Review-Mirror

By Margaret Brand The Review-Mirror Municipalities across the province are objecting to an unsustainable OPP billing model which counts some low tax- yielding properties such as wind turbines, mobile home and trailers as households. In Rideau Lakes the assessment of police costs for trailers and mobile homes is a net loss for the township which does not receive enough taxation to cover the new per house- hold cost of policing assessed for OPP service. "Yet since these trailers are charged the household cost by the OPP, Rideau Lakes will experience a net loss of $16,008.30 after paying the OPP charges for the trailers. "An additional loss of $5,717.95 is also realized on mobile homes in the Township," wrote Mayor Ron Holman in a letter this week to Minister Navqi in his role as chair of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association. Holman notes that the current OPP formula is providing a disincentive for Municipalities to sup- port the development of lower cost housing options, such as mobile home parks and alterna- tive housing models, like tiny homes. Wind turbine properties in Frontenac Islands Township were assessed and billed at the household rate, for an additional cost to the municipality of $26,000. Holman has proposed a 'minimum assessed value benchmark' for the pur- poses of determining the inclusion of specific prop- erties under the OPP billing formula. The trailer, turbine and mobile home issues are just some of the inequities which have been identi- fied in the OPP costing formula which identifies multi residential and multi-business commer- cial properties as one household for billing pur- poses. "He's well aware of the other issues. This is in addition to the other inequities in the costing formula," said Holman. Rideau Lakes policing bill under the new formula has increased police costs by over $700,000 with the new costing formula. It now sits at $2,158,262. The new 'no contract' status has eliminated the detachment in Rideau Lakes as well as the police board which provided some insight for the town- ship into local operations. By Margaret Brand The Review-Mirror Therapeutic Paws of Canada is looking for a few good dogs and their owners to become part of their program to provide friendly visits to seniors and hospitals. Delta resident and Brockville group team leader Ruth Sheridan would like to increase local participation in the program which she and a number of her dogs have enjoyed. Dogs need to be friendly, sociable with other dogs and even tem- pered to be able to handle the stresses of meeting new people and being in unfamiliar environments. Owners and dogs are tested before they can participate in the pro- gram to find out how well the dog behaves under conditions they could encounter on their visits. "You have to be in control of your dog the whole time," said Sheri- dan Neither the size nor the breed is disqualifiers for becoming a therapy dog. "We've had them from Chihuahuas up to Irish Wolfhounds," said Sheri- dan who has had Por- tuguese Water dogs and smaller dogs as canine visitors. She has been involved in the program for over fifteen years making vis- its to Country Roads Community Health Cen- tre, Maple View Lodge and local hospitals. "It's a feel-good expe- rience- if not don't do it. It's all about the interac- tion of the client with the dog," said Sheridan who has been participating in the program for over 15 years. While making a com- mitment to participate can sometimes feel like a chore Sheridan finds great pleasure in seeing people's faces when the dog arrives. "I like what they say. It brings back memories for them," said Sheridan. More information about the program can be found on the www.tpoc.ca website. Ruth Sheridan can be contacted at ruthsher@ myhighspeed.ca Justin Martin President 613-530-0773 RR 2 Westport, ON K0G 1X0 jtmartin@kingston.net 4 Septic Systems 4 Excavating 4 Landscaping 4 Road Work 4 Rock Excavating 4 Trucking 4 Residential & Commercial Snow Plowing & Sanding 4 Damp Proofing LTD. Mirror The Review Thursday, April 21, 2016 Serving North Leeds and area since 1893 Vol. 125, No. 16 $1 incl. tax OPP bill exceeds tax revenue for many township properties Ruth Sheridan with her dog Jazz, a Tsvetnaya Bolonka, enjoys volunteering with Therapeutic Paws, a non-profit group which typically provides well-behaved canine visitors to hospitals, seniors residences, nursing homes, schools, libraries, colleges and universities. 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