HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2015-03-11, Page 3Wednesday, March 11, 2015 • Huron Expositor 3
Huron county council Huron County debates regional broadband scheme
approves its 2015 budget
Budget unveils
a number of
fiscal pressures,
county says.
Marco Vigliotti
Huron Expositor
Huron County council has
voted in favour of a two per
cent hike in its general tax
levy as part of approving the
2015 budget for the upper -
tier municipality on March 4.
County Warden Paul Gow-
ing, who serves as Mayor for
Morris-Turnberry, says he was
pleased with the pace and
outcome of the budget pro-
cess, framing the two per cent
hike as within the municipali-
ty's target for the year.
"This was the first budget
deliberated by this council
since taking office in Decem-
ber and I was very pleased
with the quality of our dis-
cussions," he said in a pre-
pared statement. "We met
our target of keeping the
county levy to a two per cent
increase and passed the
budget in a timely fashion:'
According to the county,
the budget deliberation pro-
cess revealed an array of fis-
cal pressures that will impact
funding decisions for years
to come.
In a release from the
upper -tier government, the
county blamed what it called
a "rigid provincial tax ratio
structure" for placing an
"increasingly large tax bur-
den" on residential property
owners. It also cited the ris-
ing costs of "providing ser-
vices to an aging popula-
tion," as well as a reduction
File Photo
Huron County council has approved its 2015 budget. (Pictured)
Huron County Courthouse in downtown Goderich.
in Ontario Municipal Part-
nership Funding (OMPF),
for straining county coffers.
"In the past month, on
behalf of my fellow council-
lors, I've spoken to both the
Minister of Finance and
Minister of Agriculture, Food
and Rural Affairs about our
concerns regarding OMPF
cutbacks," Gowing said.
"Rural municipalities have to
work together to make the
province understand our
demographic and fiscal
realities:'
The county's operating
budget for 2015 pegs reve-
nue at about $92.4 million,
40 per cent of which comes
from taxes and 36 per cent
from provincial grants. The
remaining funding sources
include fees and service
charges, federal grants and
so-called other revenue,
which includes transfers
from the municipality's
reserves.
The capital budget for the
year totals $15.7 million, rep-
resenting a nearly $2 million
drop from 2014. About $11
million of the capital budget
is designated for public
works projects.
According to county
administrators, the upper -
tier government's guiding
philosophy for the budget
was ensuring "long-term
sustainability while main-
taining essential and valued
services."
The county sought to do
this, they say, by controlling
spending, properly manag-
ing its assets, maintaining its
reserves, increasing efficien-
cies and maintaining "a level
and realistic levy."
Details of the county's
budget have been summa-
rized by the treasury depart-
ment and are available for
residents to view on the
county's website at http://
www.huroncounty.ca/
financial/.
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invites you to attend a Public Meeting
March 23, 2015 7:00 — 9:00 pm
Clinton Arena & Community Centre
129 Beech St, Clinton ON NOM 1L0
Moderator
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Speaker Highlights
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County wants to
see business
plan before sending
representative
Marco Vigliotti
Huron Expositor
Huron County council is
delaying sending a representa-
tive to a regional high-speed
Internet committee after some
members raised concerns
about the absence of a busi-
ness plan from the group.
The Southwestern Inte-
grated Fibre Technology Com-
mittee (SWIFT) is petitioning
Huron County for a financial
commitment and to appoint a
representative from council to
sit on the committee.
Huron Warden Paul Gow-
ing, however, says council
wants to first see a business
plan before committing to the
group, which is seeking to cre-
ate a "ubiquitous, affordable
and accessible regional ultra-
high speed broadband regard-
less of population density,"
according to its website.
"It is not in our budget. We
will consider it when we get a
business plan," he told council
at its March 4 meeting.
According to Gowing,
SWIFT is only at the stage
where itis submitting requests
for information to find out
what kind of cable and Internet
infrastructure is "already in the
ground!'
"There's a lot of leg work to
be done here; he cautioned.
County administrators say
the invite represents a new
direction from SWIFT but stress
HURON
COUNT Y
that the organization behind
the committee, the Western
Ontario Wardens' Caucus
(WOWC), hasn't really dis-
closed details about what the
purpose is of the committee.
Gowing says he was
informed at a recent meeting
that Huron and Perth were the
lone counties from the
WOWC, which counts as
members every southwestern
county government from Sim-
coe to Essex, to not explicitly
declare their support for the
SWIFT high-speed initiative.
"Huron County and Perth
County are really the only two
that haven't put forth that we
are going to support this," he
said. "The other municipalities
are supporting (it) in
principle'
Gowing says he is taken
back by the fact that develop-
ment of a full business plan
from the group would take "at
least six months"
Another sticking point with
SWIFT remains discussions
with Internet service providers
in Huron County, which Gow-
ing claims "haven't moved for-
ward at all:'
According to a release from
the WOWC, the broadband
initiative could prove to be
immensely beneficial to the
region by allowing individuals
and businesses alike to have
faster and more reliable access
to crucial information
networks.
"Small and medium sized
businesses need broadband
access to market their goods
and services, communicate
with customers and suppliers,
source funding and interact
with employees working from
home or on the road," reads a
segment from the WOWC's
backgrounder on SWIFT.
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