Two projects – the Haliburton County Paramedic Service master plan and a human resources information system modernization for the township of Modern Hills – will benefit from funding from the provincial government.
Last week, Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock made the announcement about the funding, totalling $101,760 for the County of Haliburton’s project, and $81,357 for the Minden Hills project.
“Municipalities can use the funding to conduct reviews of local services and administrative operations to find efficiencies, including accelerating the creation of new housing through streamlined development approvals and working with neighbouring municipalities to share services,” reads a Feb. 4 press release from Scott’s office.
According to the press release the funding is part of $28 million the government is spending through the Municipal Modernization Program to support 322 projects that make the delivery of local services for residents and businesses more efficient.
“Development of a comprehensive master plan for the county is extremely important for us to determine the future requirements of our ambulance service and community paramedic program so that we can continue to provide exceptional patient care to both residents and visitors in Haliburton County,” said Tim Waite, director for Haliburton County Paramedic Service.
County Warden Liz Danielsen said the master plan funding was exciting.
“For some time now, Haliburton has been experiencing substantially increased call volumes, pressures associated with transfers for diagnostics as well as managing the new community paramedicine programs,” she said. “Given the changing atmosphere we have found the need to carefully study our management structure, assess our existing bases and determine where additional resources will be required. Haliburton has seen considerable growth and we need to carve out the best path to move forward and continue to offer exemplary service to our residents.”
Trisha McKibbin, CAO/clerk of Minden Hills township said the township was “delighted” to receive funding in support of the purchase and implementation of a human resources information system.
“This software will enable the municipality to modernize from a paper-based system and will positively impact all HR functions including recruitment, performance management, training records, payroll and time management,” she told the Times. “We are looking forward to undertaking this project in 2022.”
Also last week, as part of the province’s Community Building Fund, Scott announced the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 129 in Haliburton would be receiving $104,100 for facility upgrades, and the municipality of Dysart et al would be receiving $162,000 to renovate and transform two outdoor rinks into multi-purpose courts for hockey, pickleball and basketball with benches for a rest area.
– Staff