WHERAS the Corporation of the Town of Carleton Place has been well served by the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) and has representation on the Board of Directors; and
WHEREAS the Corporation of the Town of Carleton Place is an environmentally conscious community; and
WHEREAS the Board of Directors determines the policies, priorities and budget of the MVCA; and
WHEREAS the MVCA provides the Town of Carleton Place with expert advice on the environmental impact of land use planning proposals and the Municipality does not have staff with comparable expertise or experience nor appropriate funding to support the activities currently provided by the MVCA; and
WHEREAS the MVCA provides programs and services to the residents of the Town of Carleton Place which include recreation, education, water quality monitoring, reduction of vegetation loss and soil erosion as well as protecting life and property through a variety of measures;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Corporation of the Town of Carleton Place supports the continuation of the programs and services of the MVCA, both mandatory and non-mandatory, and that no programs of the MVCA or other Conservation Authorities including much needed flood risk reduction programs be dissolved at this time; and
THAT the Town of Carleton Place requests that the Provincial government improve their funding to Conservation Authorities including for flood risk reduction programs in order to provide a more stable funding base that would prevent any downloading of costs to municipalities and their tax base;
THAT the Provincial Government provide clear direction as to what programs and services are considered mandatory and non-mandatory and how those programs will be funded in the future; and
THAT this resolution be forwarded to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, Premier Doug Ford, MPP Randy Hillier, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the County of Lanark, the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, and Conservation Ontario.