ROMA conference gives Salonen reason to be optimistic about the future
Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference was held in Toronto from Jan. 18 to 20 in downtown Toronto, and the mayor of Wilmot came home with positive vibes surrounding the financial future of the township.
It is no secret Wilmot is not in a good monetary situation as it grapples with tough budget decisions thanks in large part to a lack of reserves. Natasha Salonen explained Ontario notices how important rural parts of the province are to the overall economic picture.
“We had some great delegations both as Wilmot and jointly with other townships in the Region of Waterloo, talking about rural priorities. The really big takeaway is the provincial government recognizes that our rural municipalities are what’s going to fuel the economic backbone of Ontario going forward.”
She added Wilmot and other small municipalities are starting to see consistent investment from the province along with recognition of the need for infrastructure support.
“Wilmot itself had a great delegation with Neil Lumsden, the provincial minister of sport. We were talking about funding for a recreation complex, for example, and it is normally a shared agreement where the province will kick in usually 40 per cent and we do the other 60. That’s just not viable on our tax base.”
Salonen said council decided not to pursue the refurbishment of the New Hamburg Recreation Complex would have cost the township in the neighbourhood of $6 million even with a $4.5 million injection from the province. She explained Lumsden was receptive to exploring other ways of writing cheques.
“He acknowledged the need to look at different funding models for rural municipalities that have mainly residential tax bases. We just don’t have as many revenue sources as our larger counterparts. What really came off loud and clear is this provincial government is interested in rural Ontario and sees it as an area to invest in.”
The mayor, who sits on the ROMA board of directors, added health care was another hot topic at the conference. Salonen explained she was made aware of some initiatives with the goal of implementing more rural health support, something badly needed locally.
“The last data I have is from 2021 and it showed over six thousand Wilmot residents with no connection to a primary care physician or nurse practitioner. We only have one office in New Hamburg and we want to see an expansion in some form.”
Wilmot falls under the jurisdiction of the Woolwich Community Health Centre, a facility that has a nurse practitioner-led clinic in nearby Wellesley. Salonen said the goal is to have something similar in the township.
“We are looking at how we can get more services out to Wilmot residents, especially with our aging population, we are seeing many people want to access locally. New Hamburg has the largest per capita visits to emergency rooms in the Waterloo Region. We know ER visits can often be prevented if there is access to primary care, so how can we get our residents connected and reduce ER visits.”
Many residents also express their desire for more recreation in Wilmot, something on the radar according to Salonen
“The ask comes from small children all the way up to our seniors. There seems to be a real gap, not just in Wilmot but across our society, on programming for young teens and really getting them engaged in the community in different ways. I would love to say we can get our skate park up and running again, but financially that’s not going to be in the near future.”
She added the township will continue to work with community partners to leverage programming to be able to offer more recreation opportunities, including the local Optimist Club.
“We are looking at pickleball because we aren’t going to be replacing the floor in St. Agatha this year unless the budget takes a drastic turn, so we are going to look at other facilities and perhaps some of the churches that have gymnasiums to ensure our residents have access to programs.”
She added the upcoming provincial election was also on everyone’s mind, even before it was officially called by Premier Doug Ford.
“Whoever wins it, I think we will see a focus on rural municipalities which is great for us.”
Salonen added the need to upgrade infrastructure was also on the minds of many municipalities at ROMA, something the township is struggling to maintain due to the current financial situation.
“We are seeing the need for renewal of our bridges and culverts which are costly. We don’t have the capital reserves to cover that, not unlike many municipalities across Canada, but those are realities we need to provide so residents can get to and from locations in the township.”
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