The County of Haliburton started budget talks Jan. 11, beginning at a 6.24 per cent tax rate increase.

The budget increase was lessened by a 0.9 per cent Municipal Property Assessment Corporation increase, director of corporate services, Andrea Robinson, said.

The County needs $1,481,668 over last year’s levy – $22,308,802 from $20,827,134. Every $210,000 increase represents a one per cent rate increase.

Warden Liz Danielsen told The Highlander council is faced with a particularly challenging budget this year, “starting with a rather unprecedented 6.24 per cent increase. The cost-of-living increase, which was hovering around 6.8 per cent at the end of the year, combined with staffing shortages across the country, and resulting supply chain issues, is having a very real impact,” she added.

Robinson said some funding areas are down, including the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (a $26,190 decrease), and a $94,550 cut to the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund.

There have been increases to the federal gas tax rebate ($24,906); the investing in Canada Infrastructure Program ($100,000); $1M in LTC community paramedic funding and $117,565 in community paramedic HHHS funding; as well as $84,000 for a flood hazard identification and mapping program.

Robinson said of the significant budget impacts this year – amounting to almost $1.3 million – there is more than $50,000 for pension money for part-time staff; $163,300 for the 1.75 per cent cost of living wage increase for employees; a 15 per cent jump in insurance costs (up more than $55,000); the cost to upstaff the Tory Hill ambulance station, at just over $200,000; $74,000 for the community safety and wellbeing plan and $84,000 for economic development and tourism.

She noted line painting costs are up $50,000; fuel $65,000; computer licensing and cyber security $170,000; nearly $70,000 more for the health unit; and more than $174,000 for the City of Kawartha Lakes housing and social services.

When it comes to reserves, Robinson said the County has just over $7.7 million. She said the first draft had $364,681 going into reserves, and more than $1.8m coming out, leaving about $6.25 million at the end of 2023. As for debt, it has risen since 2015, now at just over $4 million.

Danielsen said that in many areas, their work is guided by provincially mandated asset management plans that dictate how and when many of their larger projects or acquisitions must be completed or made.

“Should council consider deferring projects that maintain our infrastructure in good condition, we face even greater increases in costs. Putting off increased taxes during challenging times can often lead to even greater increases down the road, making it even harder for ratepayers to bear the cost.”

Director of public works, Robert Sutton, said his biggest budget pressures are the volatility and uncertainty in material and labour costs, as well as delivery dates. He added climate change and evolving technological and regulatory challenges are also having an impact.

His department is recommending spending about $3.2 million on roads, with most of that being road resurfacing. Work would include parts of County Roads 3, 648, 10, 11 and 18. Another $1.1 million would go towards rehabilitation of the Gooderham bridge on CR 507, at a cost of more than $1 million, with engineering on Paudash Lake bridge on CR 9 for $40,000.

Director of planning, Steve Stone, said his budget demands include what the County is going to do with its shoreline preservation bylaw. He said $253,611 in expenses is proposed to be included in the 2023 budget, with money to hire staff to implement a new compliance monitoring program and purchase a vehicle to be shared.

He is looking for $120,000 to put towards a climate change adaptation plan, that includes implementing a Foodcycler program, to reduce 1,968 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. He is looking for money to update the County’s official plan due to growth projections.

Danielsen said County staff have encountered many challenges as they developed the first draft of the 2023 budget. She added it’s always more difficult in the first year of a council’s term, as staff don’t yet have a full understanding of the new members’ priorities and goals.

She added council will provide direction to staff over the next few meetings, “and I know we all sincerely hope that tax increases can be kept as low as possible.”

Finding solutions for Haliburton County’s housing problems is a “major priority” for local MPP Laurie Scott in the new year.

Speaking to The Highlander Jan. 9, Scott said she believes Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, that was introduced in November, will cut out a lot of “unnecessary” bureaucratic red tape at the municipal level, enabling developers to progress new builds quickly.

Some of the new legislation’s key features include reducing developer charges for affordable housing builds, allowing more livable units on one residential lot, and introducing programs promoting modular homes and rent-to-own properties. Through the new bill, up to three residential units, including basement apartments and garden suites, are now permitted on one lot without requiring any municipal bylaw amendments.

“The status quo wasn’t working. We are so far behind on our build targets, a million homes behind province-wide, that we needed to do something to move the needle. We have a new expectation; everyone needs to move faster and find ways to bring as much housing as we can, as quickly as we can.”

Asked how Bill 23 would help bring more affordable housing to Haliburton County considering one of its primary features is the reduction, or removal, of development charges – something the County doesn’t currently impose – Scott said the most important thing was to reduce wait times for development permits and rezoning applications.

“It’s about removing barriers… I’ve been hearing very positive things [about Bill 23] from developers and non-profits,” she said.

Scott believes staffing issues plaguing many industries in the County can be resolved by creating more places for people to live.

Haliburton Highlands Health Services has been struggling for months. Threats of emergency department closures at the County’s two hospitals have lingered, and Scott said alleviating these issues is another primary concern for her this year.

She said the province is continuing to offer free training for PSW courses, while supporting students looking to get their RN and RPN designations. She hopes a new provincial program designed to encourage people to work in rural communities can benefit the County.

“We’re paying for an RN’s education if they agree to go to an under-serviced area once they’ve graduated. Hopefully that will take effect in our area [this year],” Scott said.

Conversations are also ongoing with Ontario’s post-secondary institutions to expedite the process for overseas-trained nurses and physicians to be more quickly assessed and accredited.

The cost of living for most Ontarians has spiked substantially over the past 12 months. Scott said the province recently passed legislation to help vulnerable seniors by doubling the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) payment for 12 months, starting in January. This will increase the maximum payment to $166 per month for single seniors, and $332 per month for couples – an increase of almost $1,000 per person in 2023. Scott said around 200,000 seniors will benefit.

The MPP added the province is also renewing the Low-Income Individuals and Families (LIFT) tax credit, which provides a one-time payment to individuals earning less than $50,000 and families bringing in less than $82,500. Cuts to gas and fuel taxes are also being carried over into 2023, saving Ontario households an average of $195 a year.

More supports for children’s daycare are also being rolled out. A new $213 million grant program for childcare operators to create new spaces was unveiled in December, an extension of the province’s previous commitment to partner with the federal government on $10-a-day daycare. Ontario has committed to creating 71,000 new childcare spaces by 2026.

“That’s a biggie for a lot of people,” Scott said. “There will be more details surrounding daycare investments and enhancements later this year.”

The owner of Robinsons General Store told The Highlander they ran into financial hardship, which forced them to close the business Jan. 8.

“We tried everything,” Mike Hinbest said in an interview.

He said they did not release a statement to the community because they were devastated and did not know what to say. They also wanted to talk to staff first.

Hinbest added interest rates going up so dramatically and so fast had a major impact.

“When you buy a new business, you have a lot of liabilities.” He added the concurring drop in the real estate market put their assets at risk. What was “always a safe investment this year [2022] wasn’t and the perfect storm came.”

He said he and wife, Katie, have suffered personal financial losses. “We gave up every cent we had to our name to try to save this [the store] for the town.” An emotional Hinbest added, “we didn’t just run away.”

He said 90 per cent of people have been empathetic, and sad for the owners, staff, and community. He said other business owners in Dorset have reached out to lend support. However, he said 10 per cent of people had been unkind, even threatening, saying things such as, “don’t show your face around this town again.”

“They don’t know that we gave everything. My staff know. Even in this hardship, when we told them, the first thing out of their mouths was, ‘I feel so sorry for you guys, and I’m concerned about you and your family’,” Hinbest said. “We cared so much about them [staff], that they cared about us back.”

The marina and coffee and gelato shop are also closed.

Talking to the Robinsons

Hinbest said he had been talking to Joanne Robinson throughout the past year.

“When we started seeing that this might actually not work out, we phoned them [Joanne and husband Willie Hatton, who previously operated the store].”

“I just want people to know that we did everything for them. We tried everything.”

Joanne Robinson told The Highlander, “I don’t have any information to give you at this time, just because it’s so early, we don’t know how this is all going to play out.”

The Robinson family sold the 100-year-old general store to the Hinbests effective May 1, 2021.

Eight kittens, seemingly abandoned down an isolated road in Minden Hills, are now being cared for by Paulmac’s Pets in Minden.

Owner Amanda Dykstra said that as of Jan. 10, four black kittens were in the shop and another four tabbies were in the temporary care of a foster home.

While they appear healthy and were eating and drinking water, Dykstra said they were headed to the vet for a check-up Jan. 13.

She added once they have seen the vet, they can be adopted out. She’s encouraging locals to phone the store if they are interested. One has already been spoken for. There is an adoption fee to offset costs of $90 for kittens.

Former Algonquin Highlands mayor, Carol Moffatt, posted to Facebook Jan. 9 about the kittens being apparently dumped down Bingham Road, off of Scotch Line. She said they were in a cage on a winter’s day.

“Huge thanks to the person who came upon them and took them to the good folks at (Paulmac’s Pets),” she said.

Dykstra said she did not know about the circumstances surrounding the finding of the kittens, but said the OPP dropped them off at her store.

She was reluctant to discuss the person or persons who left the cats.

She said she didn’t want people in similar circumstances to necessarily call the pet store because they have people on a waiting list wanting to surrender cats and kittens, so circumstances such as this create an emergency situation.

“It means everybody on the list gets bumped down and that just puts pressure on the other people to dump their kittens.”

Barrie Martin sits in his Yours Outdoors office on a rainy January morning. He’s on Instagram trying to promote some of his business’s indoor activities while he, the rest of the Highlands winter tourism industry, and the visitors, wait for the snow to fall.

At the moment, it’s flameworking that Martin is selling. “It’s like glassblowing but it’s tubes and rods,” he explains. “Anything to do to throw them (tourists) this way,” he adds.

Like many businesses that rely on winter weather, Martin, who works in conjunction with Haliburton Forest, said it’s been a tough season to date.

He thinks fewer visitors are in the area than during the height of the pandemic. “So, I think demand is down a little bit and that certainly is exacerbated by a winter that has yet to arrive.”

He said Yours Outdoors and Haliburton Forest have had to cancel “all kinds of things.”

For example, the Forest’s snowmobile trails have been closed. It means less accommodation booked. Yours Outdoors has had to scrap things such as igloo building, ice climbing, skijoring, and skiing.

Martin jokes he should change the business name to Yours Indoors, since he is spending a lot of time at the computer marketing, booking, cancelling, issuing refunds, and promoting alternate adventures.

Climate change impacts local tourism and economy

He reckons his business relies on winter for 50 per cent of its revenue so, “it’s fairly significant.”

For example, on this day, he has changed an itinerary for a couple who came to ice climb and snowmobile. They’re now geocaching, going to a water spa, the wolf centre and a sip, swill, savour event. “We try to make the best of what we have.” It requires being “nimble,” he said, but admits that after a while “it does wear on you.”

“I think in the longer term, winter tourism is going to be an endangered species … with climate change. Are we prepared for five months of November weather? It’s very worrisome being in the tourism industry, and for the winter tourism industry, for sure.”

HCSA still optimistic

John Enright is president of the Haliburton County Snowmobile Association (HCSA). He noted they didn’t start grooming last year until Jan. 18, so, “we’re not behind the eightball. The sky is not falling in. We hope it does with snow. No doubt it’s a setback, but the season is not over. It hasn’t even started yet,” he said.

Enright added if history repeats itself, data indicates they’ll have a 70-day riding season.

In the meantime, volunteers are “crazy busy” preparing trails since there are several steps, including removing fallen trees on hilly terrain, and, when winter weather returns, staking 17 lakes with 900 orange stakes.

We need several days of cold to dry out all the water and then snow, snow, snow,” the HCSA president added.

He half-jokingly encourages people to do a snow dance. “Put a white crayon in your freezer, wear your pyjamas inside out and put a spoon under your pillow,” he said.

Doug Wilkinson, who owns Sir Sam’s Ski/ Ride, said they had to postpone the planned ski cross for this past weekend and they also had to close some of the slopes. However, he said they opened a week earlier this year and had two winter camps over the school holidays.

“If you look at our guest count … it’s pretty much flat or a little bit up from last year.”

They also have the advantage that they can make snow, unlike those who make money from other sports, including ice fishing and dog sledding. Sir Sam’s was planning to make more snow this past weekend.

“It’s just part of the business,” Wilkinson said. “I actually take it in stride because there’s nothing we can do about it. Not all doom and gloom. You have to stay optimistic.”

He is looking forward to sun and cold going forward, anticipating a fully open hill as of Jan. 12. They are eagerly awaiting 1,500 kids, booked through school trips, to show up over the next month or two.

Climate change

County climate change coordinator Korey McKay said, with climate change, “we are seeing warmer winters with more precipitation falling as rain instead of snow. This impacts snow and ice cover for winter-based recreation such as skiing, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing, which in turn has impacts on tourism and our local economy.”

McKay added, “the impacts that we will experience in the future depend on global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Climate Atlas of Canada, if emissions continue to rise at current rates, the average winter temperature in the Haliburton area will increase by approximately 5°C toward the end of the century.”