Review-Mirror

Rideau Lakes has received verbal assurance from the Minister of Com- munity Safety & Correc- tional Services that OPP officers will continue to be working out of the Rideau Lakes detachment in Lom- bardy. The township made a delegation to the Minister Naqvi on February 27 at the OGRA/ROMA Con- ference to request that the detachment, including a detachment administrative clerk (DAC) and a sergeant be part of basic service offered by the OPP. The Rideau Lakes detachment has been located in a municipally owned building that has been provided to the OPP since 1998 at no cost and has provided a base to serve Highway 15. A contract for police services which the town- ship received in January did not state that officers would be operating out of the detachment located at the South Elmsley Munic- ipal Complex. "The only commitment we verbally received was the detachment would remain," said Holman of the meeting where he was assured there would be a sergeant working a certain percentage at the detach- ment. The township has bud- geted for the inclusion of the DAC in the 2015 con- tract. In 2014 they dropped the detachment Sergeant from the police contract after police costs By Margaret Brand The Review-Mirror Township of Rideau Lakes council completed their 2015 budget process at a council meeting on Monday with the addition of $9,000 to the $12,980,907 budget. The budget translates into a tax rate of around .000375, an increase of around 5.7 per cent for the municipal portion which includes a $307,000 increase in the costs of policing. "This is the highest increase I've ever faced. I'm not happy with it," said Mayor Ron Holman. The total tax bill remains unknown until the United Counties sets their budget and the province announces the education tax rate, said Holman. He anticipates the United Counties will keep the same tax rate as 2014 and gain around 3.5 per cent from the increase in municipal assessment. Residents whose mar- ket value assessment 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. 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The grant provides 90 per cent of the cost with the village to pick up the other 10 percent, or $200,000. "We were depending on positive news from the grants to move forward. We as a mayor and council are all poised to do what- ever we need," said Mayor Robin Jones. Funds from the grant will need to be spent by December 31, 2016. The village project will be on a tight timeline to make those deadlines. The work ahead include hiring a consultant to complete an Environmen- tal Assessment (EA) and then completing the public consultation process which will guide the vil- lage's plans for effective climate-proof waste water treatment facility. The village has taken the first step towards an EA with the contracting of McIntosh Perry to create an RFP to choose the engi- neering firm which will be hired to complete the EA process. The short timeline for a potentially lengthy process will be a factor in council's choice of firms for the EA. "We need them to have the capacity to move it along as fast as possible," said Jones. Leeds Grenville MPP Steve Clark is pleased he has been able to help move the file along and last week accompanied the Westport delegation of Mayor Jones and Council- lor Mark Parliament to a meeting with the Econom- ic Development Employ- ment and Infrastructure Parliamentary Assistant Marie-France Lalonde. "When I came to coun- cil at their first meeting in January I pledged to them that their project was my top priority and I'd be beside the mayor at a meeting at Good Roads," said Clarke whose public promise of support came Westport awarded $1.98 million provincial grant Rideau Lakes OPP will continue to work out of local detachment •Continued on page 3 Fire crews hauled around 60 loads of •Continued on back page •Continued on page 3 Fire crews hauled around 60 loads of water to the fire at the Chant farm north of Cros- by Saturday where fire crews battled a fire which destroyed a 19th century farm- house. See page 3 for the story. Photo by Mary Ellen Moulton Continuing a 30 year tradition serving North Leeds - Delivery & Set Up Available Call 359-5660 53 Main St., Elgin duncan s TV & APPLIANCES RECEIVE A BONUS INDUCTION READY PADERNO ® COOKWARE SET when you purchase a qualifying Frigidaire Gallery ® Induction Range or Cooktop* March 1st – December 31st, 2015 frigidaire.ca

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