SSEA funding issue spills into other Severn Sound area council meetings

The exploration into proper funding for regional water protections made a splash at recent council meetings for Tay Township and Tiny Township.

For months, the council of Tay Township have been vocal over inequity in the complex funding model as a member of the Severn Sound Environmental Association, resulting in a letter sent to the SSEA as well as others in the eight joint-municipality partnership.

A thorough explanation of how the current funding formula is laid out and its complications can be read in the MidlandToday article “SSEA funding formula, budget making things 'difficult' for Tay council”.

Both Tay and Tiny held their meetings of council on the same day. Tiny councillors discussed Tay’s request that the funding formula and letter of agreement be reviewed and updated, while both meetings also discussed a response by Severn Township to Tay’s request.

The response to Tay from Severn Township asked that Tay’s letter be sent to the SSEA board of directors for review, as well as expressing support for SSEA services with a request that should a review occur that an independent third party conduct one comprehensively for the entire partnership agreement.

Tiny Township delved into an elongated discussion on the matter primarily through Mayor Dave Evans, who expanded on what services the SSEA provided to Tiny.

“(Regarding Tay Township), their direction is a little more intensive to SSEA than I’m personally comfortable with,” stated Evans. “I am comfortable with the township of Severn’s response, in that I’m a strong supporter of SSEA on many levels.

“We are actually the largest contributor to the SSEA in terms of funding; it’s based on watershed – 100 per cent of our watershed is in the SSEA area,” said Evans, noting “everything from phragmites to Farlain Lake to any number of water quality protections.”

Evans said that while no other member municipalities were looking to evaluate the services provided by the SSEA from a frequency or selection basis “from a monetary perspective”, he supported Tay’s right to do so, as would Tiny.

However, Evans stated that without the SSEA, Tiny wouldn’t have the internal staff to deal with watershed issues, which would possibly require looking into creating its own conservation authority which would take time and money.

“All the municipalities get along well I believe, and we’ll be able to work through this,” Evans added, requesting that Tiny council support Severn Township in their written request.

Tiny Deputy Mayor Sean Miskimins also supported Severn’s letter, taking a moment to lightly word a sensitive sentence.

“I think a third-party evaluation creates fairness amongst the (eight) municipalities that are involved with the SSEA,” said Miskimins. “And it’s not just one agenda – this is not to disparage anybody – maybe… trying to skew the facts maybe; I don’t know.

“I always like independent consultants that can do this kind of review because they remain impartial and they’re not trying to – there’s no hidden agendas there. When we’re working with (eight) people, brothers and sisters don’t always agree on everything. Having that third party in a mediary can sometimes solve some of these issues.”

Tiny committee of the whole members voted in support of the Severn letter’s request.

Simultaneously, Tay Township held its council meeting where the matter was also addressed.

Tay Mayor Ted Walker gave a brief explanation of the Severn correspondence, noting: “I’m not sure they quite understood what we were looking for.”

Tay Deputy Mayor Barry Norris shared that the matter would be advanced to the upcoming SSEA second quarter meeting for the joint municipal service board on July 25.

Additionally, a response from the SSEA from follow-up questions regarding a lack of Tay representation at the SSEA board executive committee meeting and the location of annual payments in the MOU were also received, with Norris adding that it too would be addressed at the upcoming board meeting.

Walker confirmed that Norris would “relay council’s position quite adequately” at the meeting.

The Tay Township request for review of SSEA funding formula agreement and Severn Township response can be viewed on the agenda page on the Township of Tiny website.

The SSEA correspondence followup to the 2024 budget request can be found in the agenda page on the Tay Township website.

Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, MidlandToday.ca