Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Not looking good: 2020 city budget facing rising costs, funding cuts:
The city's finance committee will receive an update on the 2020 budget next week – and things are not looking good. A combination of rising costs and funding cuts from upper levels of government means as much as $6 million in savings has to be found in order to keep the property tax increase at no more than 3.5 per cent. At their meeting in May, the committee directed finance staff to come back with a proposed 2020 budget that maintains existing services, maintains infrastructure and gives councillors options for approving a budget with increases ranging from 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent. The current draft budget, however, has an increase pegged at 5.6 per cent, and that was before the impact of provincial downloading was factored in. More on this story here.
Auditor: City needs to spend more on deteriorating roads:
Greater Sudbury needs to spend more money on road repairs and winter maintenance, says Auditor General Ron Foster in his review of winter road maintenance policies. Foster looked at snow removal budgets for each year since 2015, and found costs exceeded forecasts by a wide margin each year except for 2015. The worst year was 2016, when the forecast was $16.7 million, but actually came in $2.2 million higher, or 13.2 per cent more than expected. The biggest single added cost was for contractors called in to deal with near record levels of snowfall, and the costs have depleted reserve funds set up to deal with sudden surges in costs in any one winter season. Foster recommends making better use of road and weather technology systems to plan responses to oncoming storms. And, he said, the 60/40 mix of city staff to contractors in the department “does not provide an optimal balance between economy and effectiveness for years with higher levels of snowfall.” Full story here.
Book of condolence for Lily Fielding can be signed at Tom Davies Square:
Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger and city council are inviting residents to sign a book of condolence for Lily Fielding, who passed away on Sunday, Sept. 8. The book will be available for signing in the main foyer of Tom Davies Square and at all Citizen Service Centres during regular business hours. The book will remain available for signing until end of day on Friday, Sept. 27.
Child exploitation unit finds man agreed to commit a sexual offence with a minor:
Greater Sudbury Police has an outstanding warrant for the arrest of 39-year-old Aaron Shulist aka Aaron Shultz. The GSPS Internet Child Exploitation unit acted on information that they received, and the police investigation determined that Shultz committed two counts of agreement to commit sexual offense with a person under the age of 16 and four counts of conspiracy to commit indictable offence. Shultz is believed to be in the Greater Sudbury Area. Aaron Shulist aka Aaron Shultz is described as 5-8, 170 lbs. with dark blond hair and blue eyes. If you know this person and where he is presently located, you are urged to call the Crime Stoppers tip line toll-free at 1-800-222-TIPS or locally at 705-222-TIPS (8477).
Friendly competition: Emergency services compete in blood donation drive:
From July 27 to Sept. 2, Greater Sudbury emergency service members rolled up their sleeves to help save more lives as part of Canadian Blood Service Sirens for Life Challenge. "We held a healthy local competition to see which team could rally up the most blood donations," Canadian Blood Services territory manager Jenny Fortin said. The Greater Sudbury Police Service, Fire Services, paramedics and Nipissing West OPP all rose to the challenge to help the Canadian Blood Services collect more than 60 donations from their team members and encouraged the community to donate blood during the summer months, a time when blood donations traditionally decline. Working with other emergency workers from communities like Timiskaming, Cobalt and Earlton, this year's Sirens For Life Challenge saw more than 2,700 people attend donation events across Northeastern Ontario and collected more than 2,500 units of blood for patients in need. To conclude the Sirens for Life campaign, the Greater Sudbury Police Service was recognized for rallying the most blood donations. As the winning team, the GSPS flag was raised at Tom Davies Square during a ceremony on Sept. 12.
Ontario invests $11M to expand home and community care services:
Ontario's health minister announced Wednesday the province is investing an additional $11 million to help put a stop to hallway medicine and build more capacity in communities across the province. Christine Elliott, deputy premier and minister of health, was at Hillcrest Reactivation Centre Wednesday to announce the government is investing $155 million to expand home and community care services. The 2019 budget committed $124 million in home care and $20 million in community care. The government is providing an additional $11 million for home and community care, bringing the total new investment to $155 million. As a part of this investment, the government is providing $45 million for targeted innovative integrated care models in high-need areas. In addition to the $45 million, the government is investing $63 million in existing integrated care models. Full story here.
Casey Lalonde gets the nod from Nickel Belt Greens:
With the writ dropped for the 2019 federal election earlier the same day, Nickel Belt Greens chose their candidate Wednesday night. The nomination was handed to Casey Lalonde at a nomination meeting held at the Lockerby Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. Lalonde was one of three young aspiring candidates seeking the Nickel Belt Green nomination. Her challengers were Ericha Hendel and Kris Rivard. "I'm just thrilled and humbled to have the honour of representing the Green Party in Nickel Belt," Lalonde said, in a press release. Lalonde, who was born and raised in Garson, works for a Sudbury-based non-profit agency. She is presently completing her Master's Degree in Counselling Psychology. She is very passionate about mental health issues, and her ultimate goal is to become a leader in personal development and psychotherapy.
Friday Weather:
Cloudy today with a few showers beginning near noon. There is a risk of a thunderstorm late in the afternoon. Friday's high will get up to around 19. Showers expected tonight with risk of a thunderstorm. Up to 25 mm of rain could fall overnight. Low will get down to 12. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
