Mike Walters, Chief Administrative Officer the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority is retiring after a 36-year career with the LSRCA.
But it was Walters who came before the Councils of the Town of Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury, earlier this month, to present a “2020 Budget Companion” - a clear overview of where municipal dollars and other revenues collected by the LSRCA are being spent.
“It’s telling you where we’re at,” Walters said. “Easy to read, easy to navigate… it is extremely transparent.”
The document includes a description of the Conservation Authority’s service areas, its overall mission and objectives which “have not changed,” Walters said, and a list of Annual Operating Priorities (AOPs), some of which cover multi-year projects:
. Updating the flood plain emergency mapping and flood relief program, using a new, highly accurate program that facilitates flood mitigation – like the planned Alcona Wetland Creation project.
. Climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
. Asset Management Plan. “It has been impacted by COVID, unfortunately,” Walters said, noting that the Plan will be deliverable in 2021.
. Enhanced service delivery, for plan review and regulation. One of the “unintended consequences” of the pandemic has been that “it has got us all working electronically, from home,” Walters said. Even after the pandemic, the LSRCA plans to continue to offer online processing of applications. “We’re actually very pleased with the progress.”
. Scanlon Creek Operations Centre is “99.9 percent complete,” and will ease overcrowding at the LSRCA office as soon as the Town of BWG grants occupancy.
. A New Education Centre. Fundraising is underway, and has already raised nearly $1.5 million to replace the existing Nature Centre, which is now “beyond its life cycle. That’s a fancy term for falling apart,” Walters said.
. Community Engagement Strategy, also delayed by COVID-19, is currently three months behind schedule.
. Salt Reduction Strategies. The LSRCA is taking the lead on talks with the Province, to develop legislation that would embrace best practices, and protect property owners who follow those practices from ‘slip and fall’ litigation.
. Land disposition policies and strategies. The LSRCA is looking at divesting itself of properties that no longer fit its goals, possibly handing over the lands to the municipalities that already operate them.
. Continued watershed restoration efforts. These efforts, which include flood relief, will account for $5 million of the LSRCA's $21 million budget in 2020.
. Work with the province to implement the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.
. Draft a new 2021-2024 Strategic plan.
Bottom line, the LSRCA had an operating budget of $14.03 million (of which $11.62 million represented salaries and benefits), and a capital budget of $7.07 million, for a total of $21.1 million.
Funding came from the General Levy ($4.2 million), a special capital levy and municipal partnerships ($6.62 million), $1.56 million from Provincial and Federal sources, and $8 million generated through planning and other services. The remainder came from reserves and other sources.
The ‘Budget Companion’ replaces the Annual Report, and will be posted on the LSRCA website.