MINUTES. The Municipal Council of the Municipality of Middlesex Centre met in Regular Session in the Council Chamber on December 7, 2016 at 4:00 pm.

Transcription

1 January 11, 2017 Page 1 of 7 Wednesday, December 7, :00 pm Middlesex Centre Municipal Office MINUTES The Municipal Council of the Municipality of Middlesex Centre met in Regular Session in the Council Chamber on December 7, 2016 at 4:00 pm. COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Edmondson - Chair presiding, Deputy Mayor DeViet, Councillors Harvey, Brennan, McMillan, Silva and Berze. STAFF PRESENT: Michelle Smibert CAO, Stephanie Troyer-Boyd Clerk, Arnie Marsman Director of Planning and Development Services, Brian Lima Director of Public Works and Engineering, Scott Mairs Director of Community Services, Tiffany Farrell Director of Corporate Services, Mark Rennison Acting Fire Chief. ALSO PRESENT: Members of the public and press. 1.0 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Edmondson called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. 2.0 ADOPTION OF THE ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA R Motion by Councillor Harvey and Councillor Silva THAT the Additions to the Regular Agenda of Council dated December 7, 2016 be added to the Agenda as printed. Item 6.3 Staff Report - Application of Stormwater Management Rates in Designated Settlement Areas 3.0 BUSINESS FOR WHICH PREVIOUS NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN 4.0 DISCLOSURE OF PECUNIARY INTEREST AND THE GENERAL NATURE THEREOF The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act requires any member of Council declaring a pecuniary interest and the general nature thereof, where the interest of a member of Council has not been disclosed by reason of the member s absence from the meeting, to disclose the interest at the first open meeting attended by the member of Council and otherwise comply with the Act. Name Item Nature None were disclosed on December 7, 2016.

2 January 11, 2017 Page 2 of 7 Council Minutes 2 December 7, BUDGET QUESTIONS 4:00pm Budget Questions Carl Thomas 1. Who gave the legal go ahead for this Storm Water Charge? Council in their authority in accordance with the Municipal Act 2001 accepted staff subject report and authorized the regulation of the supporting bylaw. Were other municipalities consulted? (Strathroy Caradoc) Yes. Other municipalities consulted included (Strathroy-Caradoc, Thames Centre, City of London, City of St. Thomas, City of Kitchener, City of Waterloo, City of Cambridge, City of Guelph, the Municipality of Peel Region, City of Vaughan, City of Toronto, the Municipality of Richmond Hill, etc. 2. Why would farm laneways leading to farms be subject to the same charge as residential lots? All properties situated within one of Middlesex Centre s settlement community boundaries as defined by the Municipality s Official Plan is required to contribute to the Stormwater Management Fund. 3. Why are these charges limited to build up areas? All properties situated external of one of Middlesex Centre s settlement community boundaries as defined by the Municipality s Official Plan is assessed its respective stormwater contribution in accordance with the Ontario Drainage Act How do you justify Storm Water charges in unserviced areas? Municipalities across Ontario including Middlesex Centre are facing increasing infrastructure backlogs, funding gaps, and increased financial pressures of our stormwater infrastructure management. These challenges have been driven by aging infrastructure, environmental and public health issues, limited ability to raise funds from property taxes, resulting competition for resources from other municipal responsibilities, more rigorous regulatory and design standards for storm operations, and more severe frequent storm events wreaking havoc on our municipal infrastructure; highlighting that stormwater services are significantly underfunded. Historically as is the case for Middlesex Centre, stormwater management has been financed through wastewater rates, but these methods have proven to be undependable and inadequate. The Municipality s Asset Management Plan, dated December 2013, estimated the replacement cost of the stormwater system at $53.2 million. A stormwater management program is very capital intensive and projects often take years to complete and cannot be successful completed without a consistent, dedicated source of revenue on which it can rely. The new stormwater infrastructure reserve fund will be drawn upon to address such aging infrastructure, undertake required annual Ministry reporting, maintenance,

3 January 11, 2017 Page 3 of 7 Council Minutes 3 December 7, 2016 on-going operation, rehabilitation, improvements and upgrades to the Municipality s stormwater management infrastructure which includes but is not limited to roadside ditches, culverts, catch basins, oil grit separators, ponds, storm sewers, etc. 5. Does the Coldstream Conservation Area receive a bill for Storm Water? No the Coldstream Conservation Area is exempt. 6. A cemetery is exempt from these charges. Why not churches? Church properties are deemed no differently than a residential, industrial, commercial or industrial property, stormwater collected on site is typically conveyed offsite to the Municipality s stormwater management infrastructure. Marilyn Thomas 1. Why would a property whose greater part is classified as Provincially Significant Wetlands and whose other part is totally controlled by the Conservation Authority be subject to Storm Water Charges? * note: wetlands are water absorbers Despite a portion of the subject property having received a special designation from the St. Clair Conservation Authority which gives the property owner some tax relief, the same property also has a residential component which is not exempt from contributing to the Municipality s Stormwater Management Rate which applies to all properties irrespective of size within the Municipality s respective urban settlement boundary limits. Jason Derks 1. What benefits will the residents of the hamlet of Lobo experience with the 12% increase in the cost of living due to the 1000% + increase in the cost of water related fees? Residents of Lobo who s properties are situated within the settlement communities boundary limits as defined by the Municipality s Official Plan will no longer be billed under the Ontario Drainage Act 1990 for municipal drain maintenance or upgrades associated with the McKellar Drain which currently provides stormwater management for Lobo. Instead whenever proactive ongoing maintenance of said municipal drain occurs in future, such Lobo settlement contributing costs will be funded by the Stormwater Management Fund. 2. Can Council review Municipal Act 2001, S.O c. 25, section 11, subsection 3, point 6 as it has been cited by the municipality to implement the Storm water fee bylaw? Stormwater management is covered under section 11(3)4 Public Utilities. The purpose of writing except storm sewers in section 11(3)6 is to differentiate between the by-laws that may be passed pursuant to section 11(3)4 which would include storm sewers and more general drainage/flooding by-laws pursuant to section 11(3)6.

4 January 11, 2017 Page 4 of 7 Council Minutes 4 December 7, Will residents of Municipal drains continue to occur fees for maintenance and repairs as legislated in the Ontario drainage act if they are previed to the storm water by law? Residents of Lobo whose properties are situated within the settlement communities boundary limits as defined by the Municipality s Official Plan will no longer be billed under the Ontario Drainage Act 1990 for municipal drain maintenance or upgrades. Instead whenever proactive ongoing maintenance of said municipal drain occurs in future, such Lobo settlement contributing costs will be funded by the Stormwater Management Fund. Paul Stevens and Susan Beauchamp 1. If our Storm Water Tax is to used throughout the whole municipality should not the whole of the municipality share the burden of said tax? All properties situated within one of Middlesex Centre s settlement community boundaries as defined by the Municipality s Official Plan are required to contribute to the Stormwater Management Fund, while all remaining properties situated external of such respective settlement community boundaries are assessed their respective stormwater contribution in accordance with the Ontario Drainage Act Stephanie Egelton 1. What is in the budget for creation of new positions within the municipality? This is not a yearly occurrence. Co-op or Student or part time in the office (has happened in the past, we apply for funding each year for this) - $15, filing, Co-op Mechanic $26,000.96, Lead Hand $34,992.10, Engineering Technologist - $73, Total $153, John Szentimrey 1. I try to watch the municipal website, and I have noticed that we seem to always be hiring? Is it just my perception that the number of staff is constantly growing? Are we replacing people that have left their positions? Is this mainly seasonal positions? In 2016 there were 7 new staff members added the financial analyst and 6 in the Waster Wastewater department to bring those services in house. The other postings are for seasonal positions (winter and summer) and people who have left. Presently we have one vacant position Road Superintendent. 2. I would like to know historically what our total labour and benefits are as a percentage of the budget, and what the total number of municipal employees has been over the same time period. It would be meaningful to me to understand the ratio of employees to tax payers also during the same time period.

5 January 11, 2017 Page 5 of 7 Council Minutes 5 December 7, 2016 This was included in the 2017 Budget presentation. Middlesex Centre (salary and benefits as a % of operating costs) in 2017 is projected at 24.8%, in 2015 this was 21%, the increase is mainly due to taking water and wastewater in-house. To put in perspective - London is 40% (MC with policing 31.8% 2017), Strathroy is 40%, Tecumseh is 27% and Lucan is 25%. 6.0 STAFF REPORTS 6.1 PWE Water and Wastewater Rate Proposal Brian Lima summarized the 2017 water and wastewater rate review and presented the proposal for the 2017 water and wastewater rates; the rates are proposed to be unchanged from Councillor Brennan acknowledged the significant savings from bringing operations in house. He noted the start-up costs to this change would be absorbed in the first year. With this in mind, he questioned whether the savings would increase in subsequent years. Brian Lima stated that staff have looked at projections for 10 years; he stated that this change is the beginning of water and wastewater rates stabilizing. A rate review is taken on an annual basis. He also commented that increased number of customers through development helps to pay for existing debt and future commitments. Brian Lima stated that there appears to be a positive trend and moving in the right direction. Hope to have similar announcements in future years. Councillor Silva noted that the staff report had an analysis with 3 options. He questioned the possibility of providing short term relief in 2017 by lowering the rates. Brian Lima stated that if the rates were cut back now, there would have to be a catch up later. He acknowledged that residents want relief and that a rate freeze is relief with the possibility that it will extend in future years. R Motion by Deputy Mayor DeViet and Councillor Harvey THAT the 2017 water and wastewater rates remain unchanged from the 2016 water and wastewater rates. 6.2 CA Recruitment of Fire Chief Position Councillor Brennan stated that he received positive comments after Nigel Bellchamber met with the fire department members. He stated that he heard people were happy and felt that he was listening to them. Councillor Brennan stated that would like to see Nigel on the selection committee as he now has firsthand knowledge of what fire personnel would like to see in a new chief. R Motion by Councillor Brennan and Councillor McMillan THAT Nigel Bellchamber be asked to join the selection committee for the Fire Chief recruit.

6 January 11, 2017 Page 6 of 7 Council Minutes 6 December 7, 2016 R Motion by Councillor Silva and Councillor Harvey THAT staff be authorized to proceed with the recruit of the Fire Chief Position. 6.3 PWE Application of Stormwater Management Rates in Designated Settlement Areas Brian Lima presented his report regarding the application of stormwater rates in all settlement areas including those not serviced with curbs and gutters. He stated that past practice has always been reactive to stormwater events and staff want to have a more proactive approach with management of infrastructure. Mr. Lima stated that the intent is to create a sustainable, predictable and proactive funding source to support the municipality s stormwater infrastructure and programs necessary to maintain and replace it over time. He noted that very little was ever attended to in settlement boundary communities. Councillor McMillan stated that she has a problem with using the settlement boundary areas in the official plan for determination of stormwater charges. She stated that in some instances, the boundary is down the middle of a street where people on one side of the street pay and the other side doesn t. Councillor McMillan stated that she understands the administration is easier if the Official Plan settlement area and boundaries are used, but it isn t fair. Brian Lima stated that this method is common practice and that from an implementation standpoint, it is the easiest way to administer this charge. Councillor McMillan noted that she agrees that stormwater needs to be addressed, that a reserve needs to be established and maintenance funded through stormwater charges. She stated that she believes that most money in the reserve will go to urban areas like Komoka and Delaware and that hamlets that are nonprimary growth areas should not be charged the same monthly rate as services areas. Brian Lima stated that while all areas may not have the conventional storm sewers, there are mechanisms in place to service stormwater issues. He noted that standards have changed over time and that we all share a burden of the responsibility and need to be part of the solution. Whether your house is directly connected or not we all contribute and benefit from storm infrastructure. Councillor McMillan maintained that residents in the hamlets should not be charged the same monthly fee as the serviced areas. R Motion by Councillor Silva and Councillor Berze THAT the Application of Stormwater Management Rates in Designated Settlement Areas report be received for information BUDGET PRESENTATION Budget Presentation

7 January 11, 2017 Page 7 of 7 Council Minutes 7 December 7, 2016 Tiffany Farrell, Director of Corporate Services, presented the 2017 budget providing specific information on how the municipal budget works and how municipal services are funded. She explained how the budget is at the centre of the municipal finance system noting that, through the budget, Council decides the municipality's yearly priorities by setting aside money for programs and services. Tiffany Farrell highlighted that the budget reflects the municipality s policies and careful budget planning and control mean better services for the residents. Tiffany Farrell highlighted how assessment increases effect the tax rate for various tax classes; she noted that 2017 is a reassessment year. She also made note of the municipal tax rate and how it compares with other municipalities across the County but cautioned that straight up comparison is not always a good indicator of financial position. The presentation included a summary of the public engagement efforts, an analysis of the documents referenced in the budget preparation and departmental highlights and projects for R Motion by Councillor McMillan and Deputy Mayor Deviet THAT Council recess until 6:45pm. At 6:45, staff continued with the presentation of the 2017 Budget. 8.0 NEW BUSINESS None was raised on December 7, BY-LAWS 9.1 By-Law Confirming - December 7, 2016 R Motion by Councillor Brennan and Councillor McMillan THAT By-Law be approved and this constitutes first, second and third reading and that By-Law is hereby enacted ADJOURNMENT R Motion by Deputy Mayor DeViet and Councillor Harvey THAT the meeting adjourn at 8:15 pm. The next Council meeting is Wednesday, December 14th, 2016 at 4:00 pm in the Council Chamber.