Current issues

Arsenic – a poison –  is naturally occurring in groundwater around the world. In higher concentrations (like 50-100 micrograms per litre), there is evidence of adverse effects, but those are nowhere near the concentrations we are seeing in our water. The World Health Organization, the federal guideline under Health Canada, and the Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards all have the standard of 10μg/L (10 micrograms per litre). Most of Mono’s wells are compliant with this limit, although the Island Lake water supply in some tests has gotten up to 9μg/L. Under Ontario rules, reaching “Half-Maximum Acceptable Concentration” (so 5μg/L) triggers more monitoring, reporting and doing something about it. Options include:

• Treat the water to remove the arsenic
• Drill new wells and connect the Island Lake Drinking Water System to the Cardinal Woods Drinking Water System
• Connect the Island Lake Drinking Water System to a neighbouring municipality’s water system

Council decided against removing the arsenic because it takes a lot more water to get arsenic out of water, which puts more strain on the amount of water available to folks. This option would also cost more over the long run. 

The current plan is to drill new wells in the Klondyke Gravel Pit and to connect the Island Lake and Cardinal Woods drinking water systems. The next steps will be to submit the report to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for review and comments. 

I am curious about what methods they were considering when assessing the value of removing the arsenic from the water. Further to that, a clear timeline for when the work would be done, what impact this may have on our water table, and public information on  what residents can do if they are concerned that the arsenic has impacted their health would be further questions I would bring to council.

To learn more, go to the Town of Mono’s site, get more information on arsenic around the world check out the World Health Organization’s page and if you are curious about how they could remove arsenic from water, read this.

There have been some concerns lately about the building of extremely large homes in Mono. Some concerns of these kinds of residences include:

• Strain on wells and ground water. Large homes are more likely to have water features like pools, hot tubs, fountains etc.;
• Crowding out farmland: Large homes take up a lot of space, and we have a lot of good agricultural land in Mono;
• Disrupted landscape: homes with very large square footage fragment local habitats and replace natural carbon-sequestering land with impermeable surfaces (like concrete or aggregate), manicured lawns, and driveways;
• Frequent remodeling, constant upkeep, and powering luxury amenities magnify the environmental impact across the building’s life cycle;
• Exceptionally high ecological footprint to build: more materials drawn from a wider geographical area and have to travel further distances to be placed here;
• Designs are often modular, which is not efficient in terms of energy consumption.

Some reasons to be welcoming of extremely large homes:

• Large homes are more conducive to inter-generational living, which is supportive of aging in place, and home day care for young children. This can help caregivers and parents return to the workforce should they want to; 
• Could raise the property values;
• Could provide more local jobs in the construction and maintenance of a large building with many amenities;
• More taxes going to the municipality based on the value of the home. This may reduce the chances of increased taxes. 

In response, there are a few other concerns:

• These local jobs are not always well-paying, secure or widely respected. 
• There is no way to mandate that folks hire locally to build or maintain their property.

I want to be very clear – I am not against your personal hot tub, pool or fountain, nor am I mad about the size of your house. I want to make sure that when we are planning for the future we are considering all the impacts of any new developments on what is already here.

Summary of discussion and by-law coming soon!

Residents of Mono experienced an 8% tax hike this year, which has been hard on many.

When evaluating the property tax landscape in the region, the Town of Mono has the lowest residential property tax rate in all of Dufferin County. 

All eight municipalities in Dufferin County share the same upper-tier county tax rate (0.43%) and the same provincial education tax rate (0.15%). Therefore, the differences on your tax bill are decided by what each local town council spends on lower-tier services.

• Town of Grand Valley: $7,347.60 (1.469519%)
• Town of Shelburne: $7,209.18 (1.441836%)
• Town of Orangeville: $6,765.00 (~1.353%)
• Township of East Garafraxa: $6,418.07 (1.283614%)
• Township of Mulmur: $5,770.00 (1.154%)
• Township of Melancthon: $5,605.00 (1.121%)
• Township of Amaranth: $5,595.00 (1.119%)
• Town of Mono: $5,406.35 (1.081270%)

That being said, those tax bills can still be high, even if they aren’t as high as others. Programs like the County of Dufferin’s Low Income Tax Relief Program may be able to support you if you are over 65 or living with a disability. If you cannot pay a tax installment on time, you can contact the Town of Mono Treasury Department to see if you can set up a payment structure that works better for you (however, interest may accumulate in this case). Given that property taxes are based on the  Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assessment of the value of your property, you can also file a Request for Reconsideration for free. Although after the fact, there are some provincial tax credits & grants you may also be able to apply for that are available for low- to moderate- income earners and seniors in Ontario, such as the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (OEPTC) or the Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant.

As your councillor, I will work incredibly hard to make sure the taxes you pay go towards what is absolutely necessary in Mono. As a mother with young children, frivolous spending does not show up on the to do list (and trust me, it’s a long list). I will look very closely at what is being spent and why, and make sure we are doing the best we can for the people who live here.