Residents came with reports, detailed presentations and impassioned speeches to the Aug. 15 meeting of Muskoka district council, held to discuss the municipality’s debt reduction plans. In all, 14 individuals spoke, most representing rural ratepayer groups.

More than 150 people attended the meeting, held at Bracebridge Sportsplex.

Many rural residents had trouble with one short sentence in the district’s debt reduction report. The sentence can be found on last page of the first report, issued on July 4 from Stephen Cairns, Muskoka’s commissioner of finance and corporate services.

Under strategic priorities, the sentence reads: “Investigate a non-urban tax levy contribution to water and sewer costs.”

Rural residents came to the meeting with a clear message – this was not a tax they would support.

Many, like David Johnstone of the Lake of Bays Association, presented their case. “Since the great majority of the non-urban property owners cannot avail themselves to sewer and water, these services should be paid by those who do. Non-urban taxpayers already contribute disproportionately to the district with tax levees,” said Johnstone, who brought a written presentation with copies for the councillors.

But, in the final debt reduction initiative report, which Cairns read in the same meeting after the delegations, the non-urban tax levy for water and sewer was not a suggestion. Before that fact was made clear, rural residents stated their case.

Most of the residents explained they already paid for their own water treatment systems. “Our cottagers install state-of-the-art septic systems for which they pay,” said Clint Rohr president of the Kahshe Lake Ratepayers’ Association. “They also pay to dispose of the waste in a manner that doesn’t contaminate the lake – there is significant cost in this and cottagers pay 100 per cent.”

Some suggested rural residents already pay too much to support urban services. “Cottage dwellers and seasonal residents are already paying taxes comparable to full-time residents, many never having had children in the Muskoka School system,” Margaret Wauchope of Fraserburg and District Community Corporation said to great applause.

After the delegations, Cairns presented the debt reduction initiative, formulated to help address the district’s $106 million debt.

According to Cairns, the current issue is that water and sewer services account for 60 per cent of Muskoka’s capital expenditures, and 90 per cent of its debt increase, in the last four years. In addition, local water and sewer rates, at $155 per month, are one of the highest in the province.

Cairns outlined the report’s 16 recommendations, which include increases to development charges and lagoon haulage charges.

Further to Cairn’s presentation, district chair Gord Adams presented his own take on the situation. Adams said, when Muskoka municipalities build or upgrade water and wastewater plants, they generally build more than is needed by the current users.

“Typically, the plants are designed and built to accommodate 20 years of new growth as indentified in Muskoka’s growth studies,” said Adams.

In addition, these plants, in many cases, are necessary to address “serious environmental and health issues in some communities.” Decisions were made to build now to take advantage of federal and provincial grants.

Adams added that, historically, Muskoka has set development charges far below the true cost of providing the services. “Currently, the water and sewer urban service area and the users are being held responsible for all the costs,” he said, who asked if this was fair.

He suggested supporting the debt reduction initiative to help resolve the issue of debt.

After the speeches and Cairn’s report, Muskoka Lakes Mayor Susan Pryke was the first to note that Cairns did not include a recommendation for a rural tax levy in his report.

“Not one of those recommendations considers a non-urban tax levy,” said Pryke.

However that doesn’t mean the idea is totally off the books.

Graydon Smith, Bracebridge district councillor, warned the suggestion could still come up in future meetings.

“The great majority of people in this room don’t want to see a levy increase…but we are never more than a motion from two councillors and the agreement of council (away from having) a discussion in the future,” said Smith.

In the end, councillors decided to hold off on a final decision on the debt reduction report.  Some were not convinced all the suggestions were good for the district.

“If I had to vote on this bundle today, I couldn’t do it – I would have to oppose it because, while there are some very good things in this report, things that I do support – there are also some miscellaneous items that I really don’t like,” said Muskoka Lakes district councillor Stewart Martin.

Many councillors suggested they vote on each recommendation, 16 in total, individually.  The committee deferred a decision on the recommendations until the Sept. 2 meeting of Muskoka district council. For the complete report, see the District of Muskoka’s website at www.muskoka.on.ca under government.

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