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Clearview’s NVCA levy decreases

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In Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority
Mar 16th, 2010
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By Michael Gennings Stayner Sun
STAYNER – The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) passed its 2010 budget recently, causing Clearview Township’s annual contribution to decrease 4.31 per cent.
That means the municipality will pony up $105,598 to the authority this year.
The levy reduction is because of a change the province has made to the NVCA’s jurisdiction.
The authority has taken on responsibility for a greater portion of Barrie and Innisfil, resulting in a decrease in what it levies from some of the 16 other municipalities it serves.
But the savings for Clearview, which amounts to $4,757, has not left members of council smiling.
In fact it’s just the opposite.
The problem municipal officials have is this: The authority still hasn’t streamlined any of its planning services. Clearview believes they are costly – in terms of what’s paid through the levy and in regards to what development applicants must pay – and that they duplicate what the township’s planning department is already doing.
At council last Monday night, Deputy Mayor Alicia Savage said that given where things are, there’s no reason for the township to celebrate the levy decrease.
Council members are also angered by the fact the NVCA has put on hold a third party review of its planning services – announced last year in response to concerns from member municipalities – until the NVCA can consider launching a review of all its services.
“I think we should send a message….that we don’t take any comfort in a [levy] decrease,” Ward 4 councillor Thom Paterson said. “We need to keep the heat on them.”
Council members agreed with Paterson and decided to work over the next two weeks – council’s next meeting is March 22 – on a motion that will be sent to the authority, outlining the township’s disappointment.
Paterson, Savage and Ward 7 councillor Shawn Davidson will work on the wording of the motion and present it at council’s next meeting.
Savage said the motion will stress the need for reform at the NVCA.
“We want to make sure we’re on the record that the third party review is critical and we expect it to go forward this year,” she said.
Savage said that ultimately she’d like to see the NVCA focus its efforts on the science of conservation rather than municipal planning – a thought that’s shared by her council colleagues.
Wayne Wilson, the NVCA’s chief administrative officer, said that in April the board will make a decision on what type of review to conduct.
There are no funds in the 2010 budget for a review of the authority’s planning services or an overall review, but Wilson said the board has indicated it would consider using money from reserves.
All told, the authority will collect $1.8-million from its member municipalities this year – an increase of $52,944 or three per cent.
The NVCA’s operating budget for the year is $3.9-million, a decrease of about $100,000.
The difference between what’s collected from municipalities and what’s needed to run the authority will be made up from a mix of user fees and grants from the provincial and federal governments.
Wilson said the budget was particularly challenging this year due to several factors connected to growth in the region and the need for conservation programs.

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