County Warden and Centre Wellington Township Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj had a big job at the Good Roads and Rural Ontario Municipal Association convention in Toronto.
She hoped to meet several cabinet ministers and to attempt to convince them funding for municipalities granted for amalgamations that took place a decade ago should stay.
Ross-Zuj would be wearing several hats during those meetings – if she can get them. By Feb. 18, she still had no confirmation her requests for talks would be granted – even though the two conventions are lobbying opportunities by municipal politicians, and by government officials to learn what is on the minds of local politicians.
In this case, it is money. Ross-Zuj will represent the county, the Western Warden’s Association, and Centre Wellington – and the topic of conversation will be the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund grant. While representing the warden’s group, Ross-Zuj has one meeting scheduled with the Ministers of Municipal Affairs, Agriculture, and Natural Resources.
Ross-Zuj noted that, so far, the municipalities have received a small reprieve. The province had planned to wipe out the grant entirely. For example, the province told Centre Wellington it would lose $1.4-million. After some pleading and complaints by all the municipalities as well as the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) the grants cuts were reduced.
But, Ross-Zuj said, they still leave Centre Wellington with a shortfall of $400,000 in its operating budget this year.
“That’s a real hit,” she said, adding the members have had “great cooperation from AMO.”
While her township lost $1-million, others, she said, “lost more.”
She said she has been challenging county council and her own council to “keep tax increases low” but with revenue cuts of $400,000, it will take service cuts to do it.
“If this is the status quo, we’re got to bring it down,” she said. “We’re trying to minimize [tax hikes] and keep our service model.”
She said the municipalities were promised the grants by the province as part of the amalgamation exercise, and “to pull it is devastating.”
She said in the case of Centre Wellington, the province used the excuse that Fergus’ population grew 40%, so it does not need the money. She said, in fact, the 2006 census did not show Fergus growing anywhere near that figure, but provincial bureaucrats, seeking ways of their own to save money, decided to include Elora and Salem’s populations in that populaton figure.
She said the cuts do not consider the huge number of roads and bridges that the township must look after, and the cuts seem to match centres that have similar populations to Centre Wellington.
“All that’s been left out of the formula,” she said, adding that Ingersol faces “a similar hit.”
She concluded, “We can’t have municipalities going bankrupt” but at the same time, a huge increase in taxes could cause a tax revolt. “It hasn’t benefited residents at all – what’s going on. It’s against the philosophy of jobs. To hit that target [a $400,000 cut] will mean fewer jobs.”
