N E W S COVID-19 PANDEMIC SITUATION FORCES UCPR BUDGET REVISION
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
One of the priority revisions to the 2020 budget concerned the emergency services department, which has had to deal with increased demands as Prescott-Russell paramedics were called in to assist the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) with testing and assessment needs for long- term care facilities, along with their regular ambulance duties. Parisien noted that emergency services needed about $541,000 added to its budget allocation. That money was transferred from the UCPR working reserve fund. The provincial government has asked the UCPR to provide reports on the extra workload due to the pandemic for the ambu- lance service. Parisien noted that may mean future compensation from the province for the extra expense but she added there is no guarantee of that yet. “We have a hunch we might get some- thing (back),” she said, during a later phone interview, “but it’s just a hunch.” UCPR council accepted the finance department’s 2020 budget revisions report for final approval during the June 24 regular session.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on budget planning for the United Counties of Prescott-Russell. Finance Director Valérie Parisien pres- ented the mayors on the United Counties of Prescott-Russell council (UCPR) during their June 10 committee of the whole session with some revised figures for the 2020 UCPR budget. “All the adjustments do not affect the tax levy,” Parisien told council, noting that all of the budget revisions totalled $19,938,300 spread across several departments. The 2020 UCPR budget still remains at about $126 million as approved by council earlier in the year. The budget revisions involved reallocating some funds from programs and projects that are suspended or postponed to next year because of the pandemic. Other revisions require the UCPR draw on its working fund reserve to make up for the loss of revenue from provincial and federal sources, also due to the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on this year’s budget plan for the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR). The finance department reported more than $19 million worth of revisions to the UCPR budget for this year, with the department having to draw on the working reserve fund to make up for lost revenue for some essential programs and services. The changes won’t affect the overall $126 million budget or the 2020 property tax rate. —archives
NEW SUMMER PAVING PROJECT PLANNED FOR ALFRED
&/#3&'r#3*&'4 ATV SAFETY WARNING Relaxation of some of the provincial pandemic restrictions on outdoor recreation means ATV riders are able to get out on the trails again and also on sections of public roads that are used as links between trails. Police remind ATV riders that they are subject to all traffic laws when on public roads, including those related to impaired driving. ATV riders must wear helmets, and not have passengers riding with them. — Gregg Chamberlain SAINT-ISIDORE PAVING There is summer paving planned for part of County Road 9 near Saint-Isi- dore. The United Counties of Prescott- Russell public works department will resurface a 1.9-kilometre section of the county road between the Concession Road 20 intersection and the Highway 417 turnoff once funding aid approval comes from the provincial government. – Gregg Chamberlain
Motorists should be ready for some traffic delays this summer on County Road 17 west of Alfred. The United Counties of Prescott-Russell public works department is repaving a three-kilometre section of the road west from the County Road 15 intersection. —photo Gregg Chamberlain
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Burton Road in Russell Township. “There’s still quite a lot of work to be done on the design,” said Bouchard. The Burton Road roundabout project is now shelved until next year. Instead some of the provincial money approved for the roundabout project will go towards the paving work planned for this year for County Road 17 west of the Village of Alfred in Alfred- Plantagenet Township. The original plan was to pave the section of road from the intersection with County Road 15 up to the Charlebois Road inter- section. Now, Bouchard said, the plan is for new pavement for a three-kilometre section of the road west from the County Road 15 intersection.
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
A planned paving project for part of County Road 17 near Alfred will get a little extension thanks to some extra financing. Jérémie Bouchard, interim public works director for the United Counties of Prescott- Russell (UCPR), is reworking plans for a paving project for part of County Road 17 west of Alfred planned for later in summer. A longer stretch of the regional highway will get new pavement thanks to some extra funding that became available because of delays for a proposed roundabout project for
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