Minto Mayor Dave Turton expressed that the municipality felt very honored to receive a Rural Ontario Inspiration Award at the ROMA Conference this week.
Minto received this award alongside Niagara-On-The-Lake for their Municipal Shared Equipment Model, with the award presented by Huron Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson, Minister of Rural Affairs. Turton mentioned that the Municipal Shared Equipment Model involved Minto and Niagara-On-The-Lake sharing some municipal assets to help save costs.
“We had a tractor that we don’t use much in the summertime; we use it to plow snow in the winter. So rather than it sitting here not being used, it was leased under the Municipal Shared Equipment agreement to Niagara-On-The-Lake,” Turton explained.
The arrangement also allowed Minto to borrow some half-ton trucks from Niagara-On-The-Lake.
Turton noted that the idea to share municipal assets came from Minto CAO Gregg Furtney. He added that it was wonderful to see how well the idea worked and that council backed it up.
“It seems to have worked very well. Our rural communities have limited funds and resources, and it’s an opportunity to save a few dollars,” he said. “When you put your heads together and think outside the box, you never know. Again, I give credit here to our CAO for coming up with the idea and council agreeing to it and saying ‘Let’s give it a shot,’ and here we are today getting an award. It’s amazing and wonderful.”
Looking ahead, Turton mentioned that Minto will send a delegation to the Good Roads Conference to share insights about the Municipal Shared Equipment Model and pass on their experiences with others who might benefit from a similar approach.
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