Council gets a look at county services

Michael Gennings Stayner Sun
STAYNER – Don’t know much about the County of Simcoe?
Last Monday night, that would have changed if you’d been at the Clearview Township council meeting in Stayner.
Simcoe County warden Tony Guergis and the county’s chief administrative officer, Mark Aitken, presented an overview of the county’s operations.
“To hear this presentation makes me proud to be a county councillor,” Mayor Ken Ferguson said.
The county’s presentation is available to all member municipalities that are interested.
Ferguson, who invited the delegation, said it’s important that everyone on council have an understanding of what the county does because its services are so far reaching.
“It’s nice to sit back and take a look at the big picture as we so often get bogged down with the crisis of the day,” Deputy Mayor Alicia Savage said. “I enjoy the time I spend at the county. We have to work together. We are stronger when we’re united.”
The county is comprised of 16 municipalities: seven towns and nine townships.
Two representatives from each municipality – the mayor and deputy mayor – sit on county council.
The 32-member council determines policy and approves the county’s annual budget.
County council elects a warden – to chair council meetings – by secret ballot.
The warden also sits on county committees and meets with officials higher up the political food chain, in an effort to deal with the array of issues that impact residents.
The county was established in 1843.
Aitken said that today the population is 438,000, including residents living in the cities of Barrie and Orillia, which don’t officially belong to the county, but pay for some of its services.
Aitken noted some eyebrow raising statistics, including the fact the county has more than 31,000 acres of forest, much of it planted in the 1920s to replace trees cut down in the 1800s, when settlers moved into the area.
He said the county has 500 kilometres of shoreline and 850 kilometres of roads, with more than 180 bridges.
The county’s operating budget for 2009 is $437-million, of which $95-million is levied from member municipalities.
Warden Guergis, also the mayor of Springwater Township, said county services touch residents every day.
In the presentation, Aitken pointed out the county handles nearly 5,000 Ontario Works cases.
Ontario Works provides financial and employment assistance to people in need.
The county administers social housing as well, helping to fund 4,113 units.
Children’s and Community Services is another department the county administers. The department funds several services, including 124 childcare sites.
Aitken said the county administers long-term care facilities also, noting Simcoe has four sites – Beeton, Collingwood, Orillia and Penetanguishene – providing 505 beds.
And then there is County of Simcoe Paramedic Services. He said the county has 299 paramedics, answering approximately 73,000 calls annually.
Environmental Services, which includes landfills, is another department under the county’s umbrella.
The county has six active landfill sites, Aitken said. He added there are three transfer stations for waste and one material recovery facility. The county’s environmental services department serves 120,000 households.
Simcoe County’s forests, popular with cyclists and hikers, also generate revenue through timber sales – about $1-million worth each year.
There’s also Discover Simcoe County, the tourism service that promotes the region. Aitken said eight million people visit the county each year.
The Simcoe County Museum, situated in Midhurst, receives 30,000 visits annually, he added. That facility houses 20,000 artifacts and there are 16 historic buildings on the grounds, including an old one-room school.
The Simcoe County Archives, next door, holds 1,293 records.
And then there’s the county’s land use planning department, which deals with issues and services related to development.
Aitken said as the county grows it faces several major issues connected to social services, infrastructure planning, long-term care, emergency planning and waste management