By Cecilia Nasmith
The budget pressures faced by the Northumberland County Public Works Department were examined Monday by county council's Public Works Standing Committee.
The majority of the issue papers reviewed – and certainly the ones occasioning the most animated debate – concerned either equipment to be replaced or new staff positions to be created.
Director of Public Works Denise Marshall kicked off the meeting voicing the need for a Development and Infrastructure Initiative Engineer, required in light of the growing numbers of residential-development projects and submissions from utility companies relating to county-road rights of way that necessitate review and comment. This function is increasingly drawing department staff resources away from other core job functions.
With hiring to take place a few months into 2023, that would be a $94,000 cost to this year's budget and an annual $125,000 cost thereafter.
This kind of help takes on added significance with new provincial legislation such as the Building Broadband Faster act, which requires municipalities to review and approve these infrastructure proposals within 10 days.
“A failure to do so exposes the county to financial penalties,” Marshall noted.
Listing such upcoming projects as the widening of Cobourg's Elgin Street and Brook Road, she argued that proper handling at the time this kind of work comes up prevents going back later to address problems that could have been foreseen.
“It's quite timely and time-consuming, and requires this dedicated resource,:” Marshall said.
“This is a real cost. This is the cost we are bearing from this downloading and not being able to charge and being told to make the decision in 15 days,” Warden Mandy Martin commented.
“I am saying, if we are going to do this, the province should know this is the cost. Where does the money come from? This is the reality of what they are dictating. And we had less than 30 days to respond it it – 15 days, I think it was.”
With figures supplied by Treasurer Glenn Dees, she calculated that this position alone represents a 0.2% tax increase.
“But that's the reality. That's the real cost, and we go on in perpetuity in terms of raises and benefits, so we inherit by these increments the province is downloading. They should be held accountable, in my humble opinion, by this council.”
Learning that the department has some existing vacancies, councillors wondered if there might be an alternative – fill the vacancies and forego the new hire, for example, or make the new hire and let some of the vacancies remain vacant. Marshall said, however, that the department's full complement, when it existed, was already operating near capacity even before the new legislation and increasing pressures.
In a scenario where adequate staffing was not achieved, she added, they would have to look at lowering levels of service and the risk of being in a playing-catch-up position. That could mean not only deteriorating infrastructure but also the kind of higher costs that come in a period of inflation and rising interest rates, not to mention the risk of not being in a position to apply for certain provincial and Federal grants.
The call for new staffers continued with GIS and Asset Management Specialist Cara Bevan's request for a new GIS Co-ordinator and a new Asset Management Specialist.
The first position is required in light of increasing demands for that particular service not only from the county but from the four lower-tier municipalities that have shared-service agreements with the county for this work.
By that token, the increase to levy - $71,250 this year and $95,000 annually thereafter – will be recovered to a 50% degree through the shared-service agreements.
Provincially-mandated Asset Management has led the county to formulate an Asset Management Plan with 16 areas for improvement identified – implementation of which to a great degree will fall into the new Asset Management Specialist's portfolio. This will be an $82,500 cost this year and a $110,000 annual cost thereafter.
Though he believes strongly in responsible asset management, Councillor John Logel pointed out that it is also a provincial requirement.
“And we are not getting any money recovery for that,” Logel added.
Associate Director of Operations Adam McCue proposed the creation of an Environmental Officer position, a $101,250 addition to the 2023 levy (rising to $135,000 annually thereafter) that would see a staffer dedicated to facilitating and overseeing the implementation of the draft greenhouse gas-emission reduction plan - “mitigating greenhouse gases and looking forward to adapting to the climate we are already experiencing, and what will be coming down the road due to the emissions that have already gone into the atmosphere.”
The county was able to hire a temporary staffer to draft the plan to reduce GHG emissions in the year 2030 to a level that is 30% below 2005 levels. Once the plan is approved, this new staffer would perform such work as feasibility assessments, stakeholder-group assessments and advocacy on behalf of the county with various levels of government.
Road Operations Manager Brooke Gillispie called for a new $875,000 levy to establish a Roads Equipment Replacement Strategy/Reserve to maximize the performance of their 70 pieces of equipment – snowplows, graders, loaders, trucks – that has a replacement value of more than $13-million.
The plan is to replace light trucks every five years, heavy trucks every 10 years and off-road equipment every 18 years. Over the next 10 years, it is estimated this will require $875,000 annually.
For 2023, that amount is already spoken for with needed replacements – a 2006 Volvo excavator for $450,000, a 2010 International combination snowplow for $360,000 and a 2014 Dodge half-ton truck for $65,000.
Gillispie noted that the plan is to keep the old excavator in service. At present, works yards in Cobourg and Morganston share the piece being replaced, and having a spare will avoid the occasional $8,000 monthly cost when they must rent another. And depending on their condition, the other two pieces can also be kept as spares.
Committee chair Scott Jibb expressed his belief that replacement should be based on other considerations besides age – whether repair and maintenance costs have been excessive, for example – as everyone knows someone who purchased a new car that proved to be a lemon. He requested more details on this aspect of the equipment up for replacement.
Speaking for the Waste Services Division, McCue said this fleet consists of 30 pieces of mobile equipment whose replacement value is estimated at $8-million. For 2023, they hope to replace a 2013 pick-up truck whose mileage has passed the 225,000-km. mark. The estimated cost is $65,000.
Replacing a 2013 half-ton pick-up truck with more than 225,000 km. on the odometer was also proposed by Facilities Manager Brandon Upton. This division has several trucks and vans to carry out their daily maintenance and operations, and they plan for replacements on a 10-year cycle. In this case, they want to replace the truck with a van at an estimated cost of $65,000.
Upton also asked to allocate $65,000 on an annual bases to establish a dedicated Facilities Services Division reserve for future equipment-replacement needs.
These – along with such other issue papers as the ones dealing with needed repairs to the county building at 860 William St. - will be reviewed by Northumberland County Council at their special budget meeting an Jan. 18.
