Editor's note: Barrie is a separated city and does not fall under county governance.
In 2019, the County of Simcoe came out ahead when it came to sticking to its budget.
During county council’s committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, councillors were presented with a year-end report for 2019, outlining the financial results of the county’s operations, and some year-end performance indicators.
Overall, the 2019 year-end surplus for operating and capital is $1.1 million of the county’s $548-million budget.
Staff recommended putting the surplus into the general contingency reserve.
“With the situation we’re in with COVID-19, there are so many unknowns regarding that and likely to be so many demands because of that,” said Trevor Wilcox, general manager of corporate performance with the county. “(This way), it can be used later on and council can then direct us on how they want to use it.”
In the social-housing sector, the cost per unit stayed about the same in 2019 over 2018, at about $10,000 per unit.
“Over the past five years, it’s only gone up 4.6 per cent,” said Wilcox. “I think it’s a phenomenal achievement from an efficiency standpoint.”
In long-term care, the cost per bed per day went up four per cent.
“Significant cost increases have been incurred there in the last little while, but we’ve managed our money as best we could,” he said.
With paramedics services, the costs per call went down about one per cent in 2019.
“Being able to maintain or even lower costs in the emergency services area is really testament to how we’re managing well,” said Wilcox.
However, there is one item that cost the County of Simcoe much more than anticipated last year.
Solid Waste Management had a year-end deficit of $5.1 million, which county officials attribute to the waste collection issues that started last summer.
While there were no direct financial implications at that time, according to staff reports on the issue, additional costs for external collection assistance were paid for upfront by the county, tracked and will be directed to Waste Connections for reimbursement as per the terms of their contract with the County of Simcoe.
“I believe there were financial implications for us all along,” said Wilcox. “We are definitely going to try to recover as many costs as we can.
“The challenge is, that’s going to happen in the future,” he added.
According to Wilcox, the county has to wait until the contract with Waste Connections is up before they can try to recoup costs from the company. The contract is expected to end in 2021, with new contracts starting by November 2021 for collections.
“From a resident standpoint, I can tell you the county is not going to let them off the hook. We will try to collect as much as we can on that. We have a performance bond with them which gives us some leverage, and there is also the ability to sue,” he said.
“However, that could be an expensive and drawn-out process, so we will have to weigh the pros and cons of doing that," Wilcox added. "We won’t make that decision until we get to the end of the contract.”
County council’s committee of the whole voted to recommend putting the surplus into the general contingency fund.
The decision will need to be ratified at the next regular meeting of council.
