| Jan 14, 2015


2% - 2.5% budget increase set as target in Central Frontenac

At their first meeting of 2015 on Tuesday, January 13, Interim Central Frontenac CAO, Steve Silver, outlined for council how the budget process will be undertaken this year,

Staff will meet late in January once the year-end numbers for 2014 are in, and will consider their needs, “keeping in mind both service levels and potential savings due to lower fuel costs,” he said.

A day-long council meeting will be set for early February for the different department heads to present their draft budgets to council, and a proposed overall budget will be presented in early March.

“It would be useful for the process if Council gave staff a budget target. That way each department can either reach the target, or if they can't, provide options for changes in service levels to meet the target for council's consideration,” he said.

Mayor Frances Smith recommended a target of a 2% increase, and Councilor Sherry Whan agreed. Councilor Tom Dewey revised the figure to between 2 and 2.5% and that figure was agreed to by most of the rest of Council.

CAO, PWM hiring processes undertaken

After a meeting of the ad-hoc human resources committee, Steve Silver presented proposed advertisements and job descriptions for the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Public Works Manager (PWM) positions. The deadline for applications for both positions was set for February 6 in the hopes of filling the positions by early April.

Septic reinspection

Eric Kohlsmith from the Mississippi-Rideau Septic System office reported on the voluntary septic reinspection program for 2014, which focused its efforts on the village of Sharbot Lake. The village was chosen this year because there is a high density of septic systems on the lake and its west basin is classed as a trout-sensitive lake.

The target for inspections was 38, and 24 were completed. Three hundred and fifty-five property owners were approached by letter. Of the 24 systems that were inspected, 10 were given a clean bill of health and 14 needed at least minor work done on them. None of them required replacing.

Council decided to renew the program for 2015, and will be hearing later in the year from a township-based committee which will be proposing a mandatory system, whereby property owners who are approached will have no choice but to participate in the program. Mississippi-Rideau is prepared to undertake such a program for the township, but in order to do that they would have to become the body that does all septic inspections in Central Frontenac. Currently, septic approvals for new or modified systems are done by Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Public Health, who also offer a mandatory re-inspection service.

Construction starts sneak over the $5 million mark with late year surge.

Thanks to a busy December in which permits for $645,000 in construction value were issued (as compared to $113,400 in December 2013 and $41,700 in December, 2012, the total construction value for 2104 reached $5.3 million, down from $5.7 million in 2013 and $5.9 million in 2012. Permits for 11 new residential units and three new seasonal units were sold in 2014.

The total revenue of the department was up by about $1,000 from 2013 at just under $70,000.

Chief Building Officer Jeremy Neven also presented a report about building code enforcement in 2014. He issued 23 orders for non-compliance, most of which were for building without a permit. Of those, 10 cases were resolved voluntarily and one file resulted in a prosecution.

Safety boot allowance

On the recommendation of interim CAO Silver, council approved a pilot project whereby the township will provide a $120 allowance for all full-time public works staff and all full and part-time waste site staff to buy approved safety boots. The project will cost up to $2040 if all eligible staff members take advantage of it.

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