My View – Why bother? – by Bill French

On October 27^th we will be asked to exercise our democratic right by electing our new municipal council for the 2014 to 2018 time period. Many will get involved and really study what people like me will promise to do in the next four years. Sadly most people will ignore what is happening and will simply not exercise their right to choose those that will run the Township of Springwater. Just over 30% of our eligible residents voted in the last municipal election in 2010.

For the most part, I believe most people that seek election at the local level do so with the best of intentions. If you look at our current council, none of them are outright dishonest and are doing what they think is right. I definitely feel some of them have not done their job, have ignored the pleas of the constituents and have lost sight of the reason they were elected in the first place.

I see the next election as pivotal for the township and will set the path for either controlled growth and prosperity or mega growth and the effective destruction of the Township as it exists today.

People and especially those in Midhurst are very concerned and involved and rightfully so. But they are not only concerned about what may happen to them but are also truly concerned about the terrible impact on Springwater as a whole. They do believe in the concept of Springwater being a community of communities. Whether you live in Elmvale, Hillsdale, Phelpston, Anten Mills, Minesing, Snow Valley, Fergusonvale, Apto, Centre Vespra or Grenfel, we will all pay the price for what happens in our two larger settlement areas of Midhurst and Elmvale.

I happened to watch a special on the Documentary Channel on the invasion of Wind Turbines in Upper New York State and how the Meredith Town Council with great intentions and concern for green energy embraced the idea. It took a group much like the Midhurst Ratepayers Association to bring sanity to the situation. The similarities were interesting. A citizens group in Meredith New York was formed, started attending council meetings, showed their disagreement with the plan and just like in Midhurst, their message fell on deaf ears. Meredith fixed the problem. They elected a council that simply listened and took their concerns into consideration and have passed a by-law to outlaw Wind Turbines. The only ones that are upset are the landowners that would have profited from the 400 foot structures on their property. If the Midhurst Secondary Plan is cancelled by an executive order from a provincial minister it will only be the landowners, that would have prospered by selling the land to the out of town investors,  that will be upset.

Midhurst is one issue. I think there are two other important things to consider as you choose who you want to vote for in any of the council positions in the next election.

Transparency with our current council has been slowly reduced. They only agreed to the 10 minute question period at Council and Planning Meetings after months of pressure from residents at the beginning of the term. Unfortunately they cut the question period opportunities in half by cutting the number of council meetings to once a month.

Debt and Reserves, which I addressed in my budget articles, are a serious issue in our township. This council missed the opportunity three times to actually reduce spending and simply focused on low tax increases by borrowing and emptying our bank account. That can only work for the short term.

It is time to shake up our local government and really run this township based on every resident’s view of self-determination. In our case we can only do that by electing a Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors that follow the will of the people and not be solely influenced by a small group of self-serving landowners and out of township corporations.

Get involved. Many of you have grandchildren, as I do, and it is our responsibility to leave a legacy and say that we did our best to make our wonderful Township of Springwater a model of what rural living can be in the province of Ontario.

It is up to you and me!

French Seeks Springwater's Top Job

Long time resident and community advocate filed nomination papers today in his bid to be Mayor of Springwater Township.
This is Bill's second attempt to become mayor of the township in this October's Municipal Election.
Bill will launch his official campaign and election platform May 1st.
If you would like to join the French for Mayor campaign contact Bill directly at 705-718-7031 or email bill.french@hotmail.com

Final Comments 2014 Springwater Township Budget - by Bill French

My last post outlined in detail some of the concerns I have with the 2014 Budget that was tabled for approval February 25^th .

The following are the final comments I submitted to the Council and Administration before this upcoming Tuesday Feb 25th Meeting. It appears in italics.

"I have reviewed the proposed 2014 Operating and Capital Budgets for Springwater.

I agree with the continued focus on replacing and maintaining our neglected infrastructure. I do not believe that the approach has been specific or as detailed as possible to make the best of the borrowed or use of reserve funds. There have been unnecessary "nice to have" instead of "must have" expenditures in the last couple of years.
I fear by the township's willingness to borrow freely, which seems to be supported by some constituents, that we are falling into the same predicament as other higher levels of government because of low rates.
I do not believe any of the last three years of budgeting has really provided any of the efficiencies that are widely talked about but do not show up as operating reductions. The operating budget continues to rise which signifies no serious attempts at cost cutting have occurred.
I believe our debt servicing costs should be no more than 15% of tax revenues rather than total revenues which helps control debt and allows 10% more of the tax dollars to be spent on actual services rather than being wasted on unnecessary debt or use of reserves.
As an example $10,000,000 borrowed over 20 years at 5% costs about $16,000,000. In other words $6,000,000 is wasted and the opportunity costs are significant.
I would ask that the approval be delayed until everyone has a real chance to review all the costs and possible suggest savings of $1,000,000 in operating which would reduce the debt and use of reserves and deliver the same service levels if properly managed.
Since there is no time limit for the approval of the budget, why rush it? If there are some items that require approval, approve them individually.
Too much focus has been put into creating a favourable election year budget with a low tax rate rather than a fiscally responsible long term plan for the Township of Springwater."

As taxpayers it is our responsibility to pressure our elected officials to think long term when creating debt loads that could have a negative impact on us as taxpayers long after this council is gone and forgotten. 

The one benefit we have in Springwater is that our average property assessment is about 40% higher than Barrie which keeps our tax rate in the mid-range of area tax rates. Because of this higher than average property assessment, I believe we should have one of the lowest tax rates in the area. If it was not for our higher than average property assessment and a lot less services than urban centres, our taxes would in fact be much higher than our neighbors. To keep things in check we must tighten our belts in spending along with careful debt loading and use of reserves.

I do not believe enough effort was done to cut spending either in the operation or capital spending sides of the budget and the council was led by the temptation of low interest rates which also seems to be the theme of those constituents who wrote and support the budget.

If the budget passes without any significant changes you as a taxpayer will have a low increases in your tax bill this year, which is welcomed, but as the expression goes at some time “we must pay the piper”.

You have a couple of days to contact the Mayor, Deputy Mayor or your councillor. I suggest you read the budget material on the township website and ask questions.

Springwater 2014 Budget - Disaster is Looming with this "Vote Seeking Budget"

The township held a public meeting Feb 10^th to discuss and recommend passing its 2014 operating and capital budget on Feb 25^th at a special public meeting of council. It appears that this council, especially the senior members, have become a little less committed to the importance of tight fiscal management than they were when first elected. The mayor will tell you the delay in tabling the budget was caused by the departure of the former CFO and the new CFO only came on board recently. God forbid if we lose the director of public works. Does that mean we won’t get our roads plowed until a new director is hired?

The progressive vision shown in the budget of 2011, the first fiscal year of this council’s mandate, disappeared in 2012 and 2013 and has fallen back into the old ways of doing things in the 2014 budget. They took last year’s budget, fiddled some numbers, threw in the odd bone that appears like a saving and added a small tax increase so no one will really notice and get upset. Creative thinking like giving the lower wage employees higher percentage (but not more actual dollars) than higher paid senior staff was abandoned after the first year. The argument was that to keep senior staff we must pay more money doesn’t seem to work as those are the people that actually left when they got raises and re-slotted to premium pay levels. It certainly helped pump up their resumes. Even things like the way they did road maintenance budgeting and reducing some vehicles and routes in the 2011 budget disappeared in 2012 and 2013 and is not even on the radar in the 2014 budget. When you dig a little deeper this budget will saddle the next council with some disturbing trends. There are no new ideas or attempts to provide more service for less. The good news in the next tax year is that overall taxes will only increase 1.5%. If you plan to leave the township in the next couple of years you are in good shape. If you plan to stay like I do, we are in big trouble. The best analogy I heard was comparing it to our landscape in Springwater this winter. After a snowfall, everything looks beautiful even the manure piles are covered with snow. The budgeting and fiscal approach with this council is definitely a very large manure pile waiting for a spring thaw to expose it.

There was a good showing of the ratepayers at this meeting and they focused on a number of areas that should be of concern. Most people are worried about two key factors. The debt will grow to $11M ($1300 for every household) from the existing $4.5M ($520 for every household) today in the next 3years, obligatory reserves of about $5M will disappear and we will be at around 90% of our debt capacity. That is a negative dollar swing of $11.5M by 2016. Doesn’t sound too rosy to me.

Those on full municipal services will see their water rates increase about 3.4% next year and I believe will be accelerated as about 15% of operating costs are actually coming from reserves that are supposed to be set aside for future repairs. In the case of wastewater the rate will increase 3% but again may be short term as 25% of the operating budget is coming from reserves.

During the public comment section I suggested that if I were running the corporation I would be looking at carving at least $2M out of the budget by focusing on the three large expenditure areas, capital, contracting services and salaries and benefits. If done with the skill of a surgeon the budget could be brought into control. Councillor Webster in his usual fashion did a little rant to suggest that if we don’t have confidence in the staff we might as well send them all home and come in and run the corporation. Someone from the gallery said that might not be a bad idea. That’s not the point and don’t agree as for the most part we have good staff at Springwater. The question should be “what incentive has this council given to the senior staff to actually reduce budgets”? This council gave the direction last July to keep increases to less than 2.5%. Staff did that. I am sure if they had been told we want to see an overall reduction of 2% they would have come back with a solution. I don’t hold staff responsible for this budget I hold council responsible. The council thinks in the old way, so of course direction is given the way it has been for the last 20 years.

Deputy Mayor McLean and I have two opposing opinions of the actual operating budget. I told him at the end of the meeting that the operating budget is in a deficit position. In other words we are spending more money than actually comes in each year. The budget has expenditures of $25.9M. My calculations are that we have real income from Taxes, user fees and investment income of about $17M when you exclude long term debt and transfers from reserves. I see debt and reserves as using our credit card and drawing down our savings to pay the regular bills which means at some point we will have no savings and tap out our credit cards. So I believe the 2014 budget has an operating deficit of $8.8M. It’s all in the way you read the numbers. I am concerned.

The CFO commented that debt is a way of building infrastructure and spreading it out over a period of time to the benefit of future residents. Being 67, I remember when you had to have a 25% down payment to buy a house; you saved up for your first car, TV, etc. We should be building reserves to buy future infrastructure, not debt.

My closing comment last night was that I wish our staff and council would look at what is happening in Windsor. It is a depressed area with high unemployment but guess what? By taking a surgical approach to all aspects of its budget, it has had no tax increases in 6 years, it has reduced its debt by 50%, it has doubled its reserves and also built new infrastructure. In business we call that benchmarking.

It’s your budget and if you don’t put pressure on your council to make a dramatic change, this will be the start of a big hole we are digging fiscally.

It was apparent that Hanna, McConkey and Ritchie were concerned about the public comments and asked for another full discussion on the matter at a meeting before passing the budget on Feb 25^th which is the scheduled date for approval. Collins, McLean, Webster and Clement want to keep the 25^th as the approval date so they can carry the budget as it is. If that date is delayed and it happens in March, one member of the council that will support it will be in Florida and because it would be a tied vote, the motion would be defeated. There is no reason to rush this important budget except for political motivation. McConkey’s motion to have another meeting was passed but I believe it will be rushed and made as inconvenient as possible since, like many of us, she has a job to go to and getting time off is not as easy as it used to be.

Read the budget information on the township website or pick up a copy at the township office and see what you think. You and I are the ones paying.

In closing this is an election year budget with a low tax increase to avoid an unfavourable impression on those members of this council that will run again.

Recent Springwater Township Council Actions

A number of things have transpired at Township Council that suggests that some are jockeying for position for the Fall 2014 Municipal Elections.

It was interesting to see the council pass “lame duck” authority to the CAO in December of 2013. To simplify, “lame duck” council means that if it is known there are a number of councilors not running in the next election, the council is not permitted to make major decisions that may not be supported by a new council for two periods. The one period is from the close of nominations which is September 12 until election day and the second period is from election day until the end of the current council’s term. You only have “lame duck” if 25% of the existing council is not running in the next election. Since two councilors have not declared they are not running, we do not know if there will be a “lame duck” council or not. Being a conspiracy guy I can only see a couple of reasons to pass this motion at this time. We all know there are big development plans for Midhurst, the approval of the new Firehall in Midhurst and the approval of the Multi Use Recreation Facility in Midhurst that are contentious issues for a few on council. Under this designation of authority, the CAO could possibly approve them without further council debate in the “lame duck” period. The key point is that the “lame duck” motion could have been passed at the council meeting in August or had a special council meeting the week before nominations close after we know who is running or not. Yes, there are a few on council that think we are all idiots and don’t notice this kind of charade!

On a more positive note I must give credit to the council, even though they dragged their feet for a while at the beginning of the term, for question period at Council and Planning meetings as it has been productive. The clerk published a document reporting the questions asked and answered. Contrary to the concerns of being a public nuisance, which was the position of Collins, Webster, McLean and Clement at the beginning of the term, it turned out to be informative and yes a few times challenging for the councilors, but it kept them on their toes. It has also attracted more residents to these meetings as they feel they can contribute. I understand a former member of council who is considering running again has stated to a few people that he will eliminate question period if he gets elected. Guess who that is?

I was pleased to see the CAO confirm at the last council meeting something I have said for over a year about agreements between the township and the Midhurst Landowners and Developers. The only agreement that has been signed is for the costs of the Environmental Assessment Studies for the Midhurst Mega Developments which are in the neighborhood of about $500,000. However there are no agreements in place for the actual $100 million plus infrastructure costs associated with the development of 5,000 homes. There is a proposal letter from the landowner’s agent/trustee outlining the phasing of the development but this is not a letter of intent as it has not been signed by the actual parties. I hope someone thinks it is a good idea to get some agreement to cover the $100 million infrastructure costs or guess who will be on the hook?

As you will recall, Councillor McConkey got ejected from council last year because Deputy Mayor McLean was offended by a comment she made about being “unethical” and asked for her ejection. I will not comment on that as local lawyer Gary French did an excellent article on that some time ago. I was not at the meeting in December but Councillor Ritchie, out of frustration about the “lame duck” motion, made some comment about “collusion”. Guess what? At Monday’s meeting, he withdrew the use of the word collusion. I wonder if the same person that caused the ejection of McConkey went down the road and prompted Ritchie to withdraw the use of the word. At least that someone who may have talked to Ritchie didn’t have him ejected from council. McConkey did have a good question after Ritchie withdrew the use of the word collusion. She asked if there was going to be a motion to accept Ritchie’s withdrawal as was the case when she withdrew the use of the word “unethical” that offended the Deputy Mayor. Mayor Collins said “no” as it was a different matter. Interesting answer. At least the Mayor and Deputy Mayor have realized that depriving the elected member from participating in council meetings is not well taken by the electorate. Even Rob Ford who’s behavior is unforgiveable was not ejected from Council proceedings, as it is his right in the municipal act to represent the people that elected him.

It is great to see the number of people from all areas of Springwater at the Council, Planning and Budget meetings in recent weeks. People are waking up and realizing that we need to be informed and let our elected councillors know how we feel. I believe most on council are well intentioned and want to do what is right. If we don’t let them know where we stand, how can they do a good job? We elected them to represent our vision for the future of Springwater. It is important that we continually remind them of where we sit on matters.

If you do not engage, pay attention and speak up, you will get what you deserve. The next council for this municipality will be saddled with the most expensive projects and highest debt levels Springwater has ever encountered and you must decide in the Fall election who will take care of your best interests.

My View - Part 6 Final Part- Springwater Township’s Response to Questions regarding the Mega Developments of the Midhurst Secondary Plan

On May 17^th of this year the township held an information meeting and provided documents as an overview for the Midhurst Secondary Plan titled Midhurst 20/20. There was also a public open house on the Midhurst Secondary Plan EA process on May 29^th.

In September the township published its response to the questions posed and held a special council meeting on September 17^th with a hired lawyer to outline the township’s position. This is the sixth installment of articles on this complex issue. I encourage you to read the document yourself (found on the township website under Governance/Public Consultation/Midhurst Secondary Plan) and form your own opinion. Certain questions and answers are truncated for space consideration.

This is the last in a six part series that dissected the answers provided.

Question 57: Is the Township Council going to cancel the MSP since the current residents of Midhurst are opposed to it?

Township Answer: The matter will be discussed by the Township Solicitor at the Special Meeting of Council to be held on September 17^th.

My Opinion: Since Collins, McLean, Webster, Clement and regrettably my councilor McConkey think this development is good for the township, they in fact passed a motion at the meeting to “not revisit, discuss or revise” the MSP. Only Hanna and Ritchie to their credit opposed the motion. Everyone was caught off guard and expected them to only receive the report as the Council typically does. I believe the constant visits by the landowners and developers to the mayors office preceding this meeting pushed them to table and approve the ill conceived resolution.

Question 64: Is Midhurst being developed to encourage annexation to the City of Barrie

Township Answer: No.

My Opinion: I agree. The reason Barrie will never be interested in Midhurst will be the legacy costs of the infrastructure. Barrie is already in a huge infrastructure replacement deficit and the expensive infrastructure required to service Midhurst will be much more expensive as the pipes run approximately 5 kilometres in either direction for water and sewer. Unfortunately since council says the Midhurst current residents do not have to connect, half the distance will have no connections making it very inefficient. Barrie’s growth direction from the province and their own official plans puts most of the development to the south into the approved annexed lands in Innisfil. They also built their state of the art “surface water” facility in the south end. Ironically if the MSP goes, within a few years the residents would want to be part of Barrie as the Springwater tax assessment increase, caused by the MSP infrastructure, will make Barrie’s taxes look like a bargain.

Question 65: Will there be a cost to the current taxpayers if Council rescinds the Midhurst Secondary Plan?

Township Answer: It is likely that legal action would be taken against the township if the secondary plan was cancelled.

My Opinion: I don’t agree. It is clear in the municipal act and the planning act that the Council has a right to approve or reject plans. There are also sections that specifically make the council and township immune to lawsuits if they conduct business in a rightful manner. This council has caved to the intimidation and threats of a few and has put all of us up for ransom because they lack the fundamental guts to make good decisions. Again only Hanna and Ritchie have illustrated through their votes that the MSP in its present form is flawed. The rest of council followed the enchanting tunes of the pied pipers; the landowners and the developers.

Question 66: How can future Township Councils be bound to the current Council’s contention that the Township will not force current residents to connect to the new water and sewer systems?

Township Answer: The current Council cannot bind a future Council.

My Opinion: I agree. Once all the costs are in, the township will quickly realize they need revenue from the existing 1400 homes in Midhurst and you will pay to hook up. Calculations range anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000 a lot to hook up. The township will of course give you a low rate loan that you can pay off over 20 years on your tax assessment bill. That’s a mere $3,000 to $4,000 a year added to your tax bill. These are just some of the legacy costs of this ill-conceived MSP.

Question 67: Did the Province mandate that the village of Midhurst Grow?

Township Answer: No. The 1998 Official Plan established development rights within the Midhurst Settlement Area.

My Opinion: The “No” answer is correct. The second part is not factual. In 1998 there was a “study area” established to research and find where best it would be to add the projected 3,500 people to the village, not 25,000 people. Don’t take my word for it, review the signed affidavits of Harold Parker, Paul Fleming and Ian Bender that were all in the loop at the time. The last two councils have danced to the tune of some well connected landowners and their representatives. The mega growth in Midhurst is not mandated, not included in any study up to 2008 and is an example of council not doing their job to protect the best interests of its constituents.

This is my final submission on this matter and you should be concerned and do your own homework as you will pay the price of the creation of the City of Midhurst. I will repeat, it is still not too late to slow down and modify this terrible plan for Midhurst. In January I encourage as many people as possible to file nomination papers and run for an elected office and bring about the change we need. It was refreshing to see 12 people attend the recent election information session hosted by the Township Clerk. It is obvious that more people than I are not happy with the direction of this council.

Talk to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council and tell them to stop the greatest calamity that Springwater has ever experienced. The Midhurst Plan as planned is a disaster waiting to happen and you and I cannot afford it!

My View - Part 5- Springwater Township’s Response to Questions regarding the Mega Developments of the Midhurst Secondary Plan

On May 17^th of this year the township held an information meeting and provided documents as an overview for the Midhurst Secondary Plan titled Midhurst 20/20. There was also a public open house on the Midhurst Secondary Plan EA process on May 29^th.

In September the township published its response to the questions posed and held a special council meeting on September 17^th with a hired lawyer to outline the township’s position. This is the fifth installment of articles on this complex issue. I encourage you to read the document yourself (found on the township website under Governance/Public Consultation/Midhurst Secondary Plan) and form your own opinion. Certain questions and answers are truncated for space consideration.

Question 38: Will the new municipal wells impact existing private wells?

Township Answer: No. Extensive testing in accordance with Provincial regulations was completed. The testing did not identify any areas where existing wells will be impacted. They then refer to the Phase 1 and 2 EA.

My Opinion: In theory there may not be an impact as I understand there is high rate of flow in this particular aquifer. However any shallow wells that exist today may be impacted in a drought period because of the significant amount of water that will be withdrawn from the lower aquifer. Typically one aquifer is not significantly impacted by another but until the operation commences we are dealing with modelling scenarios which may or may not be accurate.

Question 39: What will the increase in flow attributable to the MSP be in Willow Creek?

Township Answer: The township provided some flow rates. In the EA 1 and 2 the average flow rate of 270L/s is noted. A further 3 years analysis estimates it at 400L/s. They state the flow from the wastewater treatment plant at buildout will be 140L/s. They also include a peak flow rate of 7,000L/s

My Opinion: All the data is interesting. Unfortunately no one seems to note that the Minesing Wetlands are being negatively effected in the last 25 years because of additional flows and build-up. The Steelheaders conservation group has great data as does Nancy Chong that was provided to the township. None of this has been considered nor has it been mentioned that both the NVCA and MOE have expressed concerns about dumping this much effluent into that small stream of Willow Creek. By the township’s own numbers the average flow based on the 270 L/s would be a 60% increase in per second flow and even using the higher numbers of 400 L/s it means a 30% increase. What happens if we find that we are already at 120% of the Willows capacity for flow? None of these questions have been addressed and the potential for ecological disaster cannot be overstated.

Question 52: What efforts will be made to mitigate the impact on local agricultural operations as mandated in the Provincial Policy Statement?

Township Answer: The PPS does not apply to Midhurst as it is not an expansion of the existing settlement boundary.

My Opinion: We are not all stupid or idiots, is the short answer, if you think we will swallow that answer. Think about it. (Sorry to reuse these two sentences from the last article.) First of all the PPS applies to all development from 2005 onwards. The MSP was not approved by council until 2008 and after 3 letters of expressing non-compliance the County approved the plan in 2011. The council has totally ignored the serious impact that the MSP will have on the Ag industry and has specifically ignored concerns expressed by the OFA and local farmers such as Rob Wright.

Question 55: Shouldn’t the MSP development plan be delayed until a major employer such as a Honda settles in the community?

Township Answer: The MSP has been approved by the Township, County and Province. Therefore it is permitted to proceed.

My Opinion: Not exactly an answer from the township. Part of the answer is also wrong as only the first 300 hectares have been approved to proceed in the MSP. Barrie for example require developers, in certain areas of development, to illustrate that there are actual jobs not just land for future jobs before development will be approved. Of course we should include in all our development plans that jobs come first before building shoe boxes for people to hibernate. Currently 90% of our non-farm workers leave everyday for work. I understand that no significant job creation has occurred even though we have allocated many dollars to the effort in the last two years. Attaching actual job creation to approving residential development is not unique unless you are in a township like Springwater where most of the council thinks the developers know what’s best for all of us.

I will repeat, it is still not too late to slow down and modify this terrible plan for Midhurst. It will affect all of us especially where it hurts, in our pocket books with increased taxes. I am pleased that many more people are coming to Council and Planning meetings in recent months as residents realize that regardless of where they live they will pay the price of the bad decisions and direction of the Midhurst Secondary Plan. In January I encourage as many people as possible to file nomination papers and run for an elected office and bring about the change we need. I will write one more article on the Township’s response to the concerns of the Springwater Residents about the MSP and ask you to become informed by reading the information on the Springwater website.

Talk to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council and tell them to stop the greatest calamity that Springwater has ever experienced. The Midhurst Plan as planned is a disaster waiting to happen and you and I cannot afford it!