County of Lennox & Addington 2010 Budget

Lennox & Addington County Council approved the County’s 2010 Budget March 24, 2010. The total budget is $67.6 million. $19.5 million (28.8%) is raised through property taxation. The county levy is increasing by $390,000, an increase of 3.8% from 2009.

Lennox & Addington County Warden Henry Hogg said, “In spite of the context of a global economic recession, County Council has approved a budget which protects the services which county residents and businesses rely on. We remain committed to providing resources to assist our citizens, especially our most vulnerable residents, including our elderly, children requiring care and those who need employment assistance.”

Social Services are delivered to the Counties of Lennox & Addington and Prince Edward through a joint partnership agreement, administered by the County of Lennox & Addington. The 2010 Budget allocates $22.8 million for Social Services, including social assistance, social housing and child care. PELASS provides support to 676 social housing units. $814,800 from the Province of Ontario’s Social Housing Retrofit & Repair Program will be used to undertake capital improvements.

The County is investing $18.6 million in Health Care Services, including the County’s Long-Term Care facility, The John M. Parrott Centre, a 168 bed home which offers a wide range of nursing and therapeutic services, restorative and rehabilitative care.

The County provides Ambulance Services through three ambulance bases, located in Napanee, Northbrook and Denbigh. In 2009, the Northbrook-Denbigh Division was transitioned from a “Volunteer” service to a “Full-Time” paramedic service. The $280,000 capital budget includes the replacement of an ambulance and two Emergency Response vehicles in 2010.

Health Services also includes continuing support of Community Health Care Projects for a ten-year period (2008-2017): Pine Meadow Nursing Home - $25,000/yr; L&A County General Hospital - $50,000/yr; University Hospitals Kingston Foundation - $1,000,000/yr.

Warden Hogg said, “We are also continuing to allocate resources to protect our investment in public facilities and infrastructure, by continuing to repair and improve our roads and bridges and our public service facilities.” The 2010 Budget designates $20.5 million for Physical Services, including Roads and Bridges. [The County is responsible for 458 kilometres of arterial roads and 63 bridges and major culverts]. In 2010, the County will continue its rehabilitation and widening of County Road # 41, with the assistance of the federal and provincial governments, through the Build Canada Fund and Infrastructure Stimulus Funding. (The total cost of the initiative is approximately $7 million).

Capital improvements to County-owned buildings: County Court House; Memorial Building; Museum & Archives; Napanee and Amherstview Social Services sites are budgeted at $200,000. $4.6 million is allocated for the retrofit, expansion and consolidation of services at the Social Services Advance Avenue site in Napanee.

The Administrative & Financial Services budget is $3.9 million, including managing the County’s staff complement of 425 employees; processing revenues/expenditures; and providing support to Council in its governance role. “County Council is very conscious of its fiscal responsibility and strives to enhance the efficiency and accountability of County Government” added Warden Hogg.  The 2010 Budget provides resources for the County’s digitization project (agendas, minutes, etc.) and resources to enhance the County’s electronic reporting capability.

Priorities for the County’s Economic Development department are: targeting strategic sectors, e.g. specialty foods & green technology; marketing for entrepreneurs and tourism; assisting manufacturers, small and large business and downtown commercial cores. The County is allocating $378,000 to improve Broadband Connectivity. Funding is also being provided through the Provincial Rural Connections Program and the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus Broadband Project ($200 million) which is receiving funding from the Federal and Provincial Governments and Service Providers.

Information Services (Libraries, Museum & Archives, and Communications) account for $1.8 million in the 2010 Budget.  Approximately 93,000 visits by the public took place in the County’s branch libraries in 2009 and the Museum served 8,000 people.

 “County Council works collaboratively with our government and community agencies” stated the Warden, “not only to create a county community in which our residents and their children can reach their full potential and realize their dreams; but also a community that draws visitors, business, industry, investors and new neighbours – people from other areas of the province, across the country and around the world”.

2010 County of Lennox & Addington Budget Highlights