By Cecilia Nasmith
The news that a multiplicity of issues – including supply-chain difficulties – will result in three new Northumberland County ambulances costing $22,780.38 more than planned has spurred county council's Community Health Standing Committee to ask the province to consider adjusting its funding to municipalities to keep pace with inflation.
The motion was made at the committee's February meeting, which means it must be approved at the Feb. 16 county council meeting.
Port Hope Mayor Bob Sanderson – not a committee member but sitting in on the meeting – heard the report from Northumberland Paramedics Chief Susan Brown and predicted this kind of thing would affect virtually every department.
“Maybe our funding model needs to be addressed,” Sanderson said.
It was Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Moore who pointed out that provincial funding accounts for 30% of the county's budget.
“That needs to keep pace with the pressure we are seeing from all kinds of expenditures – our costs are going through the roof for everything,” Moore said.
“It's really hard to believe that fuel prices aren't going to really impact the budgets of some of our departments,” committee member Bill Cane commented.
As these pressures continue, Moore said, any shortfall resulting from the province's failure to adjust its funding formula to account for them will have to be made up.
“We are going to have to push more on to the local levy to cover the provincial share,” she warned.
The committee passed a motion to urge the province to support municipalities by considering future funding in a way that takes these challenges into account.
