Deloitte LLP report, which value Barrie taxpayers $45,000, concludes County of Simcoe offers worth for providers it offers, resembling paramedics and long-term care
How Barrie pays its share of County of Simcoe capital tasks might be on the desk throughout negotiations for a brand new municipal providers administration settlement between the 2 ranges of presidency.
Metropolis council gave closing approval Nov. 20 to a movement to that impact, recommendation from Deloitte LLP’s value-for-money service audit report, which was obtained for data functions.
The county offers providers resembling social housing, paramedics, youngsters’s providers, Ontario Works and long-term care beds to Barrie, which pays its share for these providers, together with a portion of capital expenditures, resembling constructing building.
It’s how the capital portion is paid that Barrie needs to have a look at altering.
“If we were a family buying a house, we have to pay it back over 10 years as the agreement (with the County of Simcoe) stands,” mentioned Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall. “What we are considering is being able to stretch out the repayment timeline to match the expected life of the building, similar to how mortgages are structured on family homes.”
He mentioned the potential financial savings of the funding of capital belongings would fluctuate year-to-year, based mostly on the capital tasks being undertaken by the county.
Utilizing Barrie’s Rose Avenue social housing mission as one instance, Nuttall mentioned there are potential financial savings of simply greater than 50 per cent of the present annual prices to town.
“More than anything, this approach would reduce the massive increases based on the decisions made by the County of Simcoe, allowing the City of Barrie to provide a smoother and more predictable budgeting process for the residents of Barrie,” he mentioned.
Barrie’s annual working and capital budgets decide property taxes and repair ranges.
“Town ought to make sure that any potential modifications to the present capital allocation technique are formally communicated and documented throughout conferences with the (County of Simcoe’s) committee of the entire,” Deloitte’s audit report reads.
“There is a chance to revise the present capital allocation technique based mostly on precise capital asset helpful life, precise utilization of the capital asset by (the) resident municipality, and precise prices incurred, together with curiosity.”
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall, left, and Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke. | BarrieToday recordsdata
Deloitte’s audit report value town $45,000 and, as its title says, is to find out if town is receiving worth for the cash it pays the county to offer providers.
One in all its key conclusions is that the county is “compliant with the municipal providers administration settlement between the Metropolis (of Barrie) and the County (of Simcoe) when it comes to precise prices allotted for shared providers in the course of the previous three years (2021, 2022 and 2023).”
Nonetheless, Nuttall says there are nonetheless gaps.
“I believe there are some areas where the City of Barrie is receiving strong investment and service,” Nuttall mentioned.
“There are clearly locations that the Metropolis of Barrie is underfunded and, fairly frankly, ignored. The Metropolis of Barrie doesn’t obtain enough funding for youngsters’s providers as is clearly outlined within the report, alongside an underfunding of long-term care beds for Barrie’s seniors,” mentioned Nuttall.
“I believe if we asked the public to consider the various services and the prioritization of services, Barrie residents would want increased and adequate funding for seniors and children, right here in Barrie,” he mentioned.
“I remain committed to finding all relevant information to allow Barrie to achieve a strong and fair offering from the county through our negotiations.”
Simcoe County Warden Basil Clarke mentioned the Deloitte evaluation helps the advantages of a partnership between town and county.
This partnership is remitted by the province.
“Of particular note, Deloitte concluded that the county has delivered quality services at a lower cost than its comparator municipalities for providing paramedic services, community services and social housing,” he mentioned. “These three service areas make up nearly all of the operational prices related to our shared service settlement with the Metropolis of Barrie.
“Overall, the findings point to good value for Barrie, which are ultimately Simcoe County taxpayers.”
Clarke mentioned the Metropolis of Barrie has some choices in the case of the way it pays its capital allocation.
“Barrie staff confirmed during the previous (general committee of) city council meeting (Nov. 13) that the current method and structure of city financing was a recommendation from the City of Barrie,” the warden mentioned.
“The county can confirm that there is nothing in the current shared services agreement that prevents Barrie from securing external debt and amortizing their portion of costs related to capital projects over whatever period the city desires.”
As famous at county council and throughout the Deloitte report, Clarke mentioned, the county has proposed additional choices to help Barrie in managing its capital allocation as a part of the following shared service settlement, which is at present beneath renegotiation.
“These changes may support Barrie in their capital budgeting process and would be accounted for in the county’s long-term capital asset management plan and annual budget process,” he added.
Deloitte LLP, a finance and providers auditor, additionally famous that the county has processes in place to observe third-party vendor compliance towards contracts and related laws for the shared providers, youngsters’s providers, group providers and social housing.
The county additionally complies with the municipal providers administration settlement between town and the county when it comes to precise grants allotted for shared providers in the course of the previous three years, states the Deloitte report.
Based mostly on the chosen key efficiency indicators for shared providers, Deloitte says town seems to be a web recipient for paramedic providers, group providers, social housing and never a web recipient for long-term care and kids’s providers.
Internet recipient means town is receiving more-than-expected ranges of service compared to the cost-sharing share it’s paying for, with respect to those providers.
For Ontario Works, as prices are based mostly on caseloads, it seems that the Metropolis of Barrie is paying prices relative to the direct prices of Ontario Works, Deloitte concluded.
Based mostly on the comparator municipalities and chosen key efficiency indicators, Deloitte says it seems the County of Simcoe has decrease prices for offering paramedic providers, group providers and social housing, and in between prices for Ontario Works and kids’s providers.
As well as, it seems that municipally funded long-term care beds are extra accessible throughout the County of Simcoe in comparison with the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and Wellington County, as they provide a better variety of beds compared to their inhabitants.
The present cost-sharing methodology used seems to satisfy the wants of the Metropolis of Barrie, Deloitte says, and town ought to proceed to interact with the county on future varieties and places of providers to make sure they’re adequately assembly the wants of Barrie residents.
