Peggy Revell
Only part of the savings from uploading the Ontario Drug Benefit Program will be passed along to municipalities after the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board approved its 2011-12 budget last Thursday night.
This year, DSSAB saw its budget fall from $20,479,372 to $15,463,816—a reduction of $5,015,556, or 24.49 percent.
The majority (90 percent) of this reduction comes from shifting costs of the Ontario Drug Benefit program to the province, with $448,000 in savings for district municipalities expected due to this uploading.
But the approved budget saw just $229,141 of the estimated savings used by the board to offset increases in its other programs.
Taking the uploading out of the picture, the increased costs would have result in an average 2.64 percent increase on the municipal levy.
When the uploading is factored in, however, municipalities overall will see a $219,097 decrease in the levy, or an average 4.64 percent.
The exact levies for each municipality have yet to be determined or approved as apportionment of the budget is slated for April’s meeting.
But the new apportionment formula approved last year by the board likely will see the levies for Fort Frances, Lake of the Woods, La Vallee, and Morley increase while other municipalities will see a decrease.
Although this year’s budget passed, board members were split over it.
“This isn’t just a one-way street for municipalities,” argued John Callan, who represents the unorganized territories of Rainy River District Central.
“We’ve got people all over the district for ambulance service, housing—not every community has housing, but we’ve got a lot of clients,” he noted. “We just can’t forget these people and just think about the municipal component.”
While Callan said he understands representatives wanting to reduce the municipal share, he warned he “can see DSSAB going down the tubes in terms of meeting its obligations” if the budget continued to be cut.
“We’re not even anywhere near, in my view, keeping pace with inflation in terms of where we were and where we should be,” he noted.
As well, board members expressed worry that cuts simply postponed inevitable costs.
“We’re saving money this year, but we’re really not saving money because we’re just deferring,” said Rainy River Mayor Debbie Ewald.
“At some point these things are going to have to be done,” she stressed.
Callan agreed—pointing to how the cost to replace the ambulance base roof in Fort Frances back in 2007 was estimated at $30,000 but now it’s an estimated cost of $45,000.
“All you’re doing is postponing the inevitable,” he reiterated. “It’s not going to get any cheaper, it’s going to cost more in the end.”
But while inflation and costs have gone up, Atikokan Mayor Dennis Brown said one thing that hasn’t risen are salaries—pointing to the cut in pay local mill workers have taken as well as how people from Atikokan have headed to Alberta seeking jobs.
“They’re all hurting, John. You have to take that into consideration,” Mayor Brown remarked, although conceding that at this point in the process, the budget passed was the “best we can do.”
During last Thursday’s meeting, Mayor Brown also noted that any further budget cuts would mean touching staff—something they didn’t want to do until more facts are available.
Voting against the budget were Fort Frances Coun. Ken Perry, La Vallee Reeve Ross Donaldson, and Lake of the Woods Township Mayor Val Pizey, who were vocal in the need for further budget cuts.
Mayor Pizey noted the majority of her constituents are seniors just trying to stay in their homes—many of which are waterfront lots settled before the area became a place for seasonal residents.
“I can’t keep asking them to pay more money on their waterfront lots because they want to stay in their own homes, but the prices of taxes go up on the recreational property,” she said, pointing out that having these senior residents remain in their home for as long as possible means they’re saving taxpayers money in the long run.
“I know there’s a mission there to look after people, and I want to look after the people in my municipality, too.
“We have to determine the balance between what municipalities can afford and the service level,” Mayor Pizey reasoned.
“Maybe we’re driving a Cadillac when we should be driving a Ford.”
“But you may need a Cadillac because you’re hauling more people than the Ford can hold,” countered Alberton Coun. Mike Ford, stressing it’s the responsibility of the board to ensure the DSSAB can function.
“As councillors in our council chambers, every year we have budget increases from the OPP,” he noted. “We’re not going to the OPP police services board and getting them to nickel-and-dime everything.
“This program needs ‘X’ amount of operate, and if you start poking holes in it, people start falling through the holes. It’s point-blank,” Coun. Ford argued, noting that if an increase is needed to ensure DSSAB has the right amount to operate, then his municipality will find savings elsewhere.
“The social safety net you have to leave that intact,” he stressed. “It’s not like [DSSAB is] running around to all these social housing units putting gold fixtures in the bathrooms.
“They need this to operate.”
Part of this year budget’s increase is due to negotiated salary increases, noted DSSAB financial manager Leanne Eluik. But the majority is due to the use of reserves in the prior year to offset general operating cost increases.
These costs were not eliminated in 2010. They were, in effect, just deferred to 2011, she explained.
Meanwhile, cuts in this year’s budget are mainly to general operating costs, Eluik noted, saying they will not impact staffing and “most importantly will not affect client service.”
While opinions differed on the budget, board members agreed they need to start right away examining the organization to be better prepared for next year’s budget.
This includes a “top to bottom” review of operations, staffing, and more.
Citing the hard work of DSSAB staff to put together this year’s budget and find savings where they could, Morley rep Moe Henry also stressed the need to work with them in the upcoming months to see where they could find greater efficiencies.
“They know what we’re looking for and I don’t think they’re going to pull the wool over our eyes,” he remarked.
“I think they’re going to come up with some good answers, and I think we’ve got to be prepared to work with them and find out.
“And I think that’s got to start immediately because if we don’t, come next March it’s going to be the same thing,” Henry warned.
As well, board members decided more effort and lobbying is needed—through working with other DSSABs, the Rainy River District Municipal Association, and Northern Ontario Municipal Association—to raise concerns with the province over funding for programs like Ontario Works, social housing, and child care.
