MANITOULIN—At least two municipal councils from Western Manitoulin have rejected a proposal by the Manitoulin Centennial Manor (MCM) board to set up a reserve fund account in case of emergency expenditures; something the Manor has never had before.
Ken Noland, reeve of Burpee-Mills Township, told the Recorder last week that his council has voted in opposition to the idea. “We are drafting a letter with our response that basically says the Manor has the ability under provincial rules and regulations, that for instance if a furnace goes at the Manor, the board can go to the municipalities and indicate what their share of the costs for a new furnace would be. And we as municipalities have our own reserves.”
“We are saying that the Manor has the authority to determine costs and shares-allocations for municipalities under the Long-Term Care Homes Act,” said Pentti Palonen, a Burpee-Mills councillor, “and under the Act the municipality has to pay their share.”
“Our argument is that if unexpected costs arise, we (as participating municipalities in the Manor) have to pay a share of these costs, so a (Manor) reserve is not required,” said Councillor Palonen.
“From my experience being on the (Manor) board the staff in general and administration are very dedicated, hard working, intelligent and resourceful,” said Councillor Palonen. He pointed out the Manor board Island municipal subsidies in 2013 was $290,000, $298,000 in 2014, $307,000 in 2015 and $310,000 in 2016. “These are the subsidies municipalities already provide to the Manor.”
In the Burpee-Mills letter to Manor board chair Paul Moffatt, it is explained, “at our last council meeting, we discussed the request from MCM board chairman Paul Moffat for municipalities to contribute a reserve fund for the nursing home.”
“Our decision was to deny your request for the following reasons. Under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, sections state: 126.(1) “A board of management shall determine the amount that it estimates will be required to defray its expenditures for each year and apportion that amount in accordance with the regulations under Section 128 among the municipalities in the district.” (2) “Each municipality shall pay the amount apportioned to it.”
The letter further explains under section 127.(1) of the Act, “If a municipal home is to be established under a board of management or an existing municipal home under a board of management is to be renovated, altered or added to, the board of management shall determine the amount that it estimates will be required and apportion that amount in accordance with the regulations under Section 128 among the municipalities. (2) “Each municipality shall pay the amount apportioned to it.”
“Burpee-Mills council is well aware that unexpected financial crises can fall on any organization. We have, therefore, taken steps to establish reserve funding to deal with such unexpected emergencies. Creation of such reserves appears to be standard practice with most, if not all, fiscally prudent councils,” the letter continues. “With board of management access to these types of fiscal resources, guaranteed by provincial legislation, we fail to find any good reason why the MCM should have an additional reserve fund. We prefer to keep our funds working in our municipality.”
Bill Baker, a Gordon/Barrie Island township councillor, told the Recorder his council also dealt with the request from the Manor board a meeting last week. “We are in the same position as Burpee-Mills, not to contribute a large municipal contribution to providing extra funds to create a reserve.”
“Our municipality is not supportive of extra funds being provided for the Manor to create a reserve,” said Councillor Baker. “I understand this position, but I don’t know if I fully support this. But in case of emergencies money has to come from the municipalities; and the ministry does not necessarily like to provide capital funds. So the Manor has to fundraise for things and does a great job of doing so.”
Richard Stepens, Mayor Reeve of Central Manitoulin, told the Recorder, “no, council has not dealt with this issue,” noting if an emergency occurs at the Manor and equipment for instance needs to be replaced it would be done so as an added cost-share to the municipalities.
Gore Bay council reviewed a report from Bill Baker, on the Manor board. The report states in part, “the draft 2017 budget was presented to the board by our management company, Extendicare. Although the proposed budget would mean an increase of approximately 1.5 percent from the supporting municipalities, it also indicates a slight deficit of $16,519 at year-end 2017, and does not make any provision to create a reserve account which funds would be available to cover the cost of replacing some very old equipment in the event of an unrepairable breakdown. The final budget should be ready for the board’s consideration at our first meeting in 2017.”
“I’m wondering why they (Manor) board are expecting a deficit,” said Gore Bay Mayor Ron Lane.
Council agreed the Manor board should balance its budget for 2017, and the town will not commit to providing funds for a reserve until more information is provided.
