2001 Credit Rating for Essex County

Home Browse Search

governments or area municipalities. The seven area municipalities constitute the towns of Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville, Lakeshore, LaSalle, and Tecumseh, and the Municipality of Leamington. As part of a provincial initiative to reduce the number of local politicians, 21 former area municipalities in Essex have been amalgamated in a two-year period into the existing seven. Further amalgamations in the county are not considered likely at this time. Windsor is located within the geographic boundaries of Essex. This city is not part of the county governance structure and is politically, administratively, and financially separate. Essex and Windsor have been involved in past discussions concerning the possible expansion of the city's municipal boundaries. At this time, the prospect of any boundary adjustment, mandated by the province, is remote. Local discussions are anticipated to continue surrounding the offer by the county and one of its area municipalities to make available to Windsor about 2,700 hectares of land and associated taxable assessment. Essex is responsible for county roads, solid waste management, land ambulance, planning, homes for the aged, libraries, and domiciliary hostels. The area municipalities are responsible for police and fire services, water supply, wastewater treatment, local roads, transit, parks and recreation, and local planning. Finances Essex posted an operating surplus of C$9.8 million or 14.3% of operating revenues in 1999, down from the surplus of C$16.3 million or almost 20% of operating revenues a year earlier. Consistent operating surpluses are considered important credit strengths as they can provide the financial capability to fund capital programs on a pay-as-you-go basis and limit debt issuance. Standard & Poor's expects municipalities to sustain consistent operating surpluses to allow them to, at least partially, finance capital expenditures. On a consolidated basis (operating and capital), Essex produced a surplus of C$0.3 million in 1999, an improvement on the C$2.6 million deficit in 1998. The county had operating revenues of C$71 million in 1999, a decrease of almost 14% from the previous year. Property taxes, the biggest component (at almost 57%) of total operating revenues, rose 1.7% in 1999 from 1998. Provincial grants and transfers, the second-most important component (at roughly 37%), decreased more than 36% in the same period. The decrease was due entirely to a reduction of roughly C$14 million in conditional grants from the province. In particular, conditional grants for income support and children's services expenditures declined as a result of the shift of the delivery of those services to Windsor from Essex in April 1999 and a decline in the number of persons requiring assistance. As well, Essex had been the recipient in 1998 of a sizeable one-time conditional grant of about C$7 million (C$12 million in total during 1997 and 1998) to cover the transfer to the county of segments of certain provincial highways. No further transfers occurred in 1999 and, accordingly, conditional road grants for that year were much lower. Operating expenditures mirrored revenues as they declined almost 11% to C$58.8 in 1999 from 1998. Social services, which represent the largest component of operating expenditure at almost 37%, fell roughly 8% in 1999 from 1998. While the delivery of income support and children's services has been transferred to Windsor from Essex, the county is still responsible for expenditures made on behalf of Essex's residents. These ongoing social Page 3 of 6