Grey County Committee Meeting Transcript — September 24, 2025

00:03:44 Speaker 02: have quorum. We do, so I'll

00:03:46 Speaker 02: call this meeting to order. sorry,

00:03:51 Speaker 02: Rob. It's ten or nine thirty,

00:03:55 Speaker 02: September twenty fourth, for our Budget

00:03:58 Speaker 02: and Finance Committee. We will call

00:04:00 Speaker 02: the meeting to order. Is there

00:04:01 Speaker 02: any declaration of interest related to

00:04:03 Speaker 02: any item on today's agenda? Not

00:04:08 Speaker 02: seeing any. If one should arise,

00:04:10 Speaker 02: you can declare it at any

00:04:11 Speaker 02: time. We don't have any delegations.

00:04:13 Speaker 02: I don't believe. So we'll move

00:04:15 Speaker 02: right on to items for discussion

00:04:17 Speaker 02: and direction. and/or direction. We're going

00:04:20 Speaker 02: to have a presentation on capital

00:04:22 Speaker 02: from long-term care. Miss Jennifer is

00:04:25 Speaker 02: here this morning to lead us

00:04:27 Speaker 02: through that. So, Jen, the floor

00:04:29 Speaker 02: is yours. Welcome. Thank you, Mr.

00:04:35 Speaker 02: Chair. Good morning, committee. Okay, minor

00:04:41 Speaker 02: detail, really, and my. are you

00:04:47 Speaker 02: are you okay? We'll just get

00:04:51 Speaker 02: the presentation up on the screen.

00:04:55 Speaker 03: All right. Good morning. Nice to

00:05:06 Speaker 03: see everyone. Okay, I am here

00:05:09 Speaker 03: to give an overview of the

00:05:13 Speaker 03: long-term care capital. process, and with

00:05:17 Speaker 03: me I have Marcus Tarco, who

00:05:21 Speaker 03: is the manager, and he is

00:05:24 Speaker 03: here to help us answer any

00:05:25 Speaker 03: questions. So the the presentation is

00:05:29 Speaker 03: just going to give you a

00:05:31 Speaker 03: little bit of information, a high-level

00:05:32 Speaker 03: overview of the department, our funding

00:05:35 Speaker 03: sources, what we see as capital

00:05:39 Speaker 03: assets, how we go about identifying

00:05:41 Speaker 03: and time. Identifying and timing our

00:05:45 Speaker 03: projects, determining and tracking the budget,

00:05:47 Speaker 03: a little bit about Rockwood Terrace

00:05:50 Speaker 03: redevelopment, and some home-specific highlights. So,

00:05:54 Speaker 03: as you all know, the department

00:05:57 Speaker 03: overview long-term care is made up

00:05:59 Speaker 03: of our three long-term care homes:

00:06:02 Speaker 03: Gray Gables in Markdale, Lee Manor

00:06:04 Speaker 03: in On Sound, and Rockwood Terrace

00:06:06 Speaker 03: in Durham. Gray Gables is home

00:06:09 Speaker 03: to 66 residents. It was originally

00:06:11 Speaker 03: the house of Refuge, built in

00:06:15 Speaker 03: 1903, and in 2021 Maple Lane

00:06:18 Speaker 03: transitioned to the Behavioural Support Transition

00:06:22 Speaker 03: Unit. Lee Manor is home to

00:06:25 Speaker 03: 151 residents, opened in 1973 and

00:06:28 Speaker 03: refurbished in 2006. It was a

00:06:31 Speaker 03: joint development by the Lee Estate,

00:06:33 Speaker 03: the City of On Sound, and

00:06:35 Speaker 03: the County of Grey in the

00:06:36 Speaker 03: Province of Ontario, and historically has

00:06:41 Speaker 03: a. Historically, has approximately sixty-six people

00:06:43 Speaker 03: moving in each year, although that

00:06:46 Speaker 03: is trending up. And Rockwood Terrace

00:06:47 Speaker 03: is home to one hundred and

00:06:50 Speaker 03: two residents, opened in nineteen

00:06:53 Speaker 03: eighty-four, has approximately forty-one people moving

00:06:56 Speaker 03: in each year, and is currently

00:07:02 Speaker 03: in the redevelopment process. Wanting to

00:07:04 Speaker 03: just highlight on this slide the

00:07:07 Speaker 03: differing ages of the buildings, each.

00:07:11 Speaker 03: building does have a building building

00:07:15 Speaker 03: supervisor or a maintenance manager that

00:07:19 Speaker 03: oversees the bulk of the assets,

00:07:22 Speaker 03: including the bricks and mortar. And

00:07:23 Speaker 03: who do we serve? Well, we

00:07:24 Speaker 03: have our three hundred and nineteen

00:07:28 Speaker 03: residents. We have six hundred and

00:07:30 Speaker 03: forty staff, two hundred and fifty

00:07:32 Speaker 03: designated care partners, thirty six volunteers,

00:07:37 Speaker 03: and lots of students and. other

00:07:43 Speaker 03: health partners. Our capital funding sources

00:07:45 Speaker 03: are the Ministry of Long Term

00:07:50 Speaker 03: Care. They provide funding for comprehensive

00:07:53 Speaker 03: minor capital, and these are

00:07:58 Speaker 03: very specifically outlined eligibility criteria for

00:08:00 Speaker 03: minor repair and upkeep of long

00:08:02 Speaker 03: term care homes. This government has

00:08:08 Speaker 03: been bundling together. funding streams that

00:08:10 Speaker 03: were little pots of money for

00:08:12 Speaker 03: specific items, and have been bundling

00:08:16 Speaker 03: them together into one fund called

00:08:18 Speaker 03: the Comprehensive Minor Capital, and that's

00:08:20 Speaker 03: at a prescribed rate of fifty-five

00:08:22 Speaker 03: dollars and sixty-nine cents per bed

00:08:26 Speaker 03: per month. Long-term care homes specific

00:08:31 Speaker 03: reserves and Gray County taxation. As

00:08:33 Speaker 03: we've discussed briefly, our capital assets

00:08:36 Speaker 03: are. our bricks and mortar, parking

00:08:38 Speaker 03: lots, etc., and as well as

00:08:41 Speaker 03: our equipment. So everything from nursing

00:08:45 Speaker 03: equipment like lifts, lift equipment, to

00:08:49 Speaker 03: dietary, kitchen equipment, laundry equipment, HEPA

00:08:53 Speaker 03: filters, sanitization equipment. Those are all

00:08:55 Speaker 03: of the items that land on

00:09:01 Speaker 03: the capital asset list. So how

00:09:05 Speaker 03: do we identify and determine our

00:09:07 Speaker 03: projects? How do we plan? How

00:09:09 Speaker 03: do we build our 10-year our

00:09:12 Speaker 03: 10-year plan? We rely heavily on

00:09:14 Speaker 03: our building condition assessment report. It's

00:09:17 Speaker 03: very helpful to have one document

00:09:21 Speaker 03: that outlines each piece of equipment,

00:09:25 Speaker 03: each asset, its life cycle, its

00:09:29 Speaker 03: predicted end of life, the cost

00:09:34 Speaker 03: of replacement, the cost. So we

00:09:36 Speaker 03: tool a lot, and then the

00:09:39 Speaker 03: other, we we use Works

00:09:41 Speaker 03: Hub software programme for our preventative

00:09:44 Speaker 03: maintenance. So we our building and

00:09:47 Speaker 03: maintenance team has a very rigorous

00:09:50 Speaker 03: preventative maintenance programme that looks at

00:09:51 Speaker 03: all of our equipment, all of

00:09:54 Speaker 03: our assets on cycle. We track

00:09:56 Speaker 03: that information and we use that

00:10:00 Speaker 03: information to make good decisions. We

00:10:03 Speaker 03: have items bundled into ongoing cycles,

00:10:06 Speaker 03: like beds, mattresses, and lifts. We,

00:10:07 Speaker 03: as I said, we review our

00:10:09 Speaker 03: asset condition regularly to adjust the

00:10:13 Speaker 03: replacement. We have our partners supporting

00:10:15 Speaker 03: us with our lifts. Is Arjo?

00:10:17 Speaker 03: They have a service programme that

00:10:19 Speaker 03: also supports making sure that our

00:10:22 Speaker 03: equipment is in good working condition,

00:10:23 Speaker 03: is safe for the residents and

00:10:25 Speaker 03: the team members using it. We

00:10:28 Speaker 03: have scheduled replacement. Then we. Replacement

00:10:31 Speaker 03: thing or upgrades like painting is

00:10:34 Speaker 03: on a scheduled cycle, and then

00:10:37 Speaker 03: we have provincial funding and provincial

00:10:39 Speaker 03: directions. So these are a little

00:10:41 Speaker 03: harder to predict. Those might be

00:10:43 Speaker 03: specialized funds that come available due

00:10:46 Speaker 03: to external factors, such as air

00:10:48 Speaker 03: conditioning, sprinkler systems. Those are some

00:10:49 Speaker 03: examples of items that have come

00:10:55 Speaker 03: up in the past. And like

00:10:57 Speaker 03: the other departments, we use our

00:11:00 Speaker 03: request for proposal. We use a

00:11:02 Speaker 03: quote system to make sure that

00:11:06 Speaker 03: we are being fiscally responsible. Our

00:11:08 Speaker 03: project timelines are adjusted to accommodate

00:11:11 Speaker 03: infection prevention and control protocols, minimize

00:11:16 Speaker 03: disruption to vulnerable residents, and we

00:11:17 Speaker 03: have monthly finance and procurement meetings

00:11:20 Speaker 03: with the executive directors, the maintenance

00:11:22 Speaker 03: leaders of each home, so that

00:11:24 Speaker 03: we are checking in on our

00:11:26 Speaker 03: projects. How are the projects that

00:11:28 Speaker 03: are actively in play? How are

00:11:30 Speaker 03: they going? What's next on the

00:11:33 Speaker 03: list? What's the status? Are things

00:11:35 Speaker 03: running over? Did things cost too

00:11:36 Speaker 03: much? Did it come in too

00:11:39 Speaker 03: high? Where are there opportunities to

00:11:40 Speaker 03: make adjustments? And those meetings happen

00:11:48 Speaker 03: on a monthly basis. And Rockwood

00:11:51 Speaker 03: Terrace redevelopment for members of this

00:11:54 Speaker 03: committee that have been part of

00:11:57 Speaker 03: the long-term care committee of management,

00:11:59 Speaker 03: and our discussions for budget and

00:12:01 Speaker 03: capital planning for Rockwood Terrace over

00:12:03 Speaker 03: the years, you will recall that

00:12:08 Speaker 03: we've been only making repairs at

00:12:12 Speaker 03: at Rockwood for risk and safety.

00:12:15 Speaker 03: So we're holding off on making

00:12:17 Speaker 03: significant repairs if we're able to

00:12:19 Speaker 03: make the item safe and then

00:12:20 Speaker 03: move it over to the to

00:12:22 Speaker 03: the new build. We are looking.

00:12:25 Speaker 03: at opportunities, though with the transition

00:12:27 Speaker 03: to the new Rockwood Terrace for

00:12:29 Speaker 03: inventory opportunities for the other two

00:12:33 Speaker 03: homes. So, as you recall, the

00:12:35 Speaker 03: the new Rockwood needs to be

00:12:37 Speaker 03: completely turnkey, ready to go for

00:12:39 Speaker 03: residents moving in, which means that

00:12:42 Speaker 03: the existing Rockwood Terrace will still

00:12:43 Speaker 03: have a number of assets that

00:12:46 Speaker 03: are in very good condition, like

00:12:48 Speaker 03: beds, mattresses, some lifts, that kind

00:12:50 Speaker 03: of thing. So we're looking at

00:12:51 Speaker 03: opportunities to perhaps take. a bit

00:12:54 Speaker 03: of a holiday in purchasing new

00:12:56 Speaker 03: beds and mattresses for Gray Gables

00:12:58 Speaker 03: and Lee Manor. If we're able

00:13:00 Speaker 03: to have some of the good

00:13:01 Speaker 03: condition equipment from Rockwood go to

00:13:03 Speaker 03: the other two homes, so we're

00:13:06 Speaker 03: in the stages of exploring that.

00:13:10 Speaker 03: Fixtures, furniture, and equipment is a

00:13:11 Speaker 03: huge topic that we spend a

00:13:12 Speaker 03: great deal of time on in

00:13:14 Speaker 03: preparing for the new Rockwood Terrace,

00:13:15 Speaker 03: and it gives us an opportunity

00:13:19 Speaker 03: to look at leading practice and

00:13:24 Speaker 03: opportunities to. be more efficient and

00:13:27 Speaker 03: upgrade assets in the other two

00:13:30 Speaker 03: homes and operational readiness for 2026.

00:13:32 Speaker 03: Just wanted to note that there

00:13:34 Speaker 03: is a report coming to the

00:13:37 Speaker 03: task force this afternoon talking about

00:13:40 Speaker 03: that operational readiness and the the

00:13:43 Speaker 03: budget impacts of having two buildings

00:13:45 Speaker 03: running at the same time for

00:13:49 Speaker 03: a short period of time. And

00:13:52 Speaker 03: finally, just some home-specific examples of

00:13:54 Speaker 03: items that are on the ten-year

00:13:57 Speaker 03: capital. So at Gray Gables, there's

00:14:00 Speaker 03: an ongoing cycle of replacement for

00:14:03 Speaker 03: copper replacement. The plumbing fixture is

00:14:06 Speaker 03: a 2025 to 2028 project. So

00:14:10 Speaker 03: we try to look at opportunities

00:14:14 Speaker 03: to be successful in having our

00:14:16 Speaker 03: capital projects happen and spread that

00:14:17 Speaker 03: over. a period of time. We

00:14:20 Speaker 03: can't go in and replace 66

00:14:23 Speaker 03: plumbing fixtures all in one year.

00:14:26 Speaker 03: And then nurse call replacement. You'll

00:14:27 Speaker 03: see it on Gray Gables and

00:14:29 Speaker 03: Lee Manor. And this is an

00:14:32 Speaker 03: opera. This is an example of

00:14:34 Speaker 03: where we have paused a replacement

00:14:36 Speaker 03: at one of the homes to

00:14:38 Speaker 03: be able to align with the

00:14:39 Speaker 03: Rockwood Terrace rebuild. So we're trying

00:14:42 Speaker 03: to be efficient, make good decisions.

00:14:44 Speaker 03: We're trying to have consistency across

00:14:47 Speaker 03: the three homes. for repair, for

00:14:49 Speaker 03: ease of use, that kind of

00:14:51 Speaker 03: thing. So Gray Gables and Lee

00:14:53 Speaker 03: Manor have nurse call replacement on

00:14:56 Speaker 03: their ten-year capital to align with

00:14:57 Speaker 03: the nurse call system that's going

00:15:01 Speaker 03: into the new Rockwood. Lee Manor

00:15:04 Speaker 03: has building automation system on their

00:15:05 Speaker 03: ten-year capital, and again, this is

00:15:10 Speaker 03: an opportunity to look at efficiencies

00:15:14 Speaker 03: and savings and nurse. And nursing

00:15:17 Speaker 03: station modern modernization is another item

00:15:18 Speaker 03: on the tenure on the tenure

00:15:20 Speaker 03: capital for Lee Manor, and this

00:15:24 Speaker 03: was an opportunity to improve privacy

00:15:25 Speaker 03: and efficient use of space for

00:15:28 Speaker 03: the team members and for the

00:15:29 Speaker 03: residents. And Rockwood Terrace, we've talked

00:15:31 Speaker 03: about a little bit, and I'll

00:15:32 Speaker 03: just highlight for those of you

00:15:34 Speaker 03: that are coming out this afternoon,

00:15:36 Speaker 03: we'll be able to show you

00:15:38 Speaker 03: the an example of the new

00:15:40 Speaker 03: beds that we're getting, which is

00:15:43 Speaker 03: not only leading practice, but it's

00:15:46 Speaker 03: an opportunity for safety for the

00:15:47 Speaker 03: residents and for the team members.

00:15:50 Speaker 03: So right now, when new technology

00:15:53 Speaker 03: comes out and new systems, they

00:15:55 Speaker 03: are added on to the existing.

00:15:59 Speaker 03: So the the bed is an

00:16:00 Speaker 03: example where everything is built in.

00:16:03 Speaker 03: So there's alarm system, there's fall

00:16:07 Speaker 03: prevention systems, there's lighting that supports

00:16:08 Speaker 03: that, and we're excited to be

00:16:10 Speaker 03: able to see that trial it

00:16:11 Speaker 03: at Rockwood. and see if that's

00:16:12 Speaker 03: something that we want to move

00:16:17 Speaker 03: to the other two forms. That

00:16:20 Speaker 03: is the presentation. Happy to answer

00:16:26 Speaker 02: any questions, if there are any.

00:16:27 Speaker 02: Oh, thank you, Jen. Before I

00:16:28 Speaker 02: go to questions, I need a

00:16:30 Speaker 02: mover and a second, or maybe

00:16:33 Speaker 02: please to receive the report. Councillor

00:16:34 Speaker 02: Nielsen, Councillor Deckard, Councillor Nielsen, you

00:16:38 Speaker 02: had a question. Go ahead, please.

00:16:39 Speaker 02: Thank you very much, Chair. Just

00:16:41 Speaker 04: a quick. question. I know, like

00:16:42 Speaker 04: our BCA study, and I know

00:16:45 Speaker 04: staff have commented before on capital

00:16:47 Speaker 04: process that the asset management plan

00:16:48 Speaker 04: that BCA studies nothing's replaced until

00:16:50 Speaker 04: it actually needs to be replaced,

00:16:52 Speaker 04: right? So we we do those

00:16:54 Speaker 04: calculations. But when it comes to

00:16:56 Speaker 04: the long-term care homes, because we're

00:16:57 Speaker 04: it's a healthcare facility, are there

00:16:58 Speaker 04: items that have to be replaced

00:17:00 Speaker 04: on a certain schedule? Like

00:17:02 Speaker 04: I think of our firefighters for

00:17:05 Speaker 04: volunteer firemen says your firefighter equipment

00:17:07 Speaker 04: has a life expired and then

00:17:08 Speaker 04: we need to shift it. over.

00:17:09 Speaker 04: Is there a lot of equipment

00:17:13 Speaker 04: that end up having the same

00:17:16 Speaker 04: process? Thank you, and through you,

00:17:19 Speaker 05: Mr. Chair. I would say we

00:17:23 Speaker 05: don't mess around with lift equipment.

00:17:24 Speaker 05: So if the contractor recommends something

00:17:26 Speaker 05: is at the end of its

00:17:29 Speaker 05: life for lift and transfer equipment,

00:17:31 Speaker 05: we absolutely follow those guidelines.

00:17:34 Speaker 05: But for the most part, with

00:17:37 Speaker 05: our preventative maintenance programme and our

00:17:39 Speaker 05: partnerships with contracted suppliers. we are

00:17:41 Speaker 05: able to look at things like

00:17:43 Speaker 05: how often has it been repaired.

00:17:45 Speaker 05: If it's been repaired a number

00:17:48 Speaker 05: of times, perhaps it's it is

00:17:49 Speaker 05: time to make that replacement, or

00:17:51 Speaker 05: it seems to be going just

00:17:53 Speaker 05: fine. So we're going to put

00:17:54 Speaker 05: those funds in reserves. We're going

00:17:56 Speaker 05: to keep an eye on the

00:17:58 Speaker 05: item, and then we'll be able

00:18:02 Speaker 05: to make that replacement when it

00:18:04 Speaker 05: fails or or has stops working.

00:18:06 Speaker 05: But for the most part, we're

00:18:10 Speaker 05: able to take that same approach

00:18:17 Speaker 06: as as other departments. Thank you,

00:18:19 Speaker 06: Jen. Any other questions, Councillor Mackie?

00:18:22 Speaker 06: Please. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Jen,

00:18:25 Speaker 06: thank you for the report. The

00:18:28 Speaker 07: prescribed funding of fifty five sixty

00:18:32 Speaker 07: nine that the the ministry provides

00:18:35 Speaker 07: per month per bed. I suspect

00:18:37 Speaker 07: that is. well under what our

00:18:42 Speaker 07: actual costs would be for for

00:18:45 Speaker 07: maintenance. So maybe through you to

00:18:48 Speaker 07: to Marcus, just wondering what our

00:18:54 Speaker 07: actual expense would be in that

00:18:55 Speaker 07: regard, what or what the shortfall

00:18:57 Speaker 07: is. I guess. Thank you, and

00:19:01 Speaker 07: through you, Mister Chair, I will

00:19:04 Speaker 07: invite Marcus. Nobody have specific finance

00:19:07 Speaker 07: question. It's perfect for me. Finance

00:19:09 Speaker 07: question is perfect for me. Yeah,

00:19:11 Speaker 08: through through, Mr. Chair. Yeah, the

00:19:14 Speaker 08: comprehensive minor capital that comes in

00:19:16 Speaker 08: is a fairly new funding funding

00:19:18 Speaker 08: one to alleviate the repair and

00:19:21 Speaker 08: maintenance, general wear and tears. We

00:19:22 Speaker 08: how we've how we've handled it,

00:19:23 Speaker 08: and that is there's plenty of

00:19:25 Speaker 08: unexpected costs that come up for

00:19:26 Speaker 08: us to apply to it. So

00:19:27 Speaker 08: what you did see was that

00:19:30 Speaker 08: back about two years ago, we

00:19:32 Speaker 08: were able to alleviate a little

00:19:33 Speaker 08: bit of our repair and maintenance

00:19:35 Speaker 08: expenditures on the operating. side between

00:19:37 Speaker 08: the homes to actually effectively using

00:19:40 Speaker 08: it to say okay we can

00:19:42 Speaker 08: offset this and then beyond that

00:19:44 Speaker 08: it's being used for capital capital

00:19:45 Speaker 08: projects that come up as upsets

00:19:47 Speaker 08: or maybe if they have an

00:19:49 Speaker 08: increased cost so it's a it's

00:19:51 Speaker 08: a very hard one to say

00:19:53 Speaker 08: since even though we can show

00:19:55 Speaker 08: you for instance that Lee Manor

00:19:56 Speaker 08: has a let an annual levy

00:19:58 Speaker 08: for our capital reserve intake of

00:20:00 Speaker 08: one hundred fifty four thousand in

00:20:01 Speaker 08: one year they could be spending

00:20:03 Speaker 08: eight hundred thousand or something like

00:20:05 Speaker 08: that. So it's it's not something

00:20:07 Speaker 08: that is a a clear indication

00:20:10 Speaker 08: to say oh this was this

00:20:11 Speaker 08: is offsetting completely because it's against

00:20:12 Speaker 08: our tenure. It's more or less

00:20:13 Speaker 08: used to weather the storms of

00:20:15 Speaker 08: unexpected costs and that kind of

00:20:16 Speaker 08: stuff that come up, which is

00:20:17 Speaker 08: great for us to be able

00:20:21 Speaker 08: to come and say okay there

00:20:22 Speaker 08: isn't we're not coming to committee

00:20:24 Speaker 08: of management and that to say

00:20:25 Speaker 08: we need additional additional funds to

00:20:27 Speaker 08: cover one. What I will also

00:20:30 Speaker 08: just add as another note is

00:20:33 Speaker 08: that this is one source of

00:20:34 Speaker 08: funding that has been consistent. The

00:20:35 Speaker 08: other one that consistently comes up

00:20:36 Speaker 08: is one-time funding for a very

00:20:38 Speaker 08: specific niche example, and then they

00:20:40 Speaker 08: say after you've completed that, you

00:20:41 Speaker 08: can spend it on what you

00:20:43 Speaker 08: will. So, for instance, we went

00:20:46 Speaker 08: through one where it was fire

00:20:48 Speaker 08: AC, so air conditioning, making sure

00:20:49 Speaker 08: that all of our homes are

00:20:51 Speaker 08: tempered, controlled. Latest one was fire

00:20:52 Speaker 08: suppression. It's not. It's not hard

00:20:54 Speaker 08: for you to look in the

00:20:56 Speaker 08: news that a another long-term care

00:20:59 Speaker 08: home had a serious issue with

00:21:00 Speaker 08: it. So the province said, okay,

00:21:01 Speaker 08: everybody here is an. X an

00:21:03 Speaker 08: X amount that's been allocated towards

00:21:05 Speaker 08: you. Please use it for your

00:21:07 Speaker 08: fire suppression, but if it's in

00:21:08 Speaker 08: good working order, then you can

00:21:10 Speaker 08: use it for other capital projects.

00:21:14 Speaker 08: So, we get a lot of

00:21:20 Speaker 08: event driven funding as well when

00:21:23 Speaker 09: it comes to pressures that might

00:21:26 Speaker 09: exist across the province as well.

00:21:29 Speaker 09: Thank you, Marcus. Councillor Raffles. Thank

00:21:33 Speaker 09: you, Mr. Chair, and through you,

00:21:37 Speaker 09: probably the. gem. I see at

00:21:38 Speaker 09: Gray Gables, you mentioned that we're

00:21:39 Speaker 09: still replacing copper piping. Is this

00:21:48 Speaker 09: going to be like a life

00:21:51 Speaker 09: cycle? The building probably has another

00:21:55 Speaker 05: fifty years, and we've been at

00:21:57 Speaker 05: it for twenty years now. Oh.

00:21:59 Speaker 05: Thank you for the question, Mr.

00:22:02 Speaker 05: Chair. Yes, so. we have been

00:22:05 Speaker 05: replacing the copper at Gray Gables

00:22:07 Speaker 05: for about ten years, so we're

00:22:10 Speaker 05: just about at the end of

00:22:16 Speaker 05: of the replacement process. I can't

00:22:19 Speaker 05: tell you the specifics, other than

00:22:20 Speaker 05: we're not we're using a a

00:22:22 Speaker 05: better material for an industrial building

00:22:24 Speaker 05: than what is what has been

00:22:26 Speaker 05: built what it what what it

00:22:29 Speaker 05: was built with. and so we

00:22:31 Speaker 05: were having some issues with pitting

00:22:33 Speaker 05: and leaks, and we wanted to

00:22:35 Speaker 05: not be just replacing the the

00:22:37 Speaker 05: leaks and the pitting. So we

00:22:39 Speaker 05: started about ten years ago doing

00:22:41 Speaker 05: that replacement, and we should we

00:22:45 Speaker 05: should be soon at the end

00:22:47 Speaker 05: of that copper replacement, and then

00:22:51 Speaker 05: we won't need to be doing

00:22:54 Speaker 05: the replacement of copper. We'll have

00:22:57 Speaker 05: replaced it all. And the building

00:22:59 Speaker 05: is twenty five years old, so.

00:23:02 Speaker 05: it—I think that copper replacement need

00:23:11 Speaker 05: happened earlier than we would have

00:23:14 Speaker 09: anticipated, but we are at that

00:23:16 Speaker 09: 25-year mark where we're starting to

00:23:20 Speaker 09: see items that need to be

00:23:25 Speaker 09: replaced. Unfortunately, did we ever get

00:23:26 Speaker 09: any warranty work done on that

00:23:30 Speaker 09: from the contractors that built it?

00:23:32 Speaker 09: Who built it? Are we expecting

00:23:34 Speaker 03: that check to come soon? Thank

00:23:40 Speaker 03: you, and through you, Mr. Chair.

00:23:43 Speaker 03: The when I joined the team,

00:23:44 Speaker 03: the time for warranty would have

00:23:46 Speaker 08: passed. So I don't know if

00:23:48 Speaker 08: anyone has memory before that. I

00:23:50 Speaker 08: suspected you might, but Marcus did

00:23:53 Speaker 08: indicate he had something that he

00:23:55 Speaker 08: wanted to add around that. copper

00:23:56 Speaker 08: replacement, maybe not even just copper

00:23:58 Speaker 08: replacement, but when in regards to

00:24:01 Speaker 08: warranty, warranties become a it's it's

00:24:03 Speaker 08: a rising a rising issue or

00:24:06 Speaker 08: thorn in our side for a

00:24:08 Speaker 08: lot of these things. So, for

00:24:12 Speaker 08: instance, last year, well, two years

00:24:14 Speaker 08: ago, we did a fairly significant

00:24:16 Speaker 08: air handler expansion and replacement to

00:24:19 Speaker 08: Lee Manor, and last year, one

00:24:20 Speaker 08: of the condensers failed on us.

00:24:22 Speaker 08: at It was it was eleven.

00:24:24 Speaker 08: It was It was at twelve

00:24:25 Speaker 08: months and eighteen days, and the

00:24:26 Speaker 08: warranty was for exactly twelve months.

00:24:29 Speaker 08: And they said, "Well, too bad,

00:24:31 Speaker 08: so sad." So we've been experiencing

00:24:32 Speaker 08: it across the board that a

00:24:35 Speaker 08: lot of these warranties that we

00:24:37 Speaker 08: might have aren't exactly the most

00:24:38 Speaker 08: wholesome. Oh yeah, we'll honour that,

00:24:39 Speaker 08: or we have some goodwill faith

00:24:42 Speaker 03: or anything like that. So unfortunately,

00:24:45 Speaker 03: that's a rising trend, at least

00:24:47 Speaker 03: with us. I imagine it is

00:24:50 Speaker 03: with the rest of the county

00:24:51 Speaker 03: as well. I will just add

00:24:53 Speaker 03: that we had that. these experiences

00:24:55 Speaker 03: were have not been for naught.

00:24:56 Speaker 03: We've made sure that these are

00:24:59 Speaker 03: the kinds of questions that we

00:25:03 Speaker 03: ask during the design stage for

00:25:05 Speaker 03: the for the Rockwood Terrace build

00:25:08 Speaker 10: to make sure that we don't

00:25:13 Speaker 10: find ourselves as as much as

00:25:14 Speaker 10: possible in a similar situation. Thank

00:25:16 Speaker 10: you. Sometimes those warranties can be

00:25:20 Speaker 11: a bit of a pipe dream.

00:25:23 Speaker 11: Councillor Greg. Thank you, Deputy Order.

00:25:25 Speaker 11: A pleasure to be sitting on

00:25:29 Speaker 11: this side with you today. So

00:25:31 Speaker 11: you've got some company over here.

00:25:32 Speaker 11: It's us versus them. I do

00:25:34 Speaker 11: have a question, kind of falling

00:25:36 Speaker 11: out of Councillor Mackey's question. Yes,

00:25:40 Speaker 11: this is capital budget, but a

00:25:41 Speaker 11: little bit of his question struck

00:25:46 Speaker 11: me as a level of service,

00:25:51 Speaker 11: and I'm wondering: Do you get

00:25:53 Speaker 11: comparatives from the private sector, private

00:25:54 Speaker 11: long-term care? homes, in terms of

00:26:02 Speaker 11: comparing costs, Councillor Mackey's question was

00:26:05 Speaker 11: funding versus the deficit to the

00:26:07 Speaker 11: actual cost of repairs. Can you

00:26:08 Speaker 11: stack that against what it is

00:26:10 Speaker 08: in the in the private realm?

00:26:11 Speaker 08: Comparing against the private sector is

00:26:12 Speaker 08: a fairly large, difficult task for

00:26:14 Speaker 08: us to do, as they're not

00:26:17 Speaker 08: exactly the most saying. Here's our

00:26:18 Speaker 08: books, and here's exactly what we're

00:26:21 Speaker 08: doing on a on a per

00:26:23 Speaker 08: one. I will say, however, when

00:26:26 Speaker 08: we we do get some comparisons

00:26:27 Speaker 08: in regards to our other municipal

00:26:29 Speaker 08: and not for profits through Advantage.

00:26:30 Speaker 08: So every year we provide them

00:26:31 Speaker 08: our annual reconciliation report, which is

00:26:33 Speaker 08: an audited statement done by our

00:26:35 Speaker 08: auditors. They're all done by their

00:26:38 Speaker 08: auditors, which is submitted so that

00:26:40 Speaker 08: we can compare to say where

00:26:42 Speaker 08: do we sit in regards to

00:26:44 Speaker 08: everything from housekeeping, how much we

00:26:47 Speaker 08: spend, comparison to them, including including

00:26:49 Speaker 08: maintenance and that kind of stuff.

00:26:50 Speaker 08: Now, albeit it's a it isn't

00:26:52 Speaker 08: a perfect one because some will

00:26:55 Speaker 08: do different accounting practices to present

00:26:56 Speaker 08: their their maintenance and repairs. Some

00:26:57 Speaker 08: will say, oh well, all maintenance

00:27:00 Speaker 08: and repairs comes from capital reserves,

00:27:01 Speaker 08: so then they have no operating

00:27:03 Speaker 08: repair and maintenance in comparison. But

00:27:06 Speaker 08: we do have a fair amount

00:27:08 Speaker 08: that we do have comparison to

00:27:09 Speaker 08: for the most for the most

00:27:10 Speaker 08: part in that where we we

00:27:12 Speaker 08: present on that level of service

00:27:13 Speaker 08: service with them. and we sit

00:27:15 Speaker 08: we sit well within like the

00:27:16 Speaker 08: middle of the middle of the

00:27:18 Speaker 08: mark. Sometimes on the higher end,

00:27:20 Speaker 08: it depends on depends on exactly

00:27:21 Speaker 08: which home you're looking at and

00:27:23 Speaker 08: which region. But we do sit.

00:27:25 Speaker 08: It's not that we're sitting anywhere

00:27:27 Speaker 08: saying that we're we're we're not

00:27:28 Speaker 08: we're nowhere that in the finance

00:27:29 Speaker 08: world we're not concerned saying oh

00:27:30 Speaker 08: my god we're replacing we're replacing

00:27:31 Speaker 08: things. Comparison to our peers that

00:27:32 Speaker 08: it has a slight scuff and

00:27:34 Speaker 08: we say throw it out. But

00:27:35 Speaker 08: we're also not at the bottom

00:27:36 Speaker 08: of the line saying well it

00:27:39 Speaker 08: broke down. But if you kick

00:27:41 Speaker 08: it really good, we can use

00:27:42 Speaker 08: it the next day. So at

00:27:44 Speaker 08: least we're. sitting in a good

00:27:46 Speaker 08: spot that way. The only other

00:27:48 Speaker 08: thing to point to point at

00:27:49 Speaker 08: least in the in the trending

00:27:51 Speaker 08: at least this is more on

00:27:53 Speaker 08: the redevelopment side is that like

00:27:55 Speaker 08: is with with redevelopment, especially when

00:27:57 Speaker 08: we're looking at the private sector,

00:28:01 Speaker 08: is that when we when we

00:28:02 Speaker 08: redevelop it, we get a we

00:28:04 Speaker 08: get funding funding from the provinces,

00:28:05 Speaker 08: the construction fund subsidy to help

00:28:07 Speaker 08: cover the costs and the and

00:28:09 Speaker 08: everything with it. A for profit

00:28:11 Speaker 08: will will and has budgeted it

00:28:12 Speaker 08: and made sure that. their useful

00:28:13 Speaker 08: life of the home is exactly

00:28:16 Speaker 08: to the amount of the funding.

00:28:17 Speaker 08: So they'll say yes. After the

00:28:19 Speaker 08: 25 years, we are done with

00:28:20 Speaker 08: it. It is going it is

00:28:21 Speaker 08: going by the wayside. Whereas we

00:28:23 Speaker 08: do have an overall look to

00:28:25 Speaker 08: say, look, we want to put

00:28:26 Speaker 08: the best thing in here or

00:28:27 Speaker 08: close to, so that we have

00:28:29 Speaker 08: a longer useful life. Because we're

00:28:31 Speaker 08: not in the world of just

00:28:35 Speaker 08: saying after 25 years, we're we're

00:28:39 Speaker 08: closing the doors and opening up

00:28:41 Speaker 08: a new one. They're saying, well,

00:28:42 Speaker 08: sorry, because the province isn't giving

00:28:45 Speaker 08: it to us, we're not going

00:28:48 Speaker 11: to extend or have a longer

00:28:52 Speaker 11: useful life. Thank you, Marcus. Follow.

00:28:53 Speaker 11: Go on. Thanks for that response.

00:28:57 Speaker 11: Just a quick question. Then some

00:28:58 Speaker 11: of that type of reporting from

00:29:01 Speaker 11: Advantage. I mean, you've got private

00:29:03 Speaker 11: sector accounting versus fund accounting or

00:29:04 Speaker 11: public accounting systems, but accountants could

00:29:09 Speaker 11: figure that stuff out. Does it

00:29:12 Speaker 11: get reported in some degree back

00:29:14 Speaker 11: through the long-term care committee of

00:29:16 Speaker 11: management? Long-term care committee management. They

00:29:20 Speaker 03: they take a look at some

00:29:23 Speaker 03: of those items in terms of

00:29:25 Speaker 03: level of of service. Thank you.

00:29:29 Speaker 03: And through you, Mr. Chair, not

00:29:32 Speaker 03: directly. That is something that we

00:29:35 Speaker 03: could look at if the committee

00:29:37 Speaker 03: was interested. We use that information

00:29:41 Speaker 03: and data as part of our

00:29:42 Speaker 03: budget lab, our budget building process.

00:29:45 Speaker 03: We also internally market. Marcus has

00:29:46 Speaker 03: done an amazing job building dashboards

00:29:49 Speaker 03: for us and some comparative data,

00:29:51 Speaker 03: so that we're looking at a

00:29:53 Speaker 03: per resident day level. So that

00:29:54 Speaker 03: we're looking to see how do

00:29:57 Speaker 03: we how do the homes align

00:29:58 Speaker 03: across against each other? Do we

00:30:01 Speaker 03: have one home that is it

00:30:04 Speaker 03: costs a lot more per resident

00:30:07 Speaker 03: day for this item than another

00:30:11 Speaker 03: home? Why is that? Is there

00:30:14 Speaker 03: a good reason at Great Gables,

00:30:16 Speaker 03: for example? At Grey Gables, for

00:30:18 Speaker 03: example, because of the layout and

00:30:21 Speaker 03: home areas that are 22 residents,

00:30:24 Speaker 03: that that can equate to a

00:30:27 Speaker 03: higher cost per resident day than

00:30:29 Speaker 03: 150 and and 101. So we

00:30:32 Speaker 03: do that at our own organisation

00:30:34 Speaker 03: level. Then we use that data

00:30:36 Speaker 03: from Advantage to do a comparison

00:30:37 Speaker 03: across similar size long-term care operators

00:30:38 Speaker 03: across the province that are not-for-profit,

00:30:40 Speaker 03: municipal, or charitable, and do again

00:30:42 Speaker 03: that test back to say, are

00:30:45 Speaker 03: we an outlier? Where are there

00:30:47 Speaker 03: opportunities? And then, because we're members

00:30:49 Speaker 03: of Advantage, we can reach out

00:30:51 Speaker 03: to Advantage and say, hey, we

00:30:53 Speaker 03: seem to be an outlier here.

00:30:55 Speaker 03: Can you get us connected with

00:31:04 Speaker 12: some of these homes, and we

00:31:05 Speaker 12: can have those conversations? So, all

00:31:06 Speaker 12: that to say, the report itself

00:31:10 Speaker 12: doesn't come to committee of management,

00:31:11 Speaker 13: but it is part of the

00:31:15 Speaker 13: the work, the the tools that

00:31:17 Speaker 13: we use to be as fiscally

00:31:21 Speaker 13: responsible as we can. Any other

00:31:37 Speaker 13: questions? Well, thank you very much,

00:31:42 Speaker 13: Jennifer and Marcus. I'll call the

00:31:45 Speaker 13: question. All those in favour? That

00:31:47 Speaker 13: is carried. Moving on to the

00:31:50 Speaker 13: next report, we have staffing requests

00:31:53 Speaker 13: and oh, for 2026 budget and

00:31:56 Speaker 13: the 2027 forecast. And Nile is

00:31:59 Speaker 13: here to give the. gospel on

00:32:01 Speaker 13: that. Oh. Oh, four B. Oh,

00:32:02 Speaker 13: I I apologize. Okay. Sue, I

00:32:04 Speaker 13: need a mover and seconder for

00:32:05 Speaker 13: the for two B or four

00:32:07 Speaker 13: B rather, Councillor Kevney and Councillor

00:32:08 Speaker 13: Ackles. Councillor Keaveny and Councillor Ackles.

00:32:10 Speaker 13: Welcome, Sue. Floor is yours. Thank

00:32:13 Speaker 14: you, and through you, Mr. Chair.

00:32:15 Speaker 14: Hopefully, I get through this with

00:32:17 Speaker 14: my voice. It's much better than

00:32:19 Speaker 14: it was a few days ago.

00:32:23 Speaker 14: Mary Lou and I were attending

00:32:24 Speaker 14: the MFOA conference last week,

00:32:27 Speaker 14: though I think I came first

00:32:29 Speaker 14: and passed on to her, and

00:32:33 Speaker 14: we're close quarters, so we're hopefully

00:32:35 Speaker 14: past our contagious sections. Anyways, the

00:32:38 Speaker 14: report before you is going to

00:32:40 Speaker 14: outline our budget assumptions and a

00:32:42 Speaker 14: few key dates and timelines. for

00:32:45 Speaker 14: our our budget cycle. The annual

00:32:46 Speaker 14: budget is shaped by many assumptions

00:32:48 Speaker 14: regarding costs, inflation, supply chain issues,

00:32:50 Speaker 14: market trends, funding levels, and economic

00:32:52 Speaker 14: conditions. Overall, the finance team collabourates

00:32:54 Speaker 14: with their departments to forecast revenues,

00:32:59 Speaker 14: expenditures, and some of these. With

00:33:00 Speaker 14: the more complex budgets, actually start

00:33:02 Speaker 14: early summer and have continue right

00:33:09 Speaker 14: through now. Over the next few

00:33:11 Speaker 14: weeks, starting on Monday, till around

00:33:12 Speaker 14: mid October. Monday till around mid-October,

00:33:15 Speaker 14: we actually have budget meetings scheduled

00:33:16 Speaker 14: with Randy and Nile, Mary Lou,

00:33:19 Speaker 14: and myself. And then we hope

00:33:21 Speaker 14: to bring you, excuse me, a

00:33:23 Speaker 14: a levy increase preliminary budget at

00:33:24 Speaker 14: our October 29th meeting, along with

00:33:27 Speaker 14: some capital budget highlights. And then

00:33:29 Speaker 14: we will bring on November 26th.

00:33:31 Speaker 14: We're we're going to have a

00:33:33 Speaker 14: more full-some budget presentation, and then

00:33:34 Speaker 14: committee of whole meetings on December

00:33:37 Speaker 14: 5th. The call meetings on December

00:33:40 Speaker 14: fifth and twelfth is where our

00:33:42 Speaker 14: plans lie for down. Some of

00:33:43 Speaker 14: our sources of budget assumptions. I'll

00:33:46 Speaker 14: just kind of highlight a few

00:33:47 Speaker 14: of those fairly quick. With utility

00:33:50 Speaker 14: costs, we typically base this based

00:33:53 Speaker 14: on industry projections. We look at

00:33:57 Speaker 14: our historical costs, and there's any

00:34:00 Speaker 14: fuel costs or changes that we're

00:34:02 Speaker 14: aware of. IT staff will provide

00:34:04 Speaker 14: our staff with details on computers

00:34:09 Speaker 14: to be purchased, cell phones to

00:34:10 Speaker 14: be purchased, and they work with

00:34:15 Speaker 14: our analysts to provide. their IS

00:34:18 Speaker 14: costs, which get allocated to each

00:34:20 Speaker 14: department. Within our salaries and benefits

00:34:22 Speaker 14: for unionized staff, we align our

00:34:24 Speaker 14: increases based on collective agreements, or

00:34:26 Speaker 14: information based on HR for non-union.

00:34:27 Speaker 14: We have assumed in most cases

00:34:29 Speaker 14: that provincial funding is expected to

00:34:32 Speaker 14: continue at committed levels. No specific

00:34:35 Speaker 14: funding confirmed for the BEC until

00:34:37 Speaker 14: March 2026. Long-term care previously had

00:34:38 Speaker 14: used an advantage tool that they

00:34:40 Speaker 14: have been using, but they now

00:34:42 Speaker 14: have reverted back to just using

00:34:45 Speaker 14: the case mix index from last

00:34:48 Speaker 14: year to continue with their funding

00:34:52 Speaker 14: because they found the tool was

00:34:54 Speaker 14: maybe not as accurate as had

00:34:55 Speaker 14: been in the past. We also

00:34:57 Speaker 14: faced inflationary and supply chain issues.

00:34:59 Speaker 14: We are estimating overall probably there's

00:35:02 Speaker 14: going to be two to two

00:35:04 Speaker 14: and a half percent increase in

00:35:05 Speaker 14: costs and inflationary costs. over the

00:35:07 Speaker 14: next couple of years. We have

00:35:09 Speaker 14: with our investment income, we have

00:35:10 Speaker 14: estimated a slight gradual gradual decline.

00:35:14 Speaker 14: We were estimating that the Bank

00:35:16 Speaker 14: of Canada rate would drop a

00:35:17 Speaker 14: quarter percent in October, but it

00:35:20 Speaker 14: was just announced last week that

00:35:22 Speaker 14: that has already happened. So I

00:35:24 Speaker 14: think, and a lot of our

00:35:28 Speaker 14: investments are are the bulk of

00:35:30 Speaker 14: our investments are actually longer term

00:35:33 Speaker 14: right now. So we are we're

00:35:35 Speaker 14: pretty good to know what our

00:35:36 Speaker 14: investment income will be. with our

00:35:39 Speaker 14: insurance proceeds. What I've done is

00:35:41 Speaker 14: I've looked historically what our increases

00:35:42 Speaker 14: are in each type of of

00:35:45 Speaker 14: insurance that we have based on

00:35:47 Speaker 14: the portfolio of assets, the type

00:35:49 Speaker 14: of insurance, and I'm estimating about

00:35:50 Speaker 14: a 7.14 percent overall, which is

00:35:52 Speaker 14: about 100,000 in 2026 and 2027.

00:35:54 Speaker 14: With our audit fees, we've assumed

00:35:55 Speaker 14: a four percent increase each year

00:35:57 Speaker 14: based on the RFP that we

00:35:59 Speaker 14: put out last year. with the

00:36:03 Speaker 14: health unit, I had a very

00:36:04 Speaker 14: brief exchange with their senior manager

00:36:06 Speaker 14: of finance. Based on previous announcements,

00:36:09 Speaker 14: we were told up until 2026

00:36:12 Speaker 14: the base funding for the health

00:36:14 Speaker 14: unit was likely going to increase

00:36:17 Speaker 14: by one percent. So we have

00:36:20 Speaker 14: assumed that for 2026 and 2027

00:36:23 Speaker 14: that it will both be one

00:36:26 Speaker 14: percent. We have been offsetting some

00:36:27 Speaker 14: of those expenditures with reserve funding

00:36:31 Speaker 14: based on a couple of years

00:36:32 Speaker 14: ago when the funding levels changed,

00:36:35 Speaker 14: so that would mitigate our increase.

00:36:40 Speaker 14: So it's slowly. increasing a bit.

00:36:43 Speaker 14: We have assumed within this that

00:36:45 Speaker 14: our tax policy adjustment that will

00:36:48 Speaker 14: be bringing back our multi-res rate

00:36:49 Speaker 14: by 0.25 percent, along with the

00:36:52 Speaker 14: city bonds amount. With our Canada

00:36:57 Speaker 14: Community Building Fund, we that funding

00:36:58 Speaker 14: is secure for us until 2028,

00:37:00 Speaker 14: so that those amounts are secure

00:37:02 Speaker 14: in our budget of just a

00:37:03 Speaker 14: little over 3.3 in 2026 and

00:37:06 Speaker 14: 3. 2026 and 3.4 in 2027

00:37:07 Speaker 14: and 2028. We had assumed we

00:37:09 Speaker 14: recently got our OSA announcement last

00:37:11 Speaker 14: week, which was after this report

00:37:12 Speaker 14: was done. We did actually hear

00:37:14 Speaker 14: from the Ministry of Infrastructure last

00:37:18 Speaker 14: week at MFOA that in 2026,

00:37:19 Speaker 14: the allocation and the way that

00:37:22 Speaker 14: the OSA funding is calculated is

00:37:24 Speaker 14: now going to be based on

00:37:26 Speaker 14: current replacement data that we currently

00:37:27 Speaker 14: have been submitting for the last

00:37:28 Speaker 14: couple. of years. This will take

00:37:29 Speaker 14: place for the 2026 budget year,

00:37:31 Speaker 14: and they did say that the

00:37:33 Speaker 14: swing would only be 10, so

00:37:35 Speaker 14: either going to go up max

00:37:36 Speaker 14: 10 or below 10, which previously

00:37:38 Speaker 14: was 15. So in this year's,

00:37:40 Speaker 14: the Great County received about 11.3

00:37:43 Speaker 14: percent increase over their allotment for

00:37:45 Speaker 14: last year, so that was a

00:37:47 Speaker 14: bit of a plus for us

00:37:50 Speaker 14: this year to get a little

00:37:52 Speaker 14: bit of extra money. So when

00:37:54 Speaker 14: I look at that, I think

00:37:57 Speaker 14: okay, we're still trending up above

00:37:59 Speaker 14: the. between the ten and the

00:38:00 Speaker 14: fifteen, so in my mind, to

00:38:03 Speaker 14: me, that probably means like we

00:38:04 Speaker 14: shouldn't hopefully see a large decrease.

00:38:06 Speaker 14: But when they change the formula,

00:38:09 Speaker 14: you never know. There are quite

00:38:11 Speaker 14: a few other larger items that

00:38:13 Speaker 14: are affecting our budgets this year.

00:38:17 Speaker 14: We are discussing planning efficiencies. So

00:38:19 Speaker 14: I've been meeting with Scott Taylor

00:38:21 Speaker 14: and Kara, our financial analyst, to

00:38:23 Speaker 14: work with in the planning efficiencies

00:38:24 Speaker 14: and those lower tiers who have

00:38:28 Speaker 14: opted in or have asked. to

00:38:29 Speaker 14: discuss. At this point, though, we

00:38:31 Speaker 14: are taking the approach that it

00:38:33 Speaker 14: will be a net levy, zero

00:38:35 Speaker 14: impact. So either whatever costs we

00:38:36 Speaker 14: we determine will be will either

00:38:40 Speaker 14: be covered by revenue or other

00:38:41 Speaker 14: fees. Because I think Randy, based

00:38:44 Speaker 14: on his previous meetings, have everyone

00:38:47 Speaker 14: is sort of budgeting status quo.

00:38:48 Speaker 14: Because it's still we're still quite

00:38:51 Speaker 14: preliminary, and there's still lots of

00:38:54 Speaker 14: items to discuss. We do know

00:38:56 Speaker 14: that the roads exchanges. are occurring,

00:39:00 Speaker 14: and there was a report, so

00:39:03 Speaker 14: there there is an inclusion of

00:39:04 Speaker 14: just over 1.2 million in the

00:39:07 Speaker 14: levy for that this year in

00:39:11 Speaker 14: our roads transportation expense. And as

00:39:13 Speaker 14: Jen mentioned, there are Rockwood redevelopment.

00:39:15 Speaker 14: There will be some one-time costs

00:39:16 Speaker 14: that because the homes have to

00:39:19 Speaker 14: operate at the same time, so

00:39:22 Speaker 14: we're still finalizing those, and those

00:39:25 Speaker 14: will be in the budget. And

00:39:26 Speaker 14: we're also facing some unanticipated wage

00:39:27 Speaker 14: and salary press. Anticipated wage and

00:39:31 Speaker 14: salary pressures. In preparing this budget

00:39:33 Speaker 14: and discussing this with HR, the

00:39:35 Speaker 14: director of HR general, there have

00:39:38 Speaker 14: been several business units where, based

00:39:39 Speaker 14: on other items that have happened

00:39:43 Speaker 14: or other agreements that have happened

00:39:47 Speaker 14: in different places, there we have

00:39:48 Speaker 14: been highlighted some salary disparity with

00:39:52 Speaker 14: some of our competitors. So they

00:39:54 Speaker 14: are currently looking at just seeing

00:39:55 Speaker 14: where that lies and how that's

00:39:56 Speaker 14: going to impact us in. our

00:39:58 Speaker 14: twenty twenty six and twenty twenty

00:40:00 Speaker 14: seven budgets. And we also have

00:40:02 Speaker 14: some prior decisions that affect that

00:40:04 Speaker 14: will affect future budgets. We're increasing

00:40:06 Speaker 14: the levy just over one point

00:40:09 Speaker 14: seven million for our asset management

00:40:11 Speaker 14: plan. In a previous report, the

00:40:13 Speaker 14: FRBFC dash thirteen dash twenty five,

00:40:15 Speaker 14: there was a health care funding

00:40:16 Speaker 14: transfer that was set for two

00:40:20 Speaker 14: hundred thousand. But that has been

00:40:22 Speaker 14: changed in this year's budget. That's

00:40:24 Speaker 14: been changed in this year's budget.

00:40:27 Speaker 14: It was two hundred nine five

00:40:29 Speaker 14: last year, and we're also setting

00:40:31 Speaker 14: aside the one percent levies for

00:40:32 Speaker 14: our affordable housing reserve, as it's

00:40:33 Speaker 14: been in the budget previous years.

00:40:36 Speaker 14: And that's sort of the main

00:40:39 Speaker 14: budgetary impacts and stuff that are

00:40:41 Speaker 14: affecting our budgets right now. I

00:40:42 Speaker 14: can tell you that our assessment

00:40:46 Speaker 14: growth, as of yesterday, was just

00:40:47 Speaker 14: a little over one point five

00:40:55 Speaker 14: million dollars, so trending fairly well.

00:40:56 Speaker 14: I have been sort of analysing

00:40:58 Speaker 14: that weekly. the last month we

00:40:59 Speaker 14: haven't seen very small increases over

00:41:01 Speaker 14: the last month. But sometimes all

00:41:07 Speaker 02: you need is a big report

00:41:18 Speaker 02: or biggest assessment or change to

00:41:20 Speaker 02: go through, and it can change

00:41:22 Speaker 11: it. But we've seen a very

00:41:23 Speaker 11: very gradual increase over the last

00:41:24 Speaker 11: couple of weeks. So that was

00:41:24 Speaker 11: a good. That's a good number

00:41:28 Speaker 11: for us. So, anyways, that's all

00:41:30 Speaker 11: I wanted to discuss today. And

00:41:34 Speaker 11: does anyone have any other questions?

00:41:40 Speaker 11: Thank you, Sue. Questions? I see

00:41:43 Speaker 11: the warden has joined us online.

00:41:46 Speaker 11: Maybe she's been there the whole

00:41:49 Speaker 11: time, and I'd never noticed. But

00:41:55 Speaker 11: in any case, welcome, warden.

00:41:58 Speaker 11: Questions? Not seeing any questions, Councillor

00:42:03 Speaker 11: Gray. Feels different sitting in this

00:42:06 Speaker 11: chair, but I figured. it's like

00:42:08 Speaker 11: a dishwasher—you have to use it

00:42:12 Speaker 11: sooner or later. It's just not

00:42:14 Speaker 11: going to work when you go

00:42:15 Speaker 11: to use it. So, someone's better

00:42:17 Speaker 11: sit in this chair. Be another

00:42:19 Speaker 11: chair in the budget. Question regarding

00:42:22 Speaker 11: asset management planning. We're scaling up

00:42:25 Speaker 11: over the next 14 years, yet

00:42:27 Speaker 11: to 2039. Continually, we look at

00:42:31 Speaker 11: adding staff in the role of

00:42:32 Speaker 11: facilities manager. Facilities management, project manager,

00:42:35 Speaker 11: and we invest in different initiatives,

00:42:37 Speaker 11: which operationalize different initiatives to to

00:42:41 Speaker 11: reduce future costs. Do we adopt

00:42:42 Speaker 11: some of that in terms of

00:42:45 Speaker 11: preparing the asset management projections? And

00:42:46 Speaker 11: secondly, in the last several years,

00:42:48 Speaker 11: in terms of capital projects and

00:42:59 Speaker 12: the amount of external funding comes

00:43:01 Speaker 12: that's coming in as a percentage

00:43:03 Speaker 12: of funding those capital projects. Is

00:43:08 Speaker 12: that aligned with our current asset

00:43:11 Speaker 12: management plan and future projections, or

00:43:13 Speaker 12: is there some maneuverability? We could

00:43:15 Speaker 15: always take the safe road and

00:43:17 Speaker 15: say, "Hey, let's plow three million

00:43:20 Speaker 15: dollars a a year away into

00:43:21 Speaker 15: asset management," but it's not responsible

00:43:26 Speaker 15: or practical to the general taxpayer

00:43:29 Speaker 15: to do it. So, I'm just

00:43:31 Speaker 15: wondering, what kind of evaluation do

00:43:37 Speaker 15: we make? What kind of evaluations

00:43:41 Speaker 15: do we make on some of

00:43:44 Speaker 15: those conditions for asset management contribution?

00:43:46 Speaker 15: Well, Mary, she's more familiar with

00:43:49 Speaker 15: our asset management plan than I

00:43:52 Speaker 15: am. Through you, Mr. Chair, it's

00:43:54 Speaker 15: all about, in in my opinion,

00:43:55 Speaker 15: striking a balance. So, you know,

00:43:58 Speaker 15: I agree that you're you're trying

00:44:00 Speaker 15: to keep our assets. in the

00:44:00 Speaker 15: best possible condition, and I'll use

00:44:02 Speaker 15: the example, and Pat can speak

00:44:05 Speaker 15: to this better than I can.

00:44:06 Speaker 15: But years ago, when we repaved

00:44:07 Speaker 15: a road, it was one lift,

00:44:09 Speaker 15: and it might have been twenty,

00:44:12 Speaker 15: twenty-five mil, maybe forty. Now we

00:44:14 Speaker 15: do two lifts, which helps to

00:44:17 Speaker 15: extend the life and protect. the

00:44:21 Speaker 15: condition. So there's some things that

00:44:24 Speaker 15: you know. When we move to

00:44:26 Speaker 15: doing a second lift, obviously you're,

00:44:28 Speaker 15: and if you're trying to work

00:44:29 Speaker 15: with the same amount of money,

00:44:31 Speaker 15: you're doing less kilometres, and maybe

00:44:34 Speaker 15: not getting to the next road.

00:44:39 Speaker 15: And then it was a case

00:44:41 Speaker 15: of, if a road already needs

00:44:44 Speaker 15: to be reconstructed, well then, you

00:44:48 Speaker 15: know that one's sitting, and we're

00:44:51 Speaker 15: going to try and protect the

00:44:53 Speaker 15: integrity of the the good roads

00:44:55 Speaker 15: and keep them good. For sure,

00:44:58 Speaker 15: we're taking into account any money

00:45:00 Speaker 15: that we can get from other

00:45:02 Speaker 15: sources, obviously, but it's all about

00:45:04 Speaker 15: trying. Asset management is doing the

00:45:07 Speaker 15: right thing to the right asset

00:45:10 Speaker 15: at the right time, and so

00:45:13 Speaker 15: obviously that's the goal, and that's

00:45:15 Speaker 15: the goal of every department that

00:45:19 Speaker 15: we have here. It's easy for

00:45:21 Speaker 15: short life assets, such as computers.

00:45:25 Speaker 15: Jody can tell us. that

00:45:30 Speaker 15: you know here's your planned replacement

00:45:31 Speaker 15: lifecycle. Okay, we're good. Pat's team,

00:45:33 Speaker 15: working with their fleet manager Marty

00:45:34 Speaker 15: Zevinbergan, they can talk about their

00:45:36 Speaker 15: equipment and their vehicles. You know,

00:45:39 Speaker 15: most of those, if you have

00:45:43 Speaker 15: like a pickup, say that has

00:45:45 Speaker 15: like a five or seven year

00:45:47 Speaker 15: life, versus like a tandem which

00:45:49 Speaker 15: might have like twelve years, those

00:45:52 Speaker 15: are easier. Where we get into

00:45:53 Speaker 15: the the trickier situations is the

00:45:56 Speaker 15: roads, because you've got, and it's

00:45:57 Speaker 15: been less precise the longer the

00:45:58 Speaker 15: asset has us of a life,

00:46:02 Speaker 15: and that's why we use for

00:46:04 Speaker 15: buildings the building condition assessments, because

00:46:05 Speaker 15: sometimes it's good to have just

00:46:08 Speaker 15: an independent second set of eyes

00:46:10 Speaker 15: that doesn't look at something every

00:46:13 Speaker 15: single day and then go, oh,

00:46:16 Speaker 15: you know. I had, I didn't

00:46:17 Speaker 15: see that. So it's it's a

00:46:20 Speaker 15: long winded thing, and it's it's

00:46:22 Speaker 15: not a simple yes, and it's

00:46:25 Speaker 15: not a simple no. Um, and

00:46:27 Speaker 15: then we're trying to prioritize as

00:46:29 Speaker 15: well. So if a department knows

00:46:31 Speaker 15: that they only have so much

00:46:35 Speaker 15: money, how where does this rate

00:46:37 Speaker 15: in the pecking order? So there's

00:46:38 Speaker 15: they have their own internal criteria

00:46:48 Speaker 12: as to whether you know, is

00:46:49 Speaker 12: this a life safety issue? Are

00:46:53 Speaker 12: we trying to protect the? integrity

00:46:53 Speaker 16: of a structure? You wouldn't want

00:46:55 Speaker 16: a dome to collapse, etc. And

00:46:58 Speaker 16: then you you work to figure

00:47:00 Speaker 16: out how best to use the

00:47:02 Speaker 16: money that you have. No different

00:47:04 Speaker 16: than, you know, years ago we

00:47:05 Speaker 16: replaced an ambulance early because, in

00:47:06 Speaker 16: theory, we should have kept it

00:47:08 Speaker 16: two years longer, but it had

00:47:10 Speaker 16: blown the turbos, so we were

00:47:13 Speaker 16: better to dump that ambulance and

00:47:16 Speaker 16: and replace it versus. one that

00:47:18 Speaker 16: showed it. Oh, it's seven. It'll

00:47:21 Speaker 16: be seven years old. It should

00:47:24 Speaker 16: be gone. Thank you, Sue. I'm

00:47:26 Speaker 16: going to go to the CEO

00:47:27 Speaker 16: here for a minute, please. Thank

00:47:29 Speaker 16: you for that, and thank you

00:47:31 Speaker 16: for for that, Mary Lou. In

00:47:32 Speaker 16: terms of with respect to asset

00:47:34 Speaker 16: management and making sure that I

00:47:36 Speaker 16: think the the key thing is

00:47:38 Speaker 16: that you know. we obviously use

00:47:43 Speaker 16: the best data, best information that

00:47:45 Speaker 16: we have available to us to

00:47:48 Speaker 16: be able to make some of

00:47:50 Speaker 16: those decisions in terms of what

00:47:51 Speaker 16: needs replaced, what what's the time

00:47:52 Speaker 16: frame of what's to be

00:47:55 Speaker 16: replaced. I think, as you noted,

00:47:58 Speaker 16: Councillor Greg, as we start looking

00:47:59 Speaker 16: at things like facilities management and

00:48:01 Speaker 16: doing more preventive maintenance, some of

00:48:04 Speaker 16: the key things we'll need to

00:48:05 Speaker 16: start then tracking is making sure

00:48:06 Speaker 16: that through that preventive maintenance work,

00:48:09 Speaker 16: our That preventive maintenance work are

00:48:10 Speaker 16: we extending the life of our

00:48:13 Speaker 16: assets as a result of that,

00:48:14 Speaker 16: so we can have some benchmark

00:48:16 Speaker 16: data to be able to determine

00:48:19 Speaker 16: are we are we able to

00:48:21 Speaker 16: extend when we need to replace

00:48:23 Speaker 16: certain things, for example. So, and

00:48:24 Speaker 16: I think for the most part

00:48:26 Speaker 16: we're already doing a decent job

00:48:28 Speaker 16: of that from all of our

00:48:30 Speaker 16: building and facilities supervisors and operations,

00:48:31 Speaker 16: but to coordinate that in a

00:48:38 Speaker 16: in a in a way. across

00:48:40 Speaker 16: the corporation to be able to

00:48:41 Speaker 16: hit the right mark that that

00:48:44 Speaker 16: sweet spot, so to speak, in

00:48:48 Speaker 11: terms of what needs to be

00:48:51 Speaker 11: replaced when. But prior to that,

00:48:54 Speaker 11: can we make sure we're doing

00:48:55 Speaker 11: preventive maintenance best practices to to

00:48:57 Speaker 11: extend the life of our assets?

00:49:00 Speaker 11: So, so I think that's going

00:49:04 Speaker 11: to be a key key main

00:49:13 Speaker 11: focus over the next a couple

00:49:14 Speaker 15: years to be able to really

00:49:16 Speaker 15: dig into that and see how

00:49:18 Speaker 15: we can improve and and then

00:49:23 Speaker 15: hopefully in the end see some

00:49:25 Speaker 15: cost savings. as a result of

00:49:28 Speaker 15: some of those best practices that

00:49:29 Speaker 15: we can roll out across across

00:49:32 Speaker 15: the corporation. Thanks for that. Next

00:49:35 Speaker 15: question is an easy one. It

00:49:36 Speaker 15: has to do with the removal

00:49:40 Speaker 15: of the carbon charge. Our staff

00:49:42 Speaker 15: going through some of those line

00:49:47 Speaker 15: items, such as fuels, the most

00:49:49 Speaker 15: obvious that has become inflated in

00:49:52 Speaker 15: the last several years, as that's

00:49:54 Speaker 04: been. a component of the cost,

00:49:56 Speaker 04: and anticipating twenty-six projections that recognize

00:49:59 Speaker 04: the removal of that carbon cost,

00:50:01 Speaker 04: carbon charge. Thank you for the

00:50:03 Speaker 04: question. The answer is yes. So

00:50:05 Speaker 04: it's a two-part. You know, for

00:50:06 Speaker 04: the departments that either they have

00:50:07 Speaker 04: to look at the consumption as

00:50:09 Speaker 04: well, so. you look at the

00:50:10 Speaker 04: cost, the unit cost, and then

00:50:11 Speaker 04: you're looking at the consumption. So,

00:50:13 Speaker 04: do we expect the consumption would

00:50:15 Speaker 04: remain somewhat consistent? And then, if

00:50:19 Speaker 04: you reduce the the unit cost,

00:50:21 Speaker 04: then that should reduce that budget

00:50:23 Speaker 04: line item. But yes, that's absolutely

00:50:25 Speaker 04: being looked at. Thank you, Mary

00:50:28 Speaker 04: Lou. Any other questions, Councillor Nielsen?

00:50:31 Speaker 04: Thank you very much, Chair. Just

00:50:32 Speaker 04: if Much to just if I

00:50:33 Speaker 04: cycle back a second to Councillor

00:50:35 Speaker 04: Greg's comments on the asset management,

00:50:36 Speaker 04: just two things to address there

00:50:38 Speaker 04: from my own perspective. One, the

00:50:42 Speaker 04: money that we're we're suggesting the

00:50:43 Speaker 04: assumption being made is that the

00:50:52 Speaker 04: money is being spent, not just

00:50:54 Speaker 04: thrown into a reserve for asset

00:50:55 Speaker 04: management. I think that's the practice

00:50:57 Speaker 04: here at the county, whereas it

00:50:59 Speaker 04: might be different in the lower

00:51:01 Speaker 04: tiers. But two, this year we've

00:51:04 Speaker 04: seen some significant changes in projected

00:51:07 Speaker 04: costs versus what actually came in

00:51:08 Speaker 04: through tender. So when we're seeing

00:51:11 Speaker 15: those shifts, because post COVID we

00:51:14 Speaker 15: saw significant increases in in costs

00:51:16 Speaker 15: of materials, we're seeing slight decrease

00:51:19 Speaker 15: now. With respect to the asset

00:51:24 Speaker 15: management, the funding we're putting in,

00:51:25 Speaker 15: are we trying to take that

00:51:27 Speaker 15: tender process and the calculations? I

00:51:29 Speaker 15: know it's an estimate and a

00:51:32 Speaker 15: best guess, but are we reflecting

00:51:34 Speaker 15: the change based upon some of

00:51:36 Speaker 15: the realized numbers we saw in

00:51:38 Speaker 15: 2025? So. we should have brought

00:51:40 Speaker 15: you the next iteration of the

00:51:41 Speaker 15: asset management plan before the July

00:51:42 Speaker 15: first deadline. We are behind for

00:51:45 Speaker 15: a couple of reasons. One was

00:51:47 Speaker 15: our asset management coordinator; she went

00:51:49 Speaker 15: on that leave in March. The

00:51:50 Speaker 15: analyst that was helping me try

00:51:57 Speaker 15: to get to the finish line—he

00:51:58 Speaker 15: left for another opportunity. So we're

00:52:01 Speaker 15: a little behind. In amongst everything

00:52:04 Speaker 15: else that's going on. So, yes,

00:52:06 Speaker 15: we are. taking a look at

00:52:11 Speaker 15: the unit costs, and I will

00:52:12 Speaker 15: say that this asset management plan

00:52:13 Speaker 04: will be somewhat of a placeholder

00:52:15 Speaker 04: because it's based on the assets

00:52:17 Speaker 04: we currently own. Keeping in mind

00:52:18 Speaker 04: that you proceed with the road

00:52:20 Speaker 04: exchange, a lot of that that

00:52:21 Speaker 04: just throws it out the window.

00:52:23 Speaker 04: So it it really is going

00:52:24 Speaker 04: to be a placeholder. But yes,

00:52:27 Speaker 04: we do take a look at

00:52:30 Speaker 04: updating the unit costs, and transportation

00:52:32 Speaker 04: is doing that as best they

00:52:33 Speaker 04: can. Obviously, you don't know how

00:52:35 Speaker 04: many tenders you're going to get,

00:52:36 Speaker 04: how competitive you know any one

00:52:38 Speaker 04: company might be, depending on how

00:52:40 Speaker 04: many jobs they've got booked, etc.

00:52:41 Speaker 04: So it is really difficult. But

00:52:43 Speaker 04: yes, yeah, it's absolutely taking a

00:52:45 Speaker 04: look at it. Just one final

00:52:46 Speaker 04: comment, if I may, chair, is

00:52:49 Speaker 04: that you know in this this

00:52:50 Speaker 04: report we're suggesting inflation coming in

00:52:52 Speaker 04: between two and. two point five

00:52:53 Speaker 04: percent. The increase here we're looking

00:52:55 Speaker 04: at doing for asset management is

00:53:00 Speaker 04: about two point one percent. So

00:53:04 Speaker 02: you're not or a levy impact.

00:53:07 Speaker 02: Sorry, that's what I'm going off

00:53:09 Speaker 02: of. So it's it's in line

00:53:12 Speaker 02: with what we're seeing. It's not,

00:53:13 Speaker 02: I guess, to go against Councillor

00:53:19 Speaker 02: Greg's comment about being like too

00:53:20 Speaker 02: onerous on the taxpayer. We're trying

00:53:25 Speaker 02: to be pretty efficient, and I

00:53:30 Speaker 02: think when we staff's response is

00:53:35 Speaker 02: to looking at how we address

00:53:38 Speaker 02: the tenure capital and how we

00:53:39 Speaker 02: make adjustments mid term or that

00:53:47 Speaker 02: how we review and assets. like

00:53:48 Speaker 02: what we're doing with Rockwood Terrace

00:53:50 Speaker 02: as we're moving along. So I'm

00:53:52 Speaker 02: confident that staff are doing everything

00:53:53 Speaker 17: in their power to keep that

00:53:55 Speaker 17: number as low as possible while

00:53:57 Speaker 17: trying to maintain the same quality

00:53:57 Speaker 17: of service we're providing. Always a

00:53:59 Speaker 17: challenge. Any other questions? Okay, I'll

00:54:01 Speaker 17: call the question. All those in

00:54:03 Speaker 17: favour? That is carried. Thank you,

00:54:04 Speaker 17: Mary Lou. Thank you, Sue. Now

00:54:06 Speaker 17: we come to the one that

00:54:08 Speaker 17: every We come to the one

00:54:09 Speaker 17: that everybody's been waiting for, Nile.

00:54:11 Speaker 17: Well presented for the meeting this

00:54:13 Speaker 17: morning, I must say. Can I

00:54:14 Speaker 17: have a motion to receive or

00:54:17 Speaker 17: to support the recommendation and a

00:54:19 Speaker 17: seconder, Councillor Carleton, Councillor Deckard? Thank

00:54:20 Speaker 17: you very much, Nile. The floor

00:54:23 Speaker 17: is yours, sir. There we are.

00:54:25 Speaker 17: See, that was the thing I

00:54:28 Speaker 17: was most nervous about coming into

00:54:30 Speaker 17: this room, and I failed on

00:54:32 Speaker 17: set. I apologise, but thank you

00:54:34 Speaker 17: for the comment on my my

00:54:35 Speaker 17: attire. Does that mean I can

00:54:37 Speaker 17: sit down and hands are going

00:54:39 Speaker 17: to go in the air and

00:54:41 Speaker 17: everything is good? Then it definitely

00:54:43 Speaker 17: has worked. So, good morning, good

00:54:44 Speaker 17: morning, members of committee. I'm here

00:54:46 Speaker 17: to talk a little bit about

00:54:48 Speaker 17: staffing, and just like Jen said,

00:54:49 Speaker 17: she she had a marker sitting

00:54:53 Speaker 17: behind her. I'm pleased I have

00:54:54 Speaker 17: an entire. SMT sitting behind me

00:54:56 Speaker 17: to to help out as we

00:54:58 Speaker 17: get into some of the the

00:55:00 Speaker 17: difficult questions and the conversation as

00:55:03 Speaker 17: we move through this one. So

00:55:04 Speaker 17: over the last few months, the

00:55:06 Speaker 17: SMT team has been meeting to

00:55:08 Speaker 17: discuss the potential staffing needs for

00:55:11 Speaker 17: the county in 2026 and in

00:55:13 Speaker 17: 2027. And in in having those

00:55:15 Speaker 17: conversations, we've really framed them in

00:55:17 Speaker 17: three key areas, which are which

00:55:19 Speaker 17: are highlighted in the report. We've

00:55:21 Speaker 17: highlighted where the county is growing

00:55:23 Speaker 17: as the county grows. as more

00:55:24 Speaker 17: people call Grey home, as more

00:55:27 Speaker 17: people are reliant on the services

00:55:29 Speaker 17: that we provide, and as the

00:55:31 Speaker 17: shift of those services changes over

00:55:33 Speaker 17: time, we need to respond to

00:55:35 Speaker 17: that growth. And as we've heard

00:55:37 Speaker 17: earlier today, we've seen assessment growth

00:55:39 Speaker 17: over the past year, and this

00:55:42 Speaker 17: is really the staffing element that

00:55:44 Speaker 17: responds to that assessment growth. That

00:55:47 Speaker 17: assessment growth comes from people being

00:55:48 Speaker 17: here, and so we have services

00:55:51 Speaker 17: which need to grow in response.

00:55:52 Speaker 17: So there are some pressures that

00:55:54 Speaker 17: we've identified. within existing services that

00:55:56 Speaker 17: the county offer, where there is,

00:55:58 Speaker 17: as a result, growth, the need

00:55:59 Speaker 17: to add new staff resources into

00:56:00 Speaker 17: the team. These are not about

00:56:03 Speaker 17: service level changes. These are about

00:56:04 Speaker 17: adding staff to the Gray County

00:56:06 Speaker 17: team to be able to retain

00:56:08 Speaker 17: and maintain the existing service levels

00:56:09 Speaker 17: that we provide as we respond

00:56:12 Speaker 17: to that growth. The second

00:56:14 Speaker 17: bucket, if you will, of staffing

00:56:16 Speaker 17: pressures that we've identified as a

00:56:19 Speaker 17: team is those that are needed

00:56:20 Speaker 17: in terms of strategic. plans. As

00:56:22 Speaker 17: county goes out, as the council

00:56:23 Speaker 17: meets and goes through its term,

00:56:25 Speaker 17: it's approving and it's endorsing master

00:56:27 Speaker 17: plans, strategic plans, and strategies, which

00:56:28 Speaker 17: lay out the long-term goals and

00:56:30 Speaker 17: aspirations for Gray County. And within

00:56:31 Speaker 17: those, there are work. There is

00:56:33 Speaker 17: work that's needed. Some of that

00:56:35 Speaker 17: work is reinforcing existing service levels.

00:56:37 Speaker 17: Some of it will be additional

00:56:39 Speaker 17: of new service levels. Some of

00:56:41 Speaker 17: it will be in areas which

00:56:42 Speaker 17: we have not worked in the

00:56:44 Speaker 17: past. When we look at those

00:56:46 Speaker 17: strategic plans. and those master plans

00:56:47 Speaker 17: and try to interpret the direction

00:56:48 Speaker 17: of council, there is a pressure

00:56:50 Speaker 17: that's placed on staffing at times—either

00:56:51 Speaker 17: new staffing, reallocation of staffing, or

00:56:52 Speaker 17: additional complements of staffing that are

00:56:53 Speaker 17: needed to help deliver on those.

00:56:54 Speaker 17: The third bucket that we looked