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North Kawartha council
welcomed Ron Gerow, Warden, and Gary King, Chief Administration Officer
from the County of Peterborough who were making their annual visits to the
townships. They provided a comprehensive review of the accomplishments of
the county. The message was clear: The increase in downloading costs from
the provincial and federal governments cannot be sustained by taxpayers.
They explained that, instead of a tax decrease of 0.09%, the county had to
increase taxes by 4.27% just to cover the additional costs of the
downloaded services. North Kawartha council has recognized this problem
for years and has been active in lobbying governments to reduce the
downloading. Some other key points of the presentation were:
1. Effective July 1, the
county council’s agendas will be electronic.
2. There will be a major
effort to improve access to all government buildings. Some officials have
estimated that as much as 30% of the aging population will have some form
of handicap in the next 10 years.
3. There is significant
work to develop tourism through the use of the GPS system and further
development work using the GIS mapping system.
4. $110 million is
required to maintain the county road system over the next 20 years.
There’s an additional $73 million required for new road construction. The
province and/or federal government will have to provide funding. The
county does not want to assume any more township roads.
5. Peterborough’s hospital
has the second busiest ER in the entire province. There are many
activities in place to handle the increasing workload and still meet
Service Review/Certification requirements.
6. There is a new $5.6
million ambulance base planned for Peterborough.
Child Care Centre for
the New School
A large delegation headed
by Sandy Zimmerman and Helen Osborne, consisting of many mothers and their
young children, filled the council chambers to encourage the council to
assist in obtaining a Day Care facility in the new school. Ms. Zimmerman
and Ms. Osborne stated that the Ministry of Education will provide funding
for the building structure and the Provincial Ministry of Children and
Youth determines the required budget each year. The discussion regarding
financing is complex. According to a similar existing Day Care in another
area, wage subsidies are not required, but Fee subsidies are needed to
assist families who cannot afford to pay the full Day Care cost. Fee
subsidies are provided by the Manager of Children’s Services.
Two needs assessments (the
most recent done in 2006 by the Peterborough Planning Council) resulted in
the plans for a Day Care centre in the new school. Although the federal
government cancelled the National Day Care Plan, the Ministry of Education
is committed to including childcare spaces in new schools. Councillor,
Carolyn Amyotte agreed that the Day care facilities are needed because,
although private Day care providers give excellent service, it is
inconsistent and undependable. Deputy Reeve, Barry Rand, stated that “We
should get everything we want.” explaining that letters to the right
people will clear up any misunderstandings.
Council agreed to lobby
for Day Care in the new school. Township Official Plan and Strategic
Planning Meetings Strategic Planning meetings will be held on May 23,25
and June 12,13 from 9:00 to 12:00.
An Open House regarding
the Township Official Plan will be held June 20 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
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