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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-02-25, Page 1010 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, February 25, 2015 tijl HEART&'" MAKE Some councillors not impressed with sTaoK� HEALTH FOUNDATION LAST.cA advanced care paramedic program ASSESS YOUR RISK. ec.eritrailluron NOTICE Council will be receiving an Update on the Central Huron Feasibility Study at their Regular Council Meeting Monday, March 2, 2015 7:00 p.m. Council Chamber, 23 Albert Street, Clinton, ON The Agenda for this meeting will be posted on the municipal website Friday, February 27, 2015 www.centralhuron.com Own your home sooner with the best mortgage on the market. d/O ey axe • oLed 5 - ell Compare our 5 -Year Fixed "We've Got Your Back" mortgage to the big banks* at: meridiancu.ca/mortgages Credit Unions of Ontario Call 1-866-592-2226 and we'll have a Mortgage Specialist come to you. Meridian *Best mortgage on the market is based on a direct comparison of Meridian's featured 5 -Year Fixed Rate against the big banks' posted special rates online on their respective websites as of February 16, 2015. Limited time offer. Big banks are defined as: Toronto Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada,. Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Some conditions apply, Rates are subject to change without notice. -.Trademarks of Meridian Credit Union Limited. 02/2015. Dave Flaherty Huron Expositor The county's advanced care paramedic (ACP) program was scrutinized by some members of council this week. At the Feb. 18 committee of the whole meeting, Huron County EMS Chief Dave Lew provided councillors with a report on the program, which began in 2004. Information in the report indicated that the number of patients treated by ACPs in the county was down from 848 in 2011 to 652 in 2014. Despite this, Lew told coun- cil he believes the ACP pro- gram is a valuable asset to Huron County. ACPs are currently sta- tioned in Goderich, Exeter, Clinton and Wingham, the areas in the county with the highest numbers of calls. Howick Reeve Art Versteeg said he believes this is unfair to rural residents of the county, as those who live in less populated areas already have longer wait times for ambulances and now urban residents have the "extra ben- efit" of ACPs in their community. "I'm concerned we are not treating all our residents the same," he said. Versteeg also voiced his dis- pleasure with what he called an "unsolicited, unsigned let- ter" regarding the ACP pro- gram from a Huron County paramedic. CAO Brenda Orchard explained the letter had been circulated to council without her knowledge. She told council that in response she had set up meetings with both ACPs and primary care paramedics (PCPs) and that the message she received was the letter did not represent the opinions of most paramedics. Ashfield -Colborne Wawanosh Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek was not overly impressed with the report, calling the ACP program "hit and miss" at best. "I'm not suggesting ACPs are not a good thing, I'm just wondering if it is a good investment," he said. North Huron Mayor Neil Vincent said council needs to take a long hard look at the costs of the program and he isn't sure if it is something they can afford. Huron East Deputy Mayor Joe Steffler called the report "about 60% at best" noting there wasn't enough informa- tion on extra costs such as wage increases, training and equipment. There was one member of council who spoke in support of the program, Central Huron Jim Ginn. He said a Huron County primary care paramedic had approached him and advised him that the ACP program was indeed a valuable service. Before making a motion to receive the report for infor- mation, Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan said he believes the county would be better served to increase their EMS coverage in rural areas. Draft budget pushed one step closer to final approval Dave Flaherty Huron Expositor Huron County's 2015 budget is one step closer to being approved. The draft budget was passed at the committee of the whole meeting on Feb. 18. Treasurer Michael Blum- hagen told council that staff had reached the two per cent levy increase they had requested. He also indicated that using some of the 2014 surplus would not have an affect on county's reserves, which are estimated to be about $38 million at the end of 2015. However, Ashfield-Col- borne-Wawanosh Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek disagreed. "You are going down from $42 million to $38 million," Van Diepenbeek said. Blumhagen said he was try- ing to explain that in the con- text of the surplus, it would not affect reserves, but did agree that the service levels of the county wouldn't be sus- tainable for much longer. Van Diepenbeek conveyed his displeasure with the over- all composition of the budget. "We didn't cut one thing out," he said. In his opinion, the county has been granting the requests of every organization that approaches them. "The rumour on the street is if you need money, go to the county," he quipped. Blumhagen said there were a number of items that were taken out of the budget to bring it down to the two per cent increase. He also pointed out that Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) allocations to Huron County were down approximately $700,000 this year, which amounts to about two per cent of the county's budget. Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn said lower -tier munici- palities have had OMPF cuts as well and have had to find ways to cut down on their spending. "We have to have a really tight budget," he said, adding that the actual growth for Huron County is 0.8 per cent - a figure he said he believes should be the goal for this year's budget increase. Central Huron Deputy Mayor Dave Jewitt said they need a service review but it is too late in the budget process to start now. "We should have meetings to see what services we should be involved in," he said. "But don't cut just to get to an arbitrary number." Goderich Deputy Mayor Jim Donnelly said the budget was "reasonable" under the coun- ty's circumstances but steps need to be taken so they are not in the same position in future years. The budget will be brought to the March 4 county council meeting for final approval.