No, Parry Sound is Not Bankrupt
28 Tuesday Aug 2018
Written by parry034 in Budget/Financial, Parry Sound, Seguin Township
A couple of weeks ago friends of ours in Seguin Township told us that a Seguin candidate had dropped by their home and in the course of the discussion said, or implied, that Parry Sound taxes were as high as they were was because the Town of Parry Sound was bankrupt. These are knowledgeable folks who were surprised by the statement and mentioned it to us for confirmation, or not.
I ended up speaking with the Seguin candidate about what our friends had heard. The candidate said that was not what they had said. I simply advised the candidate that this was the message that was received, probably because of what was, or how it was, communicated. The candidate did say, perhaps in their own defense, that a recent KPMG report stated Parry Sound carried a higher debt load than the neighbouring municipalities. To that I would reply – guilty as reported, but that is far from being bankrupt, or drowning in debt. It’s like criticizing a neighbour for having a larger mortgage for their more expensive property than you have for yours. If the debt is less than the value, and the mortgage payments are manageable, there is no problem. You may not prefer that level of debt, but then you are you, not them.
What also isn’t regularly mentioned is reserves and assets. The Town of Parry Sound maintains reserves that are higher than average in terms of both dollars and percentage of tax revenues.
A saying we have in our house is that you don’t need to put other people down to make yourself look better. The Town of Parry Sound and Sequin Township have quite different business models that are built to meet the needs of their residents. Comparing the two isn’t fair, and Parry Sound’s debt is actually a benefit for Seguin residents by providing the infrastructure that can support big box stores, an area hospital, and even places of worship and social services that would be less tenable if they had to depend on well and septic systems. As a Parry Sound champion, I understand the benefits that we bring to our municipal neighbours. I am not so sure what benefits our municipal neighbours provide for Parry Sound residents. I know I can’t park my car in many municipalities to go kayaking without worrying about a ticket. Some may argue that our municipal neighbours spend their dollars and support Parry Sound businesses. If you look closely you will find that many, if not most, of these Parry Sound businesses are owned by folks who live not in Parry Sound, but in the surrounding municipalities.
In the end it all works pretty well. There is no need to throw stones at each other’s business model.
For those of you wanting to better understand the Town of Parry Sound financial situation, hopefully Parry Sound Council candidates who have never attended a budget meeting, here are a couple of documents that should be helpful.
2018 Town of Parry Sound Budget Presentation (2018-12-12)
2017 Town of Parry Sound financial Statements (Draft)
(Note: original post edited to clear up the ‘they’ references.)
No comments
September 1, 2018 at 3:11 pm
jo, I’m beating my head against the wall here. This is a point I’ve made many times to you, and as far as I can tell, you’ve never once replied to it, yet you continue to assert the opposite.
“. I am not so sure what benefits our municipal neighbours provide for Parry Sound residents.”
Simple: the increased regional population allows Parry sound to secure services well beyond what a stand alone town of its size otherwise could. The hospital is prime example #1. No town of 6000 would get a hospital as large or well equipped as Parry sound does. Parry sound gets it because of its status as a regional hub. Take away that region, and you lose that status. Take away that status, and you lose those services. Plain and simple.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: hit the road and drive north. Go and visit all the stand alone northern towns that are about the same size, and see what kind of services they have. Make that comparison, and then maybe you’ll finally appreciate how the municipalities benefit the town. Till then, you should really quit it with the envy slagging.
September 1, 2018 at 5:09 pm
Ryan, if you are going to beat your old drum that because we exist, we assist, I’d say nah-hah. But let’s just looks at the one point you seemed to rely on. Pasted below is a list of hospitals in Northern Ontario. It seems that Parry Sound would be the ‘beneficiary’ of a hospital with or without the municipalities. Whether we would get one quite as nice or well equipped is up for debate, but it’s not obvious that we wouldn’t. Englehart for example has a hospital with a population of 2,000, and they don’t have a significant surrounding area population. Parry Sound quite possibly would have an upgraded hospital because it is a centre of it’s own population and it is strategically located between Barrie, Huntsville and Sudbury. People half way between these locations might prefer to come to a smaller hospital for basic services. I can tell you that when my mother-in-law had medical issues they were not managed in Parry Sound; there were quite a few trips to Toronto and Barrie. So while we might be more generously resourced with our hospital we are far from well resourced. The question is: what is the tipping point for different tiers of hospital services?. I don’t think either of us can answer that question.
Your brother or sister might argue that your life is better because they exist. You might reply that they are better off because you exist. I believe your argument is circular. How about Seguin builds or creates something tangible, let’s say a pool complex, that benefits the area municipalities. Some Parry Sound residents would then be happy to pay to use your facility and offset some of your costs of operations. Clearly Seguin would be benefiting from our meager but very real contribution. A pool for example, would make a very real statement and totally refute my arguments. But the argument that because the populations in Seguin and other municipalities simply exist Parry Sound is significantly benefited doesn’t do it for me.
It goes back to the free rider discussion we had earlier where you argued that a person was better off by giving their neighbor a free ride to work because they could use the HOV lanes, but you never acknowledged that the neighbor similarly benefited from the faster commute, and at the same time had no costs for the commute at all. (To the tune of Lowrider – ‘Free rider – rides a lot cheaper’.)
Cochrane Lady Minto Hospital (The)
Elliot Lake St. Joseph’s General Hospital
Englehart Englehart And District Hospital
Espanola Espanola General Hospital
Hearst Hopital Notre Dame Hospital (Hearst)
Hornepayne Hornepayne Community Hospital
Iroquois Falls Anson General Hospital
Kapuskasing Sensenbrenner Hospital
Kirkland Lake Kirkland Lake and District Hospital
Matheson Bingham Memorial Hospital
Mattawa Mattawa General Hospital
Parry Sound West Parry Sound Health Centre
Smooth Rock Falls Smooth Rock Falls Hospital
Sturgeon Falls West Nipissing General Hospital
September 1, 2018 at 8:51 pm
How much time have you spent in those hospitals, Jo? It’s one thing to sit at your desk and google things, but I’ve actually lived there, and been treated at hospitals there. Dryden is a great comparison with Parry sound.
But to the bigger point, it’s not that the argument is circular, it’s that the relationship between the town and the municipalities is symbiotic. They both contribute to and depend on each other. They are both better because of the existence of the other.
The only disagreement here is that I’m happy to give credit where credit is due, so I’m happy to credit Parry sound for all the benefit it gives me. But you don’t seem to be willing to return the favour. Instead you sit there whining about free rides, as if Parry sound is a victim. Crocodile tears, Jo.