Review-Mirror

A caucus of mayors of Eastern Ontario munici- palities has added to the chorus of complaints about the inequity and lack of transparency for the billing for OPP costs to rural communities. Municipalities have found discrepancies between the amount of new assessments and the number of 'household' counts they have been billed for OPP service. A new funding formula bases the cost on a number of households plus the cost of the number of calls. Central Frontenac and Hastings Highlands unex- plained increases for 2016 costs have resulted in additional costs for each of the municipalities of $45,227 and $42,169 respectively. The increase in the OPP counts can't be covered by an increase in assessment growth because of the way the households are count- ed doesn't reflect the taxes which are available to the municipality to recover the costs. By changing how prop- erties are counted, MPAC has inadvertently caused existing property taxpay- ers considerable hardship since there is no offsetting real growth in the assess- ment base to cover the resulting additional OPP costs. The group of mayors from those municipalities, including Tay Valley, have tallied unaccounted extra costs for policing at $232,373 for the 13 municipalities. The extra policing costs could result in tax increase ranging from 2.9 to 8.3 per cent for the municipalities to receive the same level of service. On May 30 the caucus invited a representative from the OPP and from MPAC to gain an under- standing of the changes. The new MPAC formu- la for counting house- holds, that is now being used for police billing, includes recreational trail- ers, mobile homes, wind Parks Canada's Ontario Waterways unit has under- taken a new management plan for the Rideau Canal which will be completed by December. This month they will begin a series of open houses for the public to give their thoughts on Parks' long-term plans for the waterway. This month's Open Houses will be an opportu- nity for the public to ensure items such as her- itage presentation, public engagement, education and science are part of the management plan. The events begin in Ottawa next week, on Monday, June 20 at the Dow's Lake Pavilion and on Wednesday in Smiths Falls at the Woods Mill Complex on Beckwith Street. The following week events go south to the Chaffey's Lock Hall on Monday, June 27 and to Kingston at City Hall's Memorial Hall Thursday, June 30. All events are from 4 to 9 p.m. The last management plan for the waterway was in 2005, when the canal was a stand-alone unit under the direction of Superintendent Doug Stewart and the UNESCO World Heritage Site desig- nation had not yet been obtained. Parks Canada's require- ments for site manage- ment plans shifted from every five years to every 10 years, just in time for the waterway to eliminate the 2010 edition. The Upper Canada Dis- trict School Board has 30 schools, including two in the Rideau Family, which could have space to poten- tially provide facilities for other community organi- zations. Last week the board had its first annual meet- ing with potential partners, part of an obligation under Community Planning and Partnerships Guideline (CPP), a Ministry of Edu- cation introduced in March 2015. There is a new obliga- tion for school boards to share planning informa- tion on a regular basis, particularly as it relates to the use of space in schools. Notification lists of potential partners include municipal governments, public health boards, chil- Mirror The Review Thursday, June 16, 2016 Serving North Leeds and area since 1893 Vol. 125, No. 24 $1 incl. tax •Continued on page 3 Canada Post Contract No. 40021501 The Barefoot Players, Queen's University School of Drama & Music's summer theatre troupe for young audiences gave a performance of three fables at South Crosby Pub- lic School on Monday and will be performing throughout the region this summer. Parks hosting open houses for 10-year Canal management plan Mayor's group wants answers on policing cost formula •Continued on page 3 Underutilized school space could become available to groups 24 Family Lane, Smiths Falls Hwy. 15 S. & Bay Rd. 613-205-1212 streetmotorsales@cogeco.net streetmotorsales.com Charlie Franklin Sales Representative 2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport Crew, 4x4, loaded, white 169,800 kms $19,995 "In the depths of winter I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." Albert Camus Overlooking Lake, Locks & Falls at Jones Falls, Elgin Exceptional Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner 613-359-5500 Reservations Recommended. 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