CommunityNews N O R T H
W E L L I N G T O N
Volume 53 Issue 05
Thursday, January 30, 2020
New CAO - Derrick Thompson, left, who was appointed CAO for the Town of Minto at the Jan. 21 council meeting, was welcomed to the municipality by Mayor George Bridge, right, councillors and staff. Photo by Patrick Raftis
Minto names CAO
Derrick Thompson joins staff PATRICK RAFTIS REPORTER
Ready to play - The 12th annual Jeff Davie Memorial Novice Rep Tournament was held on Jan. 25 in Harriston. Doug and Sharon Davie took part in the opening faceoff between Xavier Ditner, left, of the Minto Mad Dogs and Carter Williams of the Wallace Sabres. More coverage on page 8. Photo by Mike Robinson
Municipalities receive grant for IT review PATRICK RAFTIS REPORTER WELLINGTON COUNTY - North Wellington municipalities are among a group of Wellington County municipalities that have secured a $141,000 Municipal Modernization Grant from the province. Wellington North was the lead applicant on the grant, which also included Mapleton and Minto, as well as Centre Wellington, Guelph-Eramosa and the County of Wellington. The grant was among the successful applications announced at the recent Rural Ontario Municipal
Association conference in Toronto. Last fall, the county and its seven member municipalities participated in an operational service efficiency review in response to the Government of Ontario’s Municipal Modernization Grant. The objective was to conduct a review of the operations within each municipality to find efficiencies and cost-savings without compromising services. One of the opportunities identified was to explore common information technology (IT) systems and resources across the county and its member municipalities.
Funds will be used to engage a consultant to review the municipalities’ current IT service delivery models and look for opportunities to be more efficient. “The county put money into a consultant to try and do things through shared services ... we put a joint application into the province and we received $140,000 to do more on an IT study,” Minto Mayor George Bridge explained at the Jan. 21 town council meeting. “Hopefully we’ll get some good stuff out of it.” The final report on the IT service delivery review will be submitted to the province by the end of June.
MINTO – A former Guelph CAO has been appointed to the top administrative post for this municipality. The hiring of new CAO Derrick Thomson was announced at the Jan. 21 Minto council meeting. A press release issued by the town states Thompson comes to Minto “with a wealth of experience and knowledge from his previous positions as the CAO in the City of Guelph and the Township of West Lincoln.” Thomson joined Guelph’s executive team in 2013, was named a deputy CAO in 2014 and appointed CAO in June of 2016, a position he held until February 2019. Thomson previously spent six years as CAO in West Lincoln. “He is an experienced and innovative municipal leader with more than 30 years’ progressive experience in the municipal field, which will be a great addition to Minto’s management team,” the release states. “Derrick possesses a Masters Certificate in municipal adminis-
tration and education from Queen’s School of Business.” Mayor George Bridge stated, “After a very thorough hiring process involving a combination of council and staff, we are thrilled with this announcement. Derrick’s experience in the municipal field and his leadership abilities will fit in perfectly with staff.” Thompson fills a vacancy created by the retirement of former CAO/clerk Bill White in December of 2018. Applications for the CAO position, accepted through consulting firm Ward and Uptigrove, closed on Dec. 6. Minto Fire Chief Chris Harrow has been acting CAO since White’s retirement. Deputy Clerk Annilene McRobb is currently the town’s acting clerk. “I’m so honoured to be ... your new CAO,” Thompson stated at the Jan. 21 meeting after the appointment was announced. “I’m so excited to work with a great council and also great staff. I’d also like to thank Chris for all his hard work over the past year.” Thompson was to start his new position on Jan. 22.
Town projecting $29 increase in local taxes on average residence PATRICK RAFTIS REPORTER MINTO – “The beginning of change” is the theme for the town’s 2020 budget. Fire Chief Chris Harrow, who was acting CAO prior to new CAO Derrick Thomson joining the staff on Jan. 22, worked with treasurer Gordon Duff to present the draft 2020 operating budget to council at a special meeting on Jan. 23. “On day two we didn’t want to throw him to the wolves,” said Harrow. “Derrick has been briefed on it and will comment as necessary.” Harrow noted the “change” theme is appropriate given the arrival of a new CAO more than a year after former CAO Bill White retired from his position. Harrow also noted plans for more sharing of services between municipalities in Wellington County also fit in with the theme. Referencing a quote from the late John F. Kennedy, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the
past or present are certain to miss the future,” Harrow said, “I think that’s very appropriate with the shared services and the stuff that we’re talking about … we don’t know what the future holds and we’re going to keep going and looking ahead.” The municipality is experiencing rapid growth, which affects priorities and budgeting, Harrow pointed out. “The significant growth we’ve seen in Minto, that is unprecedented in the 20-year history of Minto. That adds costs and it adds staff and it adds time and work … but we are growing and we’re growing extremely fast,” said Harrow. “We’re trying to keep up with the growth and trying to work with it. Staff is really excited about how we are growing but there are certain ramifications that come with that.” Harrow noted the area’s low unemployment rate, at three per cent, puts pressure on the local housing situation and employment attraction and retention efforts. “Anything under four per cent is
considered full employment,” Harrow pointed out. “We’re working hard to attract more jobs, more factories, more things to come to Minto. But we are worried because we have nothing to staff them with.” Despite the growth, Harrow said the staff complement of the town has remained fairly stable, rising from 40 full-time permanent employees to 44 since 2010. “So with the significant growth that we’ve had over the past decade we’ve added the equivalent of four full-time positions. So I think that’s good that a lot of staff have taken on extra work,” he stated. “I think in the business world if you had a business that’s expanded and grown as much as our municipality has, you would see that probably a lot more. So, again, kudos to the staff because they’ve taken on the extra work, they’ve dealt with it.” The full-time employee figure does not include the town’s 85 volunteer firefighters or summer students, and other part-time and casual employees.
Duff stated overall wages appear higher this year partly because a calendar quirk means there will be an additional pay period in 2020. The budget for the CAO/Clerk department increased $141,000 due to the completion of hiring a new CAO and finalizing other restructuring. Harrow noted most of his salary was assessed to the fire department while he was acting CAO and the CAO/ Clerk department increase accounts for “most of the change that you’ll see in this budget.” The budget indicates the average assessed value of a house in Minto is $242,000 and while that’s up from about $233,000 in 2019, Harrow said assessed values don’t really reflect the current market. “We know that there is some catching up with that. Everybody that’s in the housing market knows that if you can find a house for $242,000 in Minto right now you’re doing pretty good,” he said. “So we know that’s got some catching up to do and the assessments are
SERVING MAPLETON, MINTO & WELLINGTON NORTH
going to keep going up, up, up - which has its own problems.” The draft budget projects a 2020 levy requirement (the amount to be raised through taxes) of $5,558,780, an increase of $271,803, or just over five per cent from the budgeted 2019 levy of $5,286,977. Total spending in the draft budget is estimated at $10,048,000. Additional spending of $4,038,000 for water and wastewater, supported by user fees, is also anticipated. The levy includes about $900,000 in tax-supported capital expenditures. The draft budget notes the 5% local levy increase, when combined with county and education levies would likely project to less than a 3% increase for the average residential ratepayer. Duff said the estimated Minto tax increase on an average house assessed at $242,000 is $29. That a figure does not include any potential county or school board increase. The town will receive about $64,000 less than last year from the SEE DRAFT BUDGET » 3