County looks for places to slash spending
Funding for new Campbellford bridge on the block
Northumberland County Council is looking for ways to cut about $9 million from projected spending in its 2026 budget so that it can stick to its plan for a 5 per cent tax hike.
Council had a special meeting on Friday, Aug. 18 to get a start on deciding what services and projects should be cut in order to hold the tax levy down. It decided to hold another session in September when it hopes to identify just what will be trimmed.
One of the possible cuts identified by a report from Matthew Nitsch, Director of Finance/Treasurer, was $1.6 million scheduled to be set aside in reserve for the bridge. County councillors are meeting in Ottawa this week with provincial cabinet ministers at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario annual meeting and will be pressing the province for provincial funding for the new bridge.
The updated design for the bridge is long overdue but has been promised soon. The construction cost won’t be known until tenders are received to build it. The county has said construction could start next year, if funding is in place.
Nitsch told councillors the 2026 budget is especially challenging because the county will have to make its first annual payment of $3.6 million on a debenture taken to finance the $144 million cost of the new Golden Plough Lodge long-term care facility in Cobourg.
“It represents a four-and-a-half per cent increase on the levy, just that alone, so when we’re talking about a target of five, that leaves .5 of a per cent (for increases) for the rest of County operations and capital programs,” Nitsch said.
In addition to asking staff to identify cuts, council asked them to report on whether there are services that should be downloaded to local municipalities.
Mandy Martin, Mayor of Cramhe Township, noted that almost 40 per cent of the county’s spending is on healthcare-related services from paramedics to long-term care to services for addiction and homelessness.
Crate warns mayors about broadband damage
I wrote last week about the damage that is being done to rural roads by the installers who are burying fibre-optic cables to support improved broadband service.
At the regular county council meeting last Wednesday, Mayor Bob Crate told his fellow councillors that they should be prepared because the installers will “destroy your roads.”
County Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Moore started the discussion when she suggested the broadband installation is going well and will soon be going live in some areas.
Crate responded with his warning about the damage done in Trent Hills and the fact the installers have tried to cover up the damage to culverts and refused to make repairs.
Moore then acknowledged that she had toured Port Hope roads with its Mayor Olena Hankivsky and had seen damage done.
Hankivsky asked who was going to take responsibility for the repairs and for maintaining the cables in coming years.
Moore suggested part of the problem is that the province, which is paying about half the $120-million cost of installation, is insisting that installers use a method that is cheaper and quicker but causes damage along the side of the road.
Uncertainty continues over service for homeless
The provision of services for homeless people in the county remains a bit unclear since under public pressure in Cobourg the county decided in June to change the programs it was offering at 310 Division Street.
At its meeting last week, council reviewed plans to have stricter rules for who can use that facility and to put a focus on helping people get housing, not care for any drug or alcohol addictions or mental health issues.
In early July, 310 Division closed its 24-hour warming or cooling centre that homeless people could use as a drop-in centre for a few hours. Under pressure from Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland, the county agreed to close that part of the operation and put that service anywhere but Cobourg.
Staff told council no other municipality has offered space for a warming/cooling centre. Cleveland said his town would pay transportation costs for anyone from Cobourg who wanted to attend a centre in another municipality.
Last week, Cleveland asked what was being done to help people with addictions or mental health issues since they are no longer welcome in Cobourg. “What do we do with them and their suffering?”
Staff responded that they don’t have a solution but are trying to support people as best they can.
There have been reports that some homeless people have tents in an area in Cobourg close to where YMCA Northumberland has been operating a summer camp. One camper recently found drug paraphernalia leading the YMCA to restrict where it is operating the camp.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories anytime on the website.
With respect to our damaged roads; incompetence, at the Provincial and County levels, comes at a price.
That’s any easy one. We have far too many people on the payroll in Campbellford. For starters just look at the number of vehicles/pickup trucks wandering around town with drivers and the odd passenger just sitting in them all day! It certainly looks wasteful. My tax dollars at work!