South Frontenac, would cover 1.5% of the increase, leaving the final increase at only 1% over growth.

The County budget represents about 20% of property taxation. The county increase is trending lower than the increase in most Frontenac township budgets. Central Frontenac and South Frontenac are both sitting at increases in the range of 5% and North Frontenac is just now starting to look at their 2014 budget. The county rate, at 2.5% along with a flat increase in education taxes, will end up tempering the cost for ratepayers in 2014.

Reserves freed up

While some members of council did not feel they had much success in reining in the 2014 budget, council did get a chance to deal with the state of the county's reserves. Of the 30 reserve funds the county has for various purposes, there are a half a dozen that have become larger than was ever intended. So, at a budget meeting on February 5, Council took some time to look at the reserve.

Based on recommendations from a consultant's report, they cut the working fund reserve to $1.2 million, enough to cover any potential cash flow issues without having to resort to borrowing. This left a pool of $2.7 million, which was parked temporarily in a holding fund. After going through the rest of the reserve funds, that pool now sits at $3.5 million.

Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle proposed that $2.7 million be transferred to the local township councils for local projects (roads, bridges, buildings, etc) but this was not supported.

County Warden (and North Frontenac Mayor) Bud Clayton said that the county should look at putting the money towards long-term replacement of capital assets to keep future residents from budget increases as ambulances bases, Fairmount Home and County offices age.

In the end, Councilor John McDougall, who was chairing the budget sessions, suggested that the allocation of the $3.5 million could take place after the budget is completed.

“My suggestion is that that discussion not happen during our budget discussion, our object is to get the budget straightened around,” said McDougall, and council concurred.

Feature Article - February 23, 2006

Feature Article

February 23, 2006

Province commits to ambulance funding:FrontenacCounty ambulance service welcomes announcement, but awaits details

by Jeff Green

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty did not come empty handed when he addressed 1200 municipal politicians at the annual Good Roads/Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) in Toronto this week. In addressing a longstanding grievance between municipalities and the province, McGuinty announced that a historic shortfall in ambulance funding will be addressed.

Ambulance service was a provincial responsibility until 1998, when it became a municipally delivered service. At the time, the province committed to paying 50% of ambulance costs, but that promise has not been met.

Through a funding increase to an estimated $285 million this year, $333 million in 2006, and $385 million in 2008, McGuinty says the province will be paying 50% of ambulance costs by 2008.

“Municipalities have been patient but this is an issue of fairness,” McGuinty told municipal leaders, “I’m pleased that we are finally going to be able to achieve a true 50-50 partnership.

Ambulance service in Frontenac County and the City of Kingston are delivered by the Frontenac County Ambulance Service, and Paul Charbonneau, the Director for Emergency Services for Frontenac County, welcomed the commitment by the Ontario government.

“The real question will be about the criteria for the new funding, which I understand will be clarified in the coming weeks, but this is good news, it’s definitely good news,” Charbonneau told the News.

The province currently pays about 36% of the ambulance costs in Kingston and Frontenac County , according to Paul Charbonneau, while municipal taxpayers cover the other 64%.

Charbonneau was uncertain about how much extra funding will result from this announcement. He noted that last year when the Frontenac County Ambulance service put on an extra 24-hour ambulance into service, the provincial decided not the fund the new ambulance at all.

“I think it is very unlikely that the province will say, ‘Go ahead and spend whatever you need to spend for ambulance service, and we will pay half of the costs’, but we’ll have to wait and see the details about how the new money will be allocated,” Charbonneau said.

The ambulance funding issue has been high on the priority list for the Eastern Ontario Warden’s Caucus, of which Frontenac County is a member.

A day before the funding announcement, Paul Charbonneau accompanied Frontenac County Warden Bill Lake to a meeting with the Ontario Minister of Labour, Steve Peters, to discuss the county’s attempt to change provincial regulations regarding lunch breaks for paramedics. Last year, the Ministry of Labour ruled that guaranteed lunch breaks must be implemented among Frontenac County Paramedics, which has led to increased ambulance costs.

The county has been lobbying for regulatory changes for the past year.

As well as announcing new funding for ambulance service, Dalton McGuinty called for a federal-provincial-municipal commission to examine fiscal relations between the three levels of government, and said that the province will propose extending the term of office for municipal councillors and school trustees to four years from the current three years, a move which may be implemented in time for municipal elections this coming fall.

Feature Article - March 9, 2006

Feature Article

March 9, 2006

County budget deliberations delayed

by Jeff Green

The latest draft Frontenac County budget envisions a 10.75% increase in taxation, but the promise of increased provincial funding for ambulance service, and some alterations to reserve fund allocations that are being promoted by the Frontenac mayors, could see that increase fall by several percentage points.

The draft budget was presented to a special meeting of county council on March 1. Although the budget was considered in some detail at that time, many of the figures are still tentative because information about actual expenditures in 2005 was not yet available.

“We had difficulty with our old accounting system and have installed a new one which is much better, but this has delayed us in finalising 2005,” County Treasurer Marion Vanbruinessen told Council.

The draft budget calls for an increase of $847,000 in taxation, which would still result in a 10% drop in the tax rate, from $330 per $100,000 in assessment to just under $300 per $100,000 in assessment, because of an unprecedented increase in tax assessment throughout the county.

This fact did not impress the county mayors, however. North Frontenac Mayor Ron Maguire said the $150,000 increase in the amount to be transferred from North Frontenac Township is “unacceptable”. Sounding much like South Frontenac Mayor Bill Lake (now County Warden ) did last year, Maguire said, “I can’t go back to my council with this kind of increase once again. I can’t do it.”

Maguire said the county should question even small increases in order to bring the budget under control.

“I see an increase in the office equipment budget of $7,000. Noting that the budget included the purchase of a new paper shredder, Maguire asked of County CAO Elizabeth Fulton, “Can you not make do with the shredder you have?”

Central Frontenac Mayor Bill MacDonald thought that it is still too early to worry about the final outcome of the budget. “We don’t have enough information to know how this will all end up,” he said.

The ambulance budget illustrates MacDonald’s point.

The draft budget calls for an increase of $214,959 in the county’s share of ambulance costs, a 19% increase over last year, but Paul Charbonneau, the County Manager of Emergency Services, told council that he has been in contact with officials at the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, who have told him that the impact of a new funding announcement by the province will be clarified by the end of March, and new funding could mitigate increases to this year’s ambulance budget.

The draft budget lists $238,000 as income from the Federal Gas Tax Allocation, which is money that may not remain in the county’s hands. Both North and South Frontenac Councils have passed motions requesting that that money be transferred to the townships.

Notwithstanding all the uncertainty that remains, Central Frontenac Mayor Bill MacDonald told the News that he expects the county budget will be reduced to an increase nearer to 5% than the 10.75% increase in the draft budget, and said this will put Central Frontenac in a good position when they consider their own budget.

It would also placate Ron Maguire, and might be low enough to enable the county office staff to get their new shredder.

Feature Article - April 27, 2006

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Feature Article - April 27, 2006

County budget increase drops to 4.22%

by JeffGreen

An increase in the level of provincial support for ambulance services has enabled Frontenac County Council to amend their budget estimates for 2005, saving taxpayers a bit of money.

The budget had been approved last month with a 5.96% increase in the levy to taxpayers, based on what county treasurer Marion Vanbruinessen called a “conservative estimate” about the increase in provincial support for ambulance services.

Ontario counties have been lobbying the province for increased ambulance funding ever since the service was downloaded by the province several years ago. At the time the province said they would fund 50% of ambulance costs, but as costs have risen, the provincial share of funding has been dropping. By the year 2005, the province was paying only 35% of the cost of running ambulances for Frontenac County and the City of Kingston .

In February, the provincial government made a commitment to increase funding to 50% of the cost of delivering the service within the next couple of years. Funding levels for the Frontenac service in 2006 were announced just days after the county had completed its budget, and the county was able to make amendments to the budget last week.

Properties within Frontenac County have had property assessment increases averaging over 18%, and for that reason an increase in the county levy of 4.22% will be achieved in spite of a substantial tax rate decrease.

The county levy will be $282 for every $100,000 worth of property assessment this year, compared to $330 for every $100,000 worth of assessment in 2005, a decrease of 14.73%.

County taxes represent about 1/5 of the total property tax bill that ratepayers receive.

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Feature Article - April 6, 2006

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Feature Article - April 6, 2006

Frontenac County budget lands with a 6%increase

by Jeff Green

Frontenac County staff took longer to put the county budget together this year because of financial software problems and some last-minute changes to provincial funding for ambulance service.

In fact, the final draft budget was presented to the Frontenac mayors last Thursday even though the ambulance subsidy levels were still not available, and the actual spending figures for the county in 2005 had not yet been finalised.

The final draft called for a 6.2% increase in the county levy to taxpayers, down from 10.7% in the previous draft. The county levy makes up about 22% of the overall property tax bill.

The change came about mostly because of increases to provincial transfers for the Fairmount Home for the Aged and the Frontenac Ambulance Service, which together account for the bulk of the county budget.

The Frontenac mayors met twice on Thursday, from 3-6 and from 9-9:30 before giving final approval to the budget estimates. Some final tinkering brought the budget in with an increase to the taxpayers of 5.96%.

These final changes resulted from the elimination of a $20,000 site development study for the basement of Fairmount Home, and of a $5,000 provision for tax rebates. These cuts were offset by an increase in the pay for members of county council of $1,500 per year for councillors and $2,500 per year for the warden.

The tinkering of the final budget numbers did not satisfy North Frontenac Mayor Ron Maguire.

During a two-hour afternoon meeting, Maguire made several proposals. He wanted to see some budget cuts, and to pay for more of the budget using the county’s accumulated reserve funds. His proposals had been outlined in a memo he sent to county staff and the mayors earlier in the week.

It contained 19 suggestions, ranging from a $1500 cut in the $3,500 county advertising budget, to an increased $200,000 draw down of county reserve funds.

“I will not be in favour of any tax increase in our basic budget. Indeed, I would like to see a modest tax decrease …” Maguire wrote in the preamble to his budgeting memo.

County Warden Bill Lake said that bringing in a tax decrease, or even keeping the budget increase to the 3% rate of inflation, was not so simple.

“There is nothing we can do when hydro rates go up 6 or 10 per cent. Or when the province makes demands on us that cost more money to meet. Sometimes costs go up and you have no control over that,” Lake said.

Frontenac Islands Mayor Jim VandenHoek was reluctant to change the depleting county reserve funds.

“I can’t consider these proposals of Mayor Maguire without a sense of what this would do to our reserves. As the budget stands now, are our reserves up or down?” he asked of County Treasurer Marion VanBruinessen as the first part of the budget meeting drew to a close. “Could you get us that information before we come back.”

Following a supper hour joint council meeting, where members of council from the four townships met to discuss various issues, the mayors returned to finalise the budget.

Marion VanBruinessen informed Mayor VandenHoek that the reserve funds will see a decrease of about $300,000 in 2006.

The county maintains a variety of reserve funds, some of which are directly connected to programs whose costs are shared with the City of Kingston . The main fund that is accessed to supplement the county’s own operations is a $2.5 million working capital reserve fund.

At that point, Mayor VandenHoek moved that the $20,000 study and the $5,000 charitable rebate line be cut, and that the rest of the budget be approved as presented by staff.

Mayor Maguire asked for a recorded vote, and then registered the only no vote. The budget was approved.

In a subsequent interview, Mayor Maguire said he had voted against the budget because he thinks the budgeting process is flawed. He mentioned that there was not enough time allotted to consider the many issues he raised around the budget.

“All in all I found the process unsatisfactory. We were pressed for time when we finally had a chance to go over the budget, and I could sense that the Warden was very conscious of that,” he said. “The second thing is, and this is a theme that I had pursued last year, that we just had too much in reserves. I don’t get much traction with the other mayors on that one.”

Maguire admitted, however, that the county’s auditors told him the county’s reserve funds are in line with other clients they serve.

“There is no magic rule in regard to reserves, as far as I know,” said Central Frontenac Mayor Bill MacDonald, “and we are drawing down reserves this year. The bottom line, for me, is that we have a good staff at the county, and they present us with information, and you have to go with the information you have. To go any more in depth, would almost become an exercise in micro-managing.”

As the result of an average increase of 22% in property assessment throughout Frontenac County , the tax rate will be decreasing by over 13% in spite of the overall levy increase of 6%. Taxpayers will pay about $287 for every $100,000 of assessable property they own, compared to $330 in 2005.

(Late breaking change: On Tuesday afternoon, Warden Lake informed the News that he received a fax from the Province of Ontario detailing the increase in the provincial transfer for ambulance costs. He could not reveal the figures, but said they were higher than the amount that had been estimated by the county in preparing their 2006 budget. The budget will thus be re-opened at the April 19 county council meeting, and the provincial transfer will be used to mitigate the 5.96% increase)

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Feature Article - November 30, 2006

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Feature Article - November 30, 2006

Letters to the Editor

To all taxpayers:

It has been more than 30 years since there has been an increase in the number of ambulances on the roads of Kingston and Frontenac County . After pressures by the government, hospitals, local union and the paramedics that actually do the job, Frontenac County Paramedic Service is finally coming close to meeting the needs of the sick, ill and injured in this area. With tax increases by Frontenac County itself and the City of Kingston over the last few years, the ability to provide more service is being achieved. Kingston and the surrounding area is also one of the few jurisdictions in the province to receive Advanced Care in the paramedic field. As a taxpayer, I have accepted the tax increases knowing that if I require an ambulance I will be getting the highest level of pre-hospital care in the province of Ontario and this should reassure all taxpayers that their hard-earned money is being put to good use.

This all sounds good but there is a glitch to the system: The counties to the west and east of us, Lennox and Addington and Leeds and Grenville are also benefiting from your tax dollars. It seems Frontenac County has agreed to cover part of each of the other two counties at the expense of the Frontenac County city taxpayers. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, Frontenac paramedics respond to all calls in Lennox and Addington County’s area covering Amherstview, Millhaven, Bath, Odessa and north of Odessa while their own county ambulances sit at base saving money. This is not a once-a-week occurrence but occurs 2-4 times a day. In order to save money, Leeds and Grenville County will no longer provide coverage for their own services after midnight and will call on Frontenac County to cover Gananoque when their vehicle is out on a call normally covered by their own county vehicle in Elgin . The ambulance system is supposed to be seamless, meaning that if one county is too busy to respond to calls in their area, the next county will respond to help cover the area. Unfortunately this is not the situation: While their vehicles sit at base, Frontenac County is responding to calls compromising their own taxpayers while the other counties save money at your expense. Not only are you paying for it, but now there is the possibility of not getting an ambulance in an emergency for a long period of time. Frontenac County is now willing to risk its own taxpayers to benefit another county.

It seems Frontenac County is going on the premise “What you don’t know, won’t hurt you”, but in this case, it will!

As paramedics we know that in order to provide the best possible care and outcome to our community, we need to get to the patient as expeditiously as possible. This is no longer possible if we are not even in the same county. Call Mayor Rosen and city councillors, call your Frontenac mayors and voice your concern. It’s your life they’re playing with.

- Terry Baker, OPSEU Local 462 PresidentParamedics and Dispatchers Frontenac County

FEWRclosing I was dismayed to read the article by Jeff Green in your November 9 issue, "FEWR to retrench, close doors."

This is very disappointing, not only for the people who have worked so hard to establish the Frontenac Electronic Waste Recovery but for those of us who were relieved to find a way to recycle our old computer systems. I took a number of systems up to them over the past few years, including donations from friends and co-workers who also felt better knowing that their outdated but still useful machines would be reused in the schools here in Ontario or elsewhere around the globe. I was incredibly impressed by what this dedicated group of volunteers had accomplished. Now, however, this stuff will have to end up as landfill, with toxic materials leaching into the groundwater and otherwise rare metals going to waste among the potato peelings, ketchup bottles and worn out Nikes. This seems to be our culture's answer to everything.

Way back in 1961, John Steinbeck, in his wonderful book Travels with Charley, observed: "American cities are like badger holes, ringed with trash--all of them--surrounded by piles of wrecked and rusting automobiles, and almost smothered with rubbish...The mountains of things we throw away are much greater than the things we use. In this, if in no other way, we can see the wild and reckless exuberance of our production, and waste seems to be the index." Sadly, these comments from almost 50 years ago could easily apply to our country today. Our politicians, whom we elect to make the tough decisions, seem content to sit on their hands, garner their salaries and pensions, and pass on the problems to our kids. Shame on them all for their conspicuous lack of leadership, and for permitting the award-winning FEWR program to wither on the vine. And shame on us for not caring enough to demand better.

- Stephen Dukoff

Re: E-Waste Centre closing

I am writing with regard to the letter titled “E-Waste Centre Closing” which appeared in the November 16 edition of the Frontenac News. It is important that your readers should be aware that the Ontario Government has supported, and will continue to support, the recycling of electronic waste in the province of Ontario . Through the Computers for Schools program, our government has collected and refurbished over 6,000 computers and donated them for use by Ontario students, who use them to learn essential skills for succeeding in today’s information economy. At the same time, more than 53 tonnes of potential electronic waste has been diverted from landfills. On the other hand, it is important to note that the Frontenac Electronic Waste Recovery Centre received the major portion of its funding from the Government of Canada. This worthy initiative has been supported by federal organizations including Human Resources Development Canada, Industry Canada and the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation, all of which are agencies of the Government of Canada. I was surprised, therefore, that the writer would address his letter to me, rather than to Scott Reid, his federal Member of Parliament. Diverting harmful waste from landfills while providing learning opportunities for students is a win-win. I urge the Government of Canada to reconsider its decision to discontinue funding of the Frontenac Electronic Waste Recovery Centre, and I would encourage others who feel the same way to share their concerns with M.P. Scott Reid. Sincerely, Leona Dombrowsky, MPP

Letter to the Editor:

A copy of the letter circulated electronically by Mr. Terry Baker has come to our attention. It was addressed to all taxpayers and mentions not only the Frontenac Paramedic Services but also referred to the Emergency Medical Services provided to the west of Frontenac by the County of Lennox and Addington, and to the east by the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.

Ambulance services are provided by our paramedics across the geographic area identified by Mr. Baker on the basis of the closest available team. The nearest available paramedics are assigned. That means the people of our communities can be assured that an ambulance will come to their assistance as quickly as possible. Geographic boundaries, that mean nothing in an emergency, are not taken into account. We are all committed to ensuring that when our residents or visitors to our areas are in need, help comes from the closest available resource.

Residents from the east end of Kingston may have an ambulance from Gananoque come to their assistance. Someone in Amherstview may have an ambulance called to them from Kingston . When an ambulance from Brockville is leaving Kingston General Hospital to return to its home base, it may be sent to downtown Kingston , because it is the closest available resource to an emergency call. A Frontenac ambulance may take a sick child to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa and then be directed to respond to a call for help at the St. Laurent Shopping Centre. After moving a patient to St. Michael's hospital in Toronto , a Lennox and Addington or Leeds and Grenville ambulance may be directed to respond to a call on its way home in Whitby . That's the way the ambulance service in Ontario works.

We celebrate the level of cooperation that exists within the paramedic services across Ontario and the fact that artificial municipal boundaries are never an impediment to ensuring the quickest ambulance response possible. Seamlessly, our residents and visitors across Ontario can be assured that they and their loved ones will receive the best service we can provide. Don't be surprised if, one day, an ambulance arrives at your doorstep from as far away as Toronto or Ottawa - it simply means they were in our area and happened to be the closest available team of paramedics.

Cooperation is the key. No matter where you are, we are committed to responding as quickly as possible. You can count on it.

In service to our communities,

Tom Bedford, Manager of Emergency

Services, County of Lennox & Addington

Paul Charbonneau, Director of Emergency &

Transportation Services, Chief of Paramedic Services, County of Frontenac

Dan Chevrier, EMS Divisional Manager

United Counties of Leeds & Grenville

Central Frontenac Railway Museum

After six years of work, the Central Frontenac Railway Museum/Library Project is nearing its end. Despite the considerable effort which has gone into this endeavour, the apparently irresolvable site issue remains the chief impediment.

In the past while, a feasibility study has been completed which addressed the main issues concerning this project. Environmental concerns were looked into, preliminary plans were drawn up, building costs were estimated as well as ongoing subsequent maintenance costs, and the suggested relationship between the Board and Municipality was explored. However, with no site there can be no building.

As a registered charity, we have certain obligations to Revenue Canada and May 1, 2007, is the limit of our grace period. Accordingly, at that time, we will most likely have to deregister as a charity, suspend the corporation and dispose of the collection.

What this means to Central Frontenac is the loss of a high quality, irreplaceable collection of railway artifacts and memorabilia, as well as a $1,000,000 piece of infrastructure, which would provide the area with

1) a significant tourist attraction,

2) a modern spacious (app. 4300 sq. ft.) library facility,

3) sorely needed municipal space for offices and council chambers.

Our Board is effectively hamstrung by this problem, since it is not ours to resolve. No solution in the next short while, however, means the likely loss of a facility of considerable significance to the area.

The Central Frontenac Railway Committee

Mitchell Creek battle absurd

The battle between residents of South Frontenac Township and the Federal Ministry of Transport over Mitchell Creek Bridge continues and is becoming more absurd.

First a brief history: The 70-year-old bridge over Mitchell Creek , about 15 kilometres north of Sydenham, needs to be repaired. Two years ago the township consulted the community. A plan to replace the bridge on the existing foundations was agreed upon. The engineers said it was feasible. All of the approvals were obtained, except from the Federal Ministry of Transport, which dragged its feet for months. Finally they said “NO, you need a bigger, more expensive bridge”. For the last two years the residents around Mitchell Creek , the Desert Lake Property Owners Association, Friends of Frontenac Provincial Park, the Kingston Field Naturalists and some local businesses have fought the federal government.

Why should township taxpayers have to pay the extra costs for a bridge over a four kilometre long creek that its residents do not want and is not needed? An environmental inventory found three species at risk living in the area of the bridge that would be threatened. Many people come to South Frontenac Township to canoe this creek into Frontenac Park ; why should this source of tourist revenue be threatened?

The latest position from the Ministry is that they are not imposing the bigger bridge; the township agreed to it. The township did this only after they were told they had no choice if they wanted to fix the bridge.

For two years we have been trying to obtain the regulation that says the bridge has to be raised. After two years of saying they would send it to us, the Minister’s office is now telling us to contact the Access to Information office if we want the guidelines. So, at best, it is guidelines, not regulations, which means the decision to raise the bridge, is discretionary. The Ministry has been hiding behind the myth of regulation to force the township to do something it does not want.

Making us go through the Access to Information Office to confirm this truth will delay our case for another year in which they will probably have forced the township to build the bigger bridge.

At best, this is an insensitive federal government downloading a bad decision onto a township without covering the cost. At worst, it is an out-of-date action to impose a 19th century economic development policy that will harm the environment, hurt the local economy and increase property taxes just to prove that the federal bureaucracy does not have to listen to local concerns. The fight is not over. The existence of the endangered species has further delayed the federal government’s final decision. If they insist upon raising the bridge, it will needlessly add more cost because they will have to protect these species. By simply replacing the bridge, as first planned, the effect on the ecosystem would be minimal and there would be no extra cost.

We encourage people who think that controlling costs and helping the environment are important to write to Transport Minister Mr. Cannon, in Ottawa , and tell him to listen to the residents of South Frontenac: Do not force a bigger bridge over Mitchell Creek .

- Ross Sutherland, for the Friends of Mitchell Creek .

Re: E-Waste Centre closing

It appears in the Thursday, November 23 issue of the Frontenac News that Leona Dombrowsky was rather “surprised” that the letter regarding my annoyance with the closing of the E-waste Centre was directed to her. I sent the letter to her as our current MPP. In fact, as she would have noted from my original e-mailed letter to her, a copy of the same letter was indeed sent to MP Scott Reid. The Frontenac News chose to select the salutation to Ms Dombrowsky in the copy printed in the paper. Having had communications with Ms Dombrowsky in the past, I have complete confidence in her ability to address issues of concern such as this, particularly in her role as former Minister of the Environment. As Ms Dombrowsky is well aware, the electronic waste recycling issue is one to which I am strongly committed, as are many other residents of this area. I don’t care who deals with this problem, but someone needs to deal with it now! As mentioned in my original article, it is time to quit fumbling the political football. We citizens are trying to address recycling and environmental issues to the best of our ability. We now demand strong support from all levels of government.

- Doug Boulter

Life in the Country

Having just returned from our two week honeymoon in Bonnie Scotland (Where it hardly rained, I kid you not… apparently the rain lived in Verona while we were gone), my wife and I would like to pass on our thanks to the Verona Post Office employees who made sure our trip of a lifetime was able to go ahead.

Knowing time was tight to receive my wife’s passport in our married name, I was pleased to pick up the passport on the Tuesday from our post office, albeit four days before we left. My smile must have spoken volumes when it arrived, but due to the diligence of Dianne at the post office, we had a lucky escape. On handing it over, she suggested I might want to double check the passport before I left as “they seem to have misspelt your wife’s name as ‘McGan’ not ‘McGaw’ on the envelope”. I thought “Surely not” and opened it immediately. Sure enough. The name on the passport was misspelt. Panic set in and I had to drive to Kingston to have it mailed back by priority post and had a harrowing few dayscalling the passport office to get it returned and yes, it arrived on the Friday. Frighteningly to say, if Dianne had not noticed this, it would have been too late and the honeymoon would have been ruined, so we both want to express our thanks and gratitude to the ladies of our “wee” post office who only smile when thanked because they were “only doing their job.” Yes, once again, life in the country is THE life.

Thanks again, ladies - Gordon and Kelly McGaw

Re: Leona Dombrowsky's letter in the November 23 issue of the Frontenac News.

If, as Dombrowsky asserts, the Ontario government is supporting the recycling of electronic waste in the province, why has it been leaving the funding of the FEWR up to the federal government?I think the provincial government has a greater stake in keeping this stuff out of the landfill in Frontenac County than does our federal parliament.

So, rather than play "hot potato" and suggest that citizens in her constituency petition her federal counterpart, perhaps she could step forward and shake the funding for this important initiative out of the provincial coffers.

- Stephen Dukoff

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