County Council Highlights for Sept. 6, 2023

Warden Thanks Residents and Staff for Storm Response

Warden Hilda MacDonald thanked residents for their patience and perseverance during two major storms in August and praised County of Essex staff for their response.

The storms on Aug. 23 and Aug. 24 toppled trees and hydro lines, leaving some residents without power for extended periods. The heavy rainfall flooded basements, yards, fields and roads – especially in the southern part of the county.

“It was a stressful time, but everyone rolled up their sleeves to clean up the mess and help their neighbours,” MacDonald said at the beginning of Wednesday’s Essex County Council meeting. “On behalf of council, I would like to acknowledge and thank Essex County roads maintenance staff and the staff at the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority for working long hours to respond to emergency calls and assist with the ongoing cleanup.”

The warden also thanked Essex-Windsor EMS staff for dealing with the added pressure of the storms while call volumes were high and resources stretched.

She noted that the heavy rainfall in late August was a reminder that flooding is always a threat in the region – “one we continually have to be aware of and prepared to mitigate.”

Wardens’ Caucus Strategic Priorities Presented

Housing affordability, workforce retention and expansion, increased funding to address mental health, addictions and homelessness, and expanding broadband infrastructure are the current strategic priorities of the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, council was told.

Executive director Kate Burns Gallagher also spoke about the advocacy work being done by the Wardens’ Caucus on behalf of its members. The organization represents 16 upper and single-tier Western Ontario municipalities with 1.5 million residents – 90 per cent of whom live in rural areas.

Phase 2 of the Official Plan Review is Nearing Completion

Growth management and policy directions reports that will form the basis of a new County of Essex Official Plan are nearing completion.

Representatives of NPG Planning Solutions, the consultant hired to assist with the Official Plan review, presented council with an overview of the reports. In a separate report to council, Rebecca Belanger, manager, planning services, lists the following work that is to be done before Phase 2 is completed:

  • A community stakeholder advisory committee meeting is to be held on Sept. 13;
  • The draft growth management and policy directions reports will be given to the technical planning advisory committee in the last week of September for input and feedback;
  • On Oct. 10 and Oct. 11 there will be a public workshop, technical planning advisory committee meeting, and engagement with the Indigenous community and City of Windsor staff;
  • The reports will be finalized and released the last week of October; and
  • At the Nov. 1 county council meeting, Phase 2 will be concluded and the Phase 3 work plan launched.

Phase 3 will include the preparation of a draft new Official Plan. More information is available on the County of Essex website.

Aird & Berlis LLP Appointed Integrity Commissioner

Council has appointed Aird & Berlis LLP to be Essex County’s integrity commissioner.

The county will enter into a three-year agreement with the Toronto-based law firm that allows for two one-year extensions. Aird & Berlis was recommended by administration as the best of four candidates that submitted proposals.

Aird & Berlis LLP has a large team of partners and associates with expertise in municipal law, including integrity commissioner and code of conduct investigations. The firm provides integrity commissioner and ombudsman services to more than 80 municipalities in Ontario. It also supports other integrity commissioners when they require legal counsel or litigation support.

The integrity commissioner is an independent and impartial council appointee who investigates complaints and alleged breaches of Essex County Council’s Code of Conduct. The integrity commissioner also advises and educates council members on the Code of Conduct’s provisions.

Library Staff Move to Separate Group in Pension Plan

Essex County Library staff are no longer part of the County of Essex group in the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS) pension plan.

The Essex County Library Board voted in August to have the library participate in OMERS separately. Library employees’ information will be moved to the new group within the pension plan. The change will have no other impact on county and library employees, says a report to council.

Essex-Windsor EMS to Hire Staff to Assist Paramedics at Hospital ERs

Essex County Council has approved funding to hire up to eight assistants to help paramedics unloading patients at hospitals return to the road faster.

Council has agreed to spend $67,000 to hire up to eight second-year paramedic students to fill the part-time positions in 2023 and will consider spending another $200,000 in 2024 to keep the program going.

Ambulance response times are significantly affected when paramedics have to wait to unload patients at hospital emergency departments, says a report to council by Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Bruce Krauter.

The offload assistants would be responsible for assisting paramedics in offloading patients and readying ambulances to return to service, giving paramedics time to transition from one assignment to another. The benefits of the program to Essex-Windsor EMS, local hospitals, paramedic students and the community include:

  • Providing hands-on experience for students, as well as familiarity with Essex-Windsor EMS;
  • Giving paramedics much needed down time to regroup and refocus between calls;
  • Providing another way to monitor the transfer of patients to hospital care when call volumes are high; and
  • Decreasing pressure on EMS resources and putting ambulances back in service faster.

The chief’s report also calls for a review and refresh of the EMS Master Plan in 2024 at an estimated cost of $150,000. The current Master Plan recommends hiring an additional 24 paramedics in 2024 at an estimated cost of $2.5 million, a proposal that will be brought forward during the 2024 Budget deliberations.

Offload Delays the Focus of County Presentation to Health Minister

A delegation from the County of Essex recently presented Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones with potential solutions to the ongoing issue of offload delays in Windsor and Essex County.

Warden Hilda MacDonald, CAO Sandra Zwiers and EMS Chief Bruce Krauter spoke to Jones and Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Catherine Zahn at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) annual conference in London, held Aug. 21-23.

They asked the minister to consider three measures that could reduce ambulance offload delays at hospital emergency departments in Windsor and Essex County:

  1. Increased funding for primary and urgent care clinics with expanded hours.
  2. Increased funding for physician recruitment.
  3. Placement of a patient navigator in the Windsor Central Ambulance Communications Centre.

Jones is engaged and knowledgeable about the issues, and committed to continuing to work with the county to resolve the pressures on the health-care system, says a report to council by Zwiers.