Report to/Rapport au :
Corporate Services and
Economic Development Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
04 April 2007 / le 04 avril 2007
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/
Directrice municipale adjointe,
Planning, Transit and the Environment/Urbanisme,
Transport en commun et Environnement
Contact
Person/Personne ressource : Dennis Jacobs, Director/Directeur, Planning,
Environment and Infrastructure Policy/Politique d’urbanisme, d’environnement et
d’infrastructure
(613) 580-2424 x25521, Dennis.Jacobs@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Corporate Services and Economic
Development Committee recommend Council approve the 2007 general and special
levies as presented in Document 1 for the following:
1. Rideau
Valley Conservation Authority;
2. South
Nation Conservation Authority; and the
3. Mississippi
Valley Conservation Authority.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU
RAPPORT
Que le Comité des
services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande au Conseil
d’approuver les prélèvements généraux et spéciaux de 2007 tels qu’ils sont
présentés dans l’annexe A pour les offices de protection de la nature suivants
:
1. Office de protection de la nature de la
vallée de la rivière Rideau;
2. Société d’aménagement de la rivière
Nation-Sud;
3. Office de protection de la nature de la
vallée de la rivière Mississippi.
BACKGROUND
The City of Ottawa is located in the watershed of three rivers, all of which have an established Conservation Authority; the Rideau Valley, Mississippi Valley and South Nation. The taxation requirement by the Conservation Authorities has been excluded in the City’s budget, as they have a separate levy on the tax bill. Council can only control the special projects portion of their levy.
The Conservation Authorities Act provides that Conservation Authorities shall apportion operating/maintenance costs amongst participating municipalities in accordance with the benefits derived. The City primarily acts as the tax collector on behalf on the Conservation Authorities and collects the amount in the same manner as municipal taxes for general purposes.
In accordance with section 312 of the Municipal Act the municipality shall, each year, pass a by law levying the separate tax rates, for this purpose. Approval of this report will establish the levy rates.
Council has no discretion over the amounts listed under the general levy. The City of Ottawa share of the levy is apportioned on the basis of the assessment within the City of Ottawa relative to the total assessment within the watershed.
There is some discretion on amounts identified as Special levies but these programs are generally supported by staff as they complement City initiatives and staff partner with the Conservation Authorities to deliver these programs.
Budgets for Conservation Authorities are co-ordinated with the Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Policy branch within the Planning, Transit and the Environment Department.
These levy rates are calculated based on the budgets (Document 1) submitted by each Conservation Authority.
Special Levies
Rideau River Ice Management
- There is a longstanding arrangement between the RVCA and the City concerning
Rideau River Ice Management. By Council approval early in 2005, the RVCA is to fund
the full cost of Rideau River Flood Control through their special levy,
beginning in 2007. In conformity with
this direction, the RVCA is budgeting for the full cost of the program $455,300
less the anticipated provincial grant amount $120,000 for a special levy of
$335,300.
Rural Clean Water - Council considered a report on the Rural Clean Water program (delivered for the City by the South Nation Conservation) on 8 December 2004 and approved the following recommendations:
1.
Renewal of the Rural Clean Water Program for an additional
five years, ending 31 December 2009.
2. Allocation of $184,000 per year under Special Levy to the Conservation Authorities for the Rural Clean Water Program for a period of five years.
Green Acres - Council considered a report on the Green Acres program (which provides grants for tree planting in the rural area) on 13 July 2005 and approved the following recommendations:
1.
Continuation
of the Green Acres Reforestation Program through 2010 in partnership with the
Conservation Authorities.
2. The proposed spending plan for allocation of $85,000 in special levy for 2007 with $5,000 increments for 2008-2010, subject to final Council approval of the special levy each year during budget deliberations.
Ottawa Children’s Water Festival – The Eastern Ontario Childrens’ Water Festival is a group of four festivals started three years ago with a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. The two CA-sponsored festivals (Baxter and Mill of Kintail) serve kids from the greater Ottawa area. At the two CA sites, close to 2,000 Grade four children receive interactive lessons all about the water cycle, water conservation and living with water. The funding of education activities including the Water Festivals is named in the Council-approved Groundwater Management Strategy. The RVCA is asking the City to help with bridge funding of $25,000that will decrease as another appropriate sponsor comes on board.
Ashton Dam
Decommissioning Study - RVCA has obtained approval of $5,000 in funding under the
MNR-Conservation Ontario Water and Erosion Control Infrastructure (WECI) fund
to be used towards a more complete review of the structural integrity of the
Ashton dam, and occupational health and safety issues. The grant is to be matched by local funding
and it is proposed in the RVCA 2007 budget that the local share be collected
through a special levy payable by Ottawa, as benefiting municipality.
There
is no definite reason from a watershed management point of view for maintaining
a water control structure (dam) at this site. The study will start with a
dialogue amongst stakeholders around the dam site as to whether the best course
of action would be decommissioning and partial or full dismantling of the
structure. Depending on the outcome,
the funds will be directed towards a review of repair and
retrofit requirements or the ultimate objective of decommissioning the dam.
Infrastructure
Services advises that the Ashton bridge will require work, possibly in the next
two to three years. If action is to be
taken to remove or renew the dam, they recommend that the work be
integrated into a single design and tender, so it is timely to conduct the
review of the dam this year.
Morris Island Repairs – Morris Island Conservation Area (MICA), a 47-hectare site, is located in former West Carleton and is jointly owned by the City of Ottawa and Ontario Power Generation (OPG). The entire shoreline and approximately 14 hectares is owned by OPG while the remaining 33 hectares belongs to the City of Ottawa. The site features a diverse natural environment of wetland and upland areas with beautiful sheltered bays, small offshore islands and spectacular scenic views of the Ottawa River.
The MVCA has developed and maintained the site on behalf of the City, guided by the Morris Island Conservation Area Master Plan (1987) prepared jointly by the former Region, MVCA and Ministry of Natural Resources. To date, MVCA has provided funding for both capital and operating costs associated with the site.
In 2003, the City of Ottawa, MVCA
and OPG agreed to re-evaluate the existing Master Plan for MICA and develop a
management plan to guide future work. Council considered a report on the Morris Island
Conservation Area Infrastructure and Capital Improvement Plan on 22 November
2006 and approved the following two recommendations:
1.
Approve, in
principle, the Morris Island Conservation Area Infrastructure and Capital
Improvement Plan, attached as Document 1, subject to the Mississippi Valley
Conservation Authority being able to secure sufficient funding for its
implementation;
2.
Direct Planning and
Growth Management staff to work with the Mississippi Valley Conservation
Authority to secure the funding needed to implement the Morris Island
Conservation Area Infrastructure and Capital Improvement Plan from a variety of
sources including but not limited to a request for a special levy in 2007, 2008
and 2009, that would be considered by Council as part of the annual budget
process.
The Conservation Authority is requesting a special levy of $87,000 in 2007. This money would be used to repair the causeway, improve the parking/entrance area and begin trail rehabilitation and poison ivy treatments. Ontario Power Generation has contributed $18,900 towards the signage elements of the Improvement Plan. MVCA also will be spending approximately $10,000 on trail upgrades this year out of its regular maintenance budget. MVCA is undertaking to formalize a “Friends of Morris Island” group to assist their Foundation in fundraising. That will likely occur later this year.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
The Conservation Authorities are key conservation partners in the City. Their programs play a critical role in ensuring environmental quality and conservation efforts including watershed protection. Programs funded through the general and special levy of the Authorities result in direct efforts to protect and improve water quality, conserve wildlife and biodiversity, increase forest cover, and protect against natural hazards such as flooding and unstable slopes.
Results of the City’s baseline water quality monitoring program indicate that 70 per cent of the City’s rural creeks fail to meet the “good” criteria of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) water quality index. The Rural Clean Water Program complements the City’s desire to protect and improve surface water quality. It is estimated that the various program initiatives have removed approximately 2,430 kilograms of phosphorus annually from the City’s waterways. The Program’s educational and public awareness initiatives help increase the community’s understanding of the relationship between rural land use practices and water quality protection.
As the only ongoing tree-planting program in rural Ottawa, Green Acres provides an important environmental benefit by supporting renewal and enhancement of forest cover. This helps the City in achieving a variety of environmental objectives and targets including increasing forest cover city wide to 30 per cent, provision of wildlife habitat, protection of water quality, and provision of a carbon sink to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The two Childrens’ Water Festivals at Baxter and the Mill of Kintail provide valuable lessons about water to the children of the Ottawa area. Morris Island Conservation Area is an important environmental and recreational asset for the residents of Ottawa.
CONSULTATION
This submission is prepared based on documentation supplied by the Conservation Authorities. The General Managers of the Conservation Authorities are scheduled to be available to answer specific questions on their increased budgetary requirements.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Per Council direction, the City's share of the funding requirements for the Conservation Authorities is raised through the establishment of separate tax rates applied to the various property classes within the City of Ottawa. Based on the requirements submitted in this report, the Conservation Authorities are requesting a 10.5 per cent increase over the amount provided in 2006. For an average residential homeowner, this will represent approximately a $1.66 increase on their 2007 property tax bill that is an estimated increase of 0.06%.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 General
and Special Levies for Conservation Authorities, City of Ottawa Share.
DISPOSITION
The Financial Services Branch will calculate the property tax rates to generate the required levies and will forward the funds to the Conservation Authorities. Legal Services Branch will prepare the appropriate by-laws.
DOCUMENT 1
GENERAL AND SPECIAL LEVIES FOR CONSERVATION
AUTHORITIES, CITY OF OTTAWA SHARE
