Feature article, July 21, 2005

Feature article July 21, 2005

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Government funding boost less than meets the eye - Community Living North Frontenac

by Jeff Green

A funding increase mentioned in a good news announcement from Leona Dombrowskys office about a $59 million increase in funding next year for Community Living Agencies throughout the Province is welcome news to Community Living North Frontenac. but the agency isnt quite jumping for joy.

It will only temporarily address the longstanding compensation issues that have pushed the developmental services sector to the point of crisis. It does nothing to remove the chronic under-funding problem that has plagued the sector for many years, said Don Nielsen, executive Director of Community Living North Frontenac.

Community Living agencies work with people that have developmental disabilities and their families, providing a range of service and supports. They have been at the forefront of the movement towards maintaining people with developmental disabilities in the community, away from institutional settings.

Nielsen, who has been in his position since 1994, pointed out that under the Harris Conservatives, funding for Community Living was cut twice, by 8% in 1994, and 12% in 1995, and budgets have not recovered since then.

In making the funding announcement, MPP Leona Dombrowsky said, This investment will help families to support their loved ones with daily activities and help our community agencies to provide even better care for their clients.

The $59 million funding increase translates to about a 1.5% increase for each of the over 100 Community Living agencies throughout the province, although the actual dollar amount per agency is not yet known.

Don Neilsen said that, depending on how the actual dollar amounts are calculated, he expects Community Living North Frontenac will receive something in the $8,000 to $12,000 range as a funding increase. The agencys total budget for this year is just over $1.3 million. It has 30 full and part-time employees and a client base of about 75 in the North and Central and parts of South Frontenac.

According to a press release issued by Community Living Ontario in response to the funding announcement: Wages in the sector have fallen behind for 15 years and studies show that employees are paid 24% below similar positions in healthcare and education.

Don Nielsen said, The government is asking Community Living North Frontenac to sign labour contracts based on a 0.5% increase last year and just 1.5% this year, when just a month ago, the same government settled a dispute with its own employees with a 9.75% increase over four years. The reality is that the only way to continue operating with the funds that we have available is to cut services and that means cutting services to this communitys most vulnerable people. We want what is fair for our employees without compromising the services for the people we support.

Although there is no union at Community Living North Frontenac, many of the Community Living agencies throughout the province are unionized, either with CUPE or OPSEU, and both unions are expected to take a stronger line in contract negotiations that are upcoming.

Bob Miller, the volunteer President of Community Living North Frontenac, said The government is putting us in an impossible position. We are being asked to absorb increasing costs while holding the line on budget increases. We have already been doing this for 10 years. It simply cant continue without impacting families directly.

Community Living North Frontenac does not maintain a waiting list. Everyone who comes to the agency receives some supports. We try to match the employees that we have with the changing needs of the people we support, says Don Nielsen.

Community Living - Ontario is supportive of the changes the Ministry of Community and Social Services has taken, including the closure of the provinces three remaining so-called schedule one institutions, where people with developmental disabilities have been living for many years.

We applaud the Minister for her vision, but the community services sector that will bear the weight of these changes must have a strong foundation and stable workforce in place for the transformation process to be successful, said Bob Miller.

Feature article, July 21, 2005

Feature article July 21, 2005

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New funding for Community Services in Frontenac County

by Jeff Green

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care is increasing the annual funding for the adult day service that has recently been established by Central Frontenac Community Services (CFCS), based in Sydenham, and will be funding a new respite care program to be delivered by Northern Frontenac Community Service (NFCS), based in Sharbot Lake.

A $45,000 increase in funding for the adult day service in Sydenham will allow CFCS to double the amount of service that is currently being offered. Currently, the agency offers a half-day program twice a week. Space constraints mean that the program serves 16 individuals, providing programming for frail elderly individuals and respite for their caregivers. The new funding will allow for a full day program to be established as well, providing for increased service to those already in the program and allowing for more people to be served.

We are delighted with the announcement, said CFCS Executive Director Beth Freeland. This investment will help us to achieve our vision of more programs with a wider reach across the continuum of care.

Central Frontenac Community Services will also be receiving $2,763 each year, a 1.5% increase in their budget, in administrative funding.

Northern Frontenac Community Services will receive $20,000 to establish a respite care program for people who care for high needs family members. This fits in with a government initiative aimed at decreasing the pressure on hospitals and long term care facilities.

NFCS will also receive $3,908 each year, a 1.95% increase in their budget, in administrative funding. As well, a one-time grant of $84,887 will be paid to the agency for capital projects.

Very often the best kind of health care is the care that is delivered in the community, said MPP Leona Dombrowsky in announcing the funding. This investment will ease pressure on our hospitals, allowing them to better provide the acute care services they are so good at providing, while ensuring that whenever possible Ontarians receive care where it will do them the most good closer to home.

The funding announcement came as a bit of surprise to Scott Black, the Director of Adult Services for NFCS, as it did for Beth Freeland of CFCS, and both of them had to make some phone calls and check some web information to find out exactly what the money that had been announced publicly was earmarked for. They were both pleased, however, seeing this is an indication of support for the kinds of integrated services the two agencies offer to the people of Frontenac County.

Feature article, July 28, 2005

Feature article July 28, 2005

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Ompah fire department gets one step closer to getting new boat, ATV

by Jeff Green

If the ancient Greek city of Troy had been administered by North Frontenac Council, its hard to imagine they would have been fooled by the Trojan Horse.

A proposal by the Ompah Fire department to spend $40,772, $36,000 of which had been donated to them at the dissolution of the Ompah Snowmobile Club, was brought to Council last month, and referred to the Emergency Services Committee for consideration.

The Emergency Services Committee met in mid July and heard from Ompah firefighters about the rescue boat and ATV they are planning to purchase with the money, and about the ice and water rescue equipment they are planning to purchase as well. The Firefighters also propose to build a garage to house the ATV and the rescue boat. In terms of finances, they have also committed to covering the $4,772 that the projects will cost over and above the $36,000 grant from the Snowmobile Club.

Ever cautious, Council still expressed concerns about the insurance and upkeep costs to the township that come with owning a rescue boat and an ATV, and about the ultimate cost and efficacy of ice water rescue training.

Since none of the items are terribly pressing, council deferred decision on the matters until their August meeting, at which time staff will report back on the insurance costs, and the Deputy Chief of the Sharbot Lake Fire Department will be invited to talk about the ice water rescue train the trainer program, which has been ongoing in Sharbot Lake for a few years.

Dock Task Force report One potentially complicated issue became more simple for North Frontenac Council, as a Dock Task Force, appointed a couple of months ago, has come to the conclusion that the township actually owns only one dock, the one at Tappins Bay on Mazinaw Lake. Docks on Shabomeka Lake, and Canonto and Palmerston Lakes, are not in fact the property of the township, but belong to other organizations. The Task Force then recommended to Council that the township maintain the one dock that they own, as required. Inspections are to take place each spring at ice-out to determine any damage or repairs.

The report was brought forward, but after a procedure ruling by the Mayor, a vote on acceptance of the report was deferred one week so all Councillors will have a chance to consider the findings of the Task Force.

Feature article, August 4, 2005

Feature article August 4, 2005

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Waterfront property taxes

Commentary by Mike Wise

I have considerable difficulty with WRAFT's (Waterfront Ratepayers Association for Fair Taxation) approach to the problem of escalating waterfront property values, as recently reported in the Frontenac News. My concerns are, firstly, their failure to relate to the many urban residents also experiencing this problem and, secondly, their proposed solutions.

Property values in some city neighbourhoods are increasing at a very much faster rate than the average for their city as a whole. Look at Ottawa or Toronto where neighbourhoods that were out of favour a few years ago are now very desirable. I have no problem with WRAFT, as the child of concerned cottage owners, being primarily concerned with waterfront property but why do they choose to ignore the urban dweller facing similar problems? Surely WRAFT must realize by now that they are barely on the political radar and that, when they are seen, it is often as the representative of those rich cottage owners who can afford to pay. Would it not be both fairer and more politically astute to bring the urban dweller living on a low or fixed income into the picture? The government has to be more considerate of those struggling to keep their homes than those struggling to keep their vacation properties.

As for WRAFT's proposal that a separate class be created for waterfront properties - do they seriously expect this to be seen as anything but the privileged trying to reduce their taxes? Why are they presenting a proposal that deliberately excludes those experiencing similar problems in our cities and towns?

Capping annual assessment increases is a useful way of cushioning the effects of sudden large increases in market value, it was used when taxation based on current market value was introduced a few years ago, but it must be carefully managed. If increases are capped at too low a rate, it has the potential to maintain large differences in the taxes paid on properties of comparable value for a very long time. An annual cap of 10% over and above the average increase in property values would be more appropriate than the 3% proposed by WRAFT. Also any cap should be lifted when a property is sold or transferred to a new owner. These measures would be required so that others in the taxation area were not subsidizing the owners of capped properties for an extended period.

The problems associated with our property taxation system will not be solved by applying such bandaid solutions. More often than not these solve one person's problem at the expense of someone else and they usually create more problems than they solve. We need to look at the real causes. Most of our property tax is used to fund social (e.g. education, policing, welfare, recreation) rather than property related services. The value of a property is not only unrelated to the value of these services, it is, all too often, also unrelated to the owner's ability to pay. We must press our provincial representatives to seek a more appropriate means of funding such services. We must press them to take another look at the consequences of downloading, particularly with regard to roads - a major expense for a rural community. We must also seek a more equitable sharing of industrial and commercial taxes between the urban and rural communities.

Turning now to the property value reassessments we expect to receive from MPAC this fall. Waterfront property values have risen sharply in the last couple of years. No doubt the temperatures of the owners of these properties, myself included, will similarly increase as we contemplate next year's tax bill. What can we do?

We can, and should, be vigilant in monitoring and lobbying our Mayor and Councillors to ensure that the Township delivers the services we require in the most cost effective manner - taxpayers are free to attend council meetings, including budget deliberations. But, as we do so, our actions and expectations must be tempered by the fact that the Province imposes strict requirements relating to the services to be provided and the manner in which they are to be funded; it has not given Council the authority to make the fundamental changes needed to bring equity and affordability to property taxation.

In the longer term, we can best help ourselves, and help our Council help us, by more vigorously lobbying our provincial representatives to make the changes required for an equitable funding of local services - provincial acceptance of a greater responsibility for the funding of social services, the downloading of only those services which are truly local responsibilities, the imposition of reasonable conditions on the provision of those services, funding based on a consideration of both the services received and the property owner's ability to pay, and an equitable sharing of industrial and commercial revenues. By addressing these issues we will be attacking the fundamentals of the problem, rather than the symptoms. And we will be embracing the problems and concerns of many more taxpayers than just those rich waterfront property owners.

How do you think we can get the Province to listen to, and act on, our concerns?

Mike Wise

Feature article, August 4, 2005

Feature article August 4, 2005

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Province announces long-awaited early childhood plan

by Jeff Green

Soon after the Mcguinty government took office in the fall of 2003 and established a Ministry of Children and Youth Services, planning began on a government level for improved access to daycare and early learning.

It has taken almost two years to work out a model for the new system, partly because funding arrangements between levels of government were hard to work out.

This spring many municipalities throughout the Province, including the City of Kingston, which administered funding for Frontenac County, opted out of a proposal which would have seen 20% of the cost of any new daycare space or early learning initiative covered by municipal taxation.

In the end, the Province of Ontario decided to fund the entire expansion of service from their own budget, making use as well of a $1.1 billion transfer from the Federal Government over the next three years.

The Best Start Plan, as it has been dubbed, includes a long-awaited change in the way daycare subsidies are calculated. While final details have not been announced, Paul Dowig, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, told the News, Introduction of a sliding scale income test will begin in 2006, and each year the number of families eligible for subsidy will be increased.

Childcare advocates have long argued that the current subsidy system, which gives full subsidy to very low income families but no subsidy at all to low and moderate income families, is often an impediment to accessing licensed childcare. Last year the provincial government announced that a sliding scale would make partial subsides available for families with annual incomes up to $75,000.

In rural Frontenac County, licensed childcare is offered at the Child Centre in Sharbot Lake, and in South Frontenac a network of licensed home childcare centres is being established by Central Frontenac Community Services.

Ontario Early Years Centres, set up by the previous government, will continue to play an important role in Ontarios early learning and care system, both as service providers and as members of local Best Start networks, Paul Dowig said.

The Best Start system will bring a new partner into early years services, public schools.

The Ministry of Children and Youth Services has implemented a schools first policy. Schools will be the first choice for the expansion of childcare as part of Best Start, Dowig said, and added, the decision to expand childcare services will be driven by available space and community needs.

In communities where schools are not viable because there is no surplus space, other locations for childcare and other services will be considered.

The Best Start Plan also includes early screening for the estimated 130,000 children born each year in Ontario; ongoing support for parents of very young children; and a strengthening of existing hearing, speech, and language programs. Checkups for babies 18 months old will also be implemented, including vision screening

The Best Start Plan is based on a community hub model; services are designed to be accessed at a central location.

In the coming months, local planning will take place to implement the Best Start Plan across the province.

Feature Article - October 27, 2005

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Frontenac County:Fumbling for a role

Editorial by Jeff Green

Two or three times a year, gatherings of council members from all four Frontenac townships are held to update the councillors on the activities at the county level. One such gathering was held last week, and it was an opportunity for county staff to talk about various economic development initiatives.

In general, township councils have been wary of any initiatives at the county level, fearing they would lead to an increase in the amount of money Frontenac County requisitions from its member townships.

If Frontenac County were a bird, it would be a strange one, long and lean with a gap between its knees and its feet. It extends from The Frontenac Islands, located on Lake Ontario south of Kingston, all the way up to places like Norcan Lake, which can only be accessed from Madawaska Highlands. In between it encompasses the edges of suburban Kingston, some rich farmland, a swath of cottage country and large amounts of Crown land. And its smallest member, Frontenac Islands, is separated from rest of the county by a city of 100,000 people.

There is a lot of diversity in the economic and social lives of the people who live in Frontenac County, but we all pay a levy of $330+ for every $100,000 of assessed property to Frontenac County.

Most of that money goes to fund services that were funded directly from provincial taxes before downloading of services took place in the late nineties. Some of it goes to the City of Kingston, which provides social services to the entire county through the Health Unit, Ontario Works, and other programs. The County of Frontenac, in turn, operates an ambulance service and owns the Fairmount Home, a long-term care facility located within the boundaries of the City of Kingston. Ratepayers from the City of Kingston pay their share of the costs for Fairmount Home and the ambulance service that the county manages, just as Frontenac County taxpayers pay their share of the costs of Social Services delivered by the City of Kingston.

All of these relationships have been developing since amalgamation in 1998. Initially it was envisioned that the County of Frontenac would have a limited role. It was renamed the Frontenac Management Board, and the unwieldy 27-member county council of pre-amalgamation days was pared right down to the four township mayors.

Since 1998 an expansion was undertaken at Fairmount Home and the ambulance service, which had been directly delivered by the province, was taken over by the Frontenac Management Board (FMB) in 2001. So, a few years ago the FMB decided to become Frontenac County once again.

Since then county staff have been looking at taking on other roles, and the main venture in this regard has been in the area of economic development. The mayors from the four townships, who make up the council of the county, realized that on their own they were not likely to undertake this kind of function, and agreed to establish an economic development office at the county level.

The lack of cohesion within the County, and the reluctance on the part of the township councils to give the County an extended role because it could mean increased local taxes or a diminishing of local authority, have made the economic development role a difficult one to fill in Frontenac County.

This situation came into sharp relief in the past few months as current County Economic Development Manager Dianna Bratina has been looking at developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) for Frontenac County. The four townships are at different stages in the development of their own digital mapping, and even though Dianna Bratina assured everyone there was no intention on the part of the county to replicate what already exists, townships such as Central Frontenac, which is relatively advanced in its use of digital information compared to some others, feared any county initiative would cost money and would actually slow Central Frontenac down.

Seeing no funding support for County GIS, Bratina sought funding from the federally funded Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation for a short-term intern position to study the situation, and determine where the townships are at and how a county-wide GIS solution could result in cost savings. Bratina has been at pains to point out to all the councils, that the County is not stepping on anyone’s toes, and is not spending any municipal tax dollars.

Other counties don’t have the same obstacles to overcome. They were not dissolved with amalgamation as Frontenac County was, and maintained their distinctive roles. Lanark County and Lennox and Addington County, for example, are involved in a variety of initiatives, from economic development to the development of recreational trails, that far outstrip anything Frontenac County is likely to enter into in the foreseeable future.

Last week three or four Councillors from each of the Frontenac townships listened politely as the GIS intern was introduced, and some economic studies were presented. They then agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to meet next month for a day-long planning session for a county strategic plan. A more elaborate strategic planning initiative was blocked by the townships earlier this year.

But even determining where to meet reveals some of the tensions between the parties. Councillor Clayton from North Frontenac offered the township hall in Plevna, even promising a venison lunch. There was no comment from the others to his proposal, and this silence was not lost on the Councillors from North Frontenac Township.

Soon the four Mayors on County Council will provide a strong hint concerning the future role of the county. In the coming months they will consider whether countywide initiatives should be undertaken using the county’s half of the municipal gas tax rebate that is forthcoming from the provincial and federal Governments, or whether that money will be passed on to the member townships for local use.

Feature Article - October 27, 2005

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Police investigate malicious oil spill

by Jeff Green

The quite village of Tichborne was the site of some nasty mischief last week. A fuel line was cut between a full oil tank and a furnace in the basement of a vacant house that was about to be sold. The oil was then pumped by a sump pump into the ground behind the house, where it soaked into the soil and seeped into an adjacent pond.

The house is owned by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, who had taken possession of the house sometime this year, and had put it up for sale. Recently the bank accepted an offer of $36,000 for the house, a small work shed, and a small lot. In accordance with normal practice, the bank paid to have the oil tank filled in preparation for the deal closing late last week.

Scott’s Environmental Services received a call about the oil spill at 10:15 a.m. last Tuesday. Crews were on site by 11:00 and they were able to stop the oil from spreading beyond the pond behind the house, according to company President George Scott.

“Because we were on scene quickly and built dykes right away, we are able to say there will be no effect downstream from the spill,” George Scott told the News.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has been monitoring the spill and the cleanup, and an official said that, “no long-term impacts are anticipated. An intensive cleanup is now underway to address impacts to surface water, soil and sediment in the affected area.”

The OPP was informed of the spill late on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 18, and began an investigation. The investigation continues, but no charges had been laid as of early this week.

The sale of the house was scheduled to close on Thursday, October 20, but as Doug Nugent, the realtor who listed the property for the CIBC, said, “No one would go ahead and purchase the property under these circumstances. You have to wonder what the people who cut that furnace line were thinking. There wasn’t much point to it, was there?”

Clean up costs at the site will be covered by the CIBC. It was estimated by a member of the Scott’s Environmental Services crew that the cleanup could take weeks, even months. He would not speculate about the cost, but one week after the spill took place, a five-member crew was still on site, as were several large pieces of equipment. A 24-hour guard has also been posted at the house by Scott’s.

Some of the neighbors speculated that the house itself might have to be torn down.

This is not the first criminal act in recent times that has been connected to this property. It was the location of a party that preceded a drunk driving accident that left three men seriously injured off Road 38 south of Sharbot Lake.

Feature Article - October 20, 2005

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Letters to the Editor:October 20, 2005

Sydenham water – does anyone know where this project is going?

Township council has a bylaw in place to proceed with “safe water” for Sydenham village with the costs being borne by the small group receiving the “benefit.”

Now (October 6, page 3) the local MPP “sees the light” where the entire township should share this cost.

Is council now going to change the bylaw to involve the entire township? Will there be public meetings to allow all residents to voice their opinions on this project?

What do the elected officials plan to do about the fact that ground water will continue to be polluted by the end product of municipal “safe” water?

This is an ill-conceived plan to correct the problem of polluted ground water.

- Robert Fish, Harrowsmith

Superior local service

This letter is to express my gratitude and delight with the superior service I received from ‘Doug’s Antenna’ this week. After 19 months of frustration with Bell ExpressVu, I found it necessary to call in an ‘outsider’. Doug’s Antenna was able to fit me in within three days. They showed up exactly on time and proved to be friendly, competent and professional. It seemed they were happy to “go the extra mile” to satisfy me. In spite of all that, I was still amazed when I came home the next day and found a remote left at my door, with Doug’s business card, as a replacement for the faulty one that Bell would NOT replace.

I strongly recommend that anyone thinking of buying a Bell ExpressVu satellite system buy it from Doug’s Antenna!

- Jody Duffy

Inverary Water – 3 Strikes, You’re Out

In reference to the recent Inverary water crisis, I would like to point out a few things:

First, the people of the Sydenham Water Area, in an overwhelming majority of 92%, tell the South Frontenac Council, in no uncertain terms, to stay out of the water issue. In fact we have told them not once, but many, many times, in many many ways.

And what does our mayor and council do? They completely IGNORE the people and take full control, to the point of appearing like an autocratic dictatorship, then ram an inappropriate solution to the problem down our throats. Steeerrrrike One.

Second, the costs of the Sydenham project are skyrocketing out of control, from the initial estimate of $5.6 million, with an estimated people’s share of $800,000, to the now staggering estimate of $8.2 million, with an outrageous $3.2 million share for the people. So the people of Sydenham, other people in the township and our MPP Leona Dombrowsky have asked, multiple times, in multiple ways, to spread the costs of this project across the township.

And what does our mayor and council do? They completely IGNORE the people, and maintain their incredibly stubborn stance of making the people of Sydenham pay the bulk of the township’s share of this project. Steeerrrrike Two.

Third, recently, at least seven homes in Inverary have some tragic water issues. These people, and their neighbours, bless them, all ask council to help them with this crisis.

So what does our illustrious mayor and council do? They not only completely IGNORE the people, but they pull an amazing public 180 degree contradiction and tell the people that water is not their jurisdiction? Huh? I must have a hearing problem OR does this council only get involved in water issues when it suits them?

In the last three years of having to fight with our council over the Sydenham water project, we have been told repeatedly to the point of nausea that this council had to do something about the water in Sydenham. But now when the people of Inverary are actually in a crisis situation they are being told the exact OPPOSITE? Steeerrrrike Three.

Mayor Lake and those on Council supporting him, YOU’RE OUT.

You can either start listening to the people now, or you can listen to us in the next election when we unanimously vote for someone who is actually willing to operate in the PEOPLE’S best interest.

- David Waugh, South Frontenac elector

Re:Harrowsmith closing

My first thought when I read about the closing of the cheese factory in Harrowsmith was: why don't the employees buy the place and return to making local cheeses? Then, I found out that it's all about the milk quota. We used to have cheese factories in just about every village. Then the big boys (Kraft, etc.) started buying these small locations, and before you knew it, the local factory was closed, but the milk quota stayed with the big boys who moved the quota to one of their big operations where it was more efficient(?). It certainly gave them more economic clout. I'm sure that Saputo Inc. will not transfer all 89 jobs being lost to other plants. The purpose is to improve efficiency, after all. And, will they pay to transfer those families to their other locations? Or would employees have to take the chance that once they have paid the cost of a move, that their new jobs would not be declared redundant or moved to another location? Big business is all about the bottom line. We can never forget that.

Is there a homemade solution to Harrowsmilh's dilemma without having to acquire expensive milk quota? I understand that the Harrowsmith facility could be used to produce bottled milk and ice cream without having to buy quota. The dairy closest to Kingston is Reid's in Belleville. With the cost of fuel going through the roof, it might be economically viable for local dairy farmers to purchase the Harrowsmith facility, perhaps as a co-operative.

Another question I have is: why do cheese factories have to have milk quota? The dairy farmer has milk quota which allows him/her to sell a set amount of milk. What purpose is served by having cheese factories own milk quota as well? Especially now that there are so very few cheese factories left in Ontario. Could a way be found to give milk quota at no cost to special bodies (such as co-ops) under contract?

I imagine any solution would require help from government, either as grants, loan guarantees, whatever. I hope that the stakeholders will get together (local council, dairy farmers, businesses) and see what viable solution this community can come up with.

- Irene Backholm, Amherstview

Ontario Municipal Taxes

The Ontario government’s answer to downloading of tax burden from the federal government was to pass the load on to municipal levels along with increased responsibility and a new property assessment scheme described as a “fair taxation system”.

One has to ask, however, under this “fair taxation system”, are the municipal taxes paid in Central Frontenac--mostly by waterfront property owners--intended to be 1) a tax for services provided; 2) a wealth tax; or 3) simply a tax grab by the Ontario government?

If it is the first, why is there such a disparity of services in the township? Many lakefront property owners, paying disproportionately high taxes, have none of today’s basic communication services: no maintained roads, no mail delivery, no internet access. Without municipally maintained roads they, of course, do not have ready access to other municipal services such as fire, police, and health care. Central Frontenac taxes seem to go primarily to support an extensive road network that does not reach most of the heaviest taxed property owners.

If municipal taxes are intended to be a wealth tax, why again are the rates so different across the province? In Toronto, where most of the MPs who brought in this system live, the tax rate is only 0.88895%, whereas it is 1.513% in Central Frontenac, nearly double.

I might add that the Toronto taxes provide a much higher level of services including support for a public transportation system.

One can conclude that the answer must be #3, simply another tax grab by a provincial government that does not see beyond its capital city. One could also conclude from these facts that it is the rural municipalities, not the big cities, that need support from the federal infrastructure initiative.

- Roger Henry, Sharbot Lake

Feature Article - September 22, 2005

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North Frontenac Community Services: The early years, 1975-1985

by Jeff Green

For the first article in the series, visit Part 1: NFCS30th Anniversary

This weekend a reunion will be held to mark the 30th anniversary of the incorporation of North Frontenac Community Services Corporation (NFCS). Three weeks ago we ran a story about the development of NFCS before it became incorporated in 1975. This week we will look at the 10 years after incorporation, a period in which NFCS developed rapidly, creating new programs and seeing many programs turn themselves into independent entities. This was also the period during which the idea of North Frontenac as a region began to take hold.

In an edition of the North Frontenac News in 1982, there was an article about an upcoming NFCS Annual General Meeting. The article boasted that the NFCS AGMs had become the Social Events of the year.

“From its humble beginnings in 1976, the annual meeting has blossomed into a gala pot-luck supper, and time of introspection and dreaming, a challenging speaker and a hotly contested election!”

In 1979 Keith Norton, then Minister of Community and Social Services with the Bill Davis government, was the guest speaker; in 1980 it was Patrick Watson; and in 1981 it was Wayne Rostad. The meetings were held at different locations each year. In 1982 the guest speaker was Reverend Norman Johnston, the founder of “Operation go Home” in Ottawa.

At that time, NFCS had enjoyed a period of unceasing growth. In 1979, core funding for the agency had been assured by the Ministry of Community and Social Services in Toronto, and by 1983 there were 16 people working at NFCS in various roles, under the direction of Larry Leafloor, who served as Executive Director from 1978-1985. Services offered included: family counseling; a community integration program for ex-convicts; home support services for seniors; manpower and unemployment insurance services; Children’s Aid Society service; vocational rehabilitation services; and services for youth and the developmentally handicapped.

Other projects the agency was involved with included: job readiness training; publishing a directory of children’s services; credit counseling; a Legal Aid clinic; an ombudsman’s service; and a swim program (in conjunction with the township’s). As well, NFCS published the North Frontenac News.

Brad Flear, who now works in the insurance business in Frontenac County, worked for NFCS from 1978 until 1995, most of the time as a family counselor. He remembers the first few years he worked at NFCS as a time of great growth, and changes in the way the agency governed itself.

“Larry Leafloor was excellent at developing and finding funds for new services. Of course the times were right for social service development, with Trudeau in Ottawa. But as NFCS developed there was tension about how the board and the staff would relate to each other,” Brad Flear said in an interview this week.

Flear recalls when NFCS staff all would come to board meetings, which would have about 25 people attending, and everyone had a vote, staff and board members alike.

Different people had different agendas. In the early 1980’s Bob Lovelace, then a community Legal Worker with NFCS, got involved along with Harold Perry in what has become known as the Ardoch Wild Rice Dispute, a political and economic struggle that culminated in a stand off with the OPP, which ended peacefully.

“I went to Larry Leafloor, and told him that this was going to take a lot of resources from the agency as the dispute was heating up,” Lovelace recalls. “He said that was fine.”

This kind of political role is no longer, and could no longer, be played by a agencies such as NFCS, but at that time a political role beyond advocating for services was possible for the organization.

Another major stream of effort in those years was in the areas of community and economic development. A community development officer was on staff at NFCS until 1990, and the development of the Highway 7 Community Development Corporation came out of efforts to promote economic development in the region.

A document called “Aims and Objectives of the North Frontenac Community Services Corporation” was published as part of a special issue of the North Frontenac News in April of 1982.

It listed two “basic aims” of the organization:

“Firstly, to continue to develop and maintain a multi-service concept for the delivery of human and social services for the residents of North Frontenac.

“Secondly, to be actively involved in as many aspects of community development as time and resources permit.”

Listed as objectives are the maintenance of the 18 services offered by the organization, and under “community initiatives” there are 10 groupings of initiatives, each including between 5 and 15 subheadings. It is an ambitious list.

Interestingly enough, some of the items on the list have come about, while most of the other ones are still issues that are of concern to this day.

One area that was identified as a concern was to “give increased priority to the needs of children.”

In this regard, an independent group of mothers began meeting, with children in tow, in 1983. This group expanded and also became ambitious, eventually forging an alliance with North Frontenac Community Services and building the Child Centre, a combination day care centre, nursery, and children’s services hub, which opened in 1991. Children’s Services became a separately administered division of NFCS, and remains so to this day.

A structure developed whereby there was an Executive Director of the Agency, a director of Adult Services, and a Director of Children’s Services. Throughout the 1980’s and into the 1990’s the role of the Board of Directors at NFCS changed and there were various periods of tension and even crisis, brought on by personalities, the structure of the organization, and increasingly, concerns over funding.

(In part 3 of this series we will look at the building of the Child Centre and its development through the 1990’s, and at the internal struggles within NFCS which came to a head in the mid 1990’s, followed by a funding crisis that brought the organization to within a hair of closing down the adult services division.)

Feature Article - September 29, 2005

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Property owners association critiques township operations: North Frontenac Council, September 22, 2005

by Jeff Green

Cor Bakelaar Presentation to Cor Bakelaar – After 13 months as Fire Chief for North Frontenac, Cor Bakelaar received a thank you from the township for his services as Fire Chief at a Council meeting last week. Steve Riddell has taken on the Fire Chief’s duties.

Mazinaw Property Owners talk budget - A delegation from the Mazinaw Property Owners’ Association (MPOA) presented a comparative analysis of the spending and budgeting patterns for North Frontenac and Addington Highlands to the regular meeting of North Frontenac Council in Plevna last week.

Doug Pierce from the Association told Council that since Mazinaw Lake traverses both townships, the Association is interested in the budgeting practices of both.

“There is no relationship between municipal services provided to seasonal property owners and their taxes and we create no demand on the school system,” Pierce pointed out before making his comments on the North Frontenac budget.

While he complimented the township for some of its budgeting practices, and noted Mayor Maguire’s role in keeping the Frontenac County budget increase to a minimum, Pierce then said the 2004 budget process in North Frontenac lacked stakeholder input.

“Interested ratepayers and major stakeholders should have an opportunity to comment and voice opinions at the preliminary stages of priority setting,” he said.

He also noted that administrative spending has been increasing in North Frontenac, and is much higher than it is in Addington Highlands.

Township Chief Administrative Officer/Treasurer Cheryl Robson said she would have to see more information before she could respond to some of the numbers that Doug Pierce had provided, such as the claim that administrative costs have increased 136% over four years. Robson said that didn’t correspond to any figures of which she was aware. She invited the MPOA to contact her to go over the numbers together.

Mayor Maguire thanked the MPOA for their presentation and the co-operative tone of their engagement with Council. The rest of the Councillors in attendance did not respond.

In 2005, the tax rate in North Frontenac was $1,406 for every $100,000 of assessment, while in Addington Highlands the rate was $1,492.

No dome for Clar/Mil rink – At the previous Council Meeting, Councillor Betty Hunter was given the authority to prepare a grant application to the Bell Sports Fund for $25,000 towards a roof over the Clar/Mill rink. However, Hunter reported that she had determined, with the help of Rick Kellar of Lookout Home Hardware, that the project would cost in excess of $100,000. With no prospects to raise the extra $75,000 that would be required if the grant were awarded, Hunter decided to forego the grant application.

Waste Diversion task force – Having received a grant for a feasibility study for a thermal processing plant (incinerator) for North Frontenac and Addington Highlands, a task force with representation from both townships has been struck. It will include Bud Clayton from NF Council, Reeve Ken Hook from AH, Elinor Duncan and a representative from Bon Echo Park.

Frontenac Shores/Twin Pines – Twin Pines Resort on Mississagagon Lake is planning to develop an innovative resort, that will involve building well- appointed cabins that are to be used for a few weeks each summer by several owners, in an arrangement that is similar to time share agreements.

In accordance with a report from the township’s planner, Council passed a resolution stating that the plan put forward by Twin Pines is a good plan, but that four conditions must be met before final approval can be granted. The conditions deal with landscaping, a road plan, an environmental assessment, and a storm water management plan.