ERCA sets priorities, budget for 2018
With a goal of creating more than 100 acres of new habitat this year while initiating a regional climate change adaptation strategy, the Essex Region Conservation Authority set its 2018 budget, approving a very small levy increase.
The authority ’s $9,271,600 budget includes $3,148,752 to be paid by Windsor and Essex County municipalities — an increase of $101,019 or nine cents per household over last year. The increase includes $51,000 for operations and $50,000 for future asset replacement.
The authority also has plans to improve floodline mapping and to continue to tackle phosphorus in Lake Erie.
ERCA general manager Richard Wyma said this year’s programs are aimed at increasing habitat and forest cover and maintaining and expanding conservation areas and trails as well as helping municipalities protect people and infrastructure from the dangers of flooding and erosion.
And while this work does require local funding, ERCA also generates revenue for the region.
“Between 2007 and 2017, ERCA received $26.5 million in total levy contributions, and generated $35 million in new outside funding to the region in support of regional environmental programs and projects,” Wyma said.
Board chairman Rick Fryer said the knowledge and skills that ERCA provides “is a cost-effective way to manage regional environmental priorities.
“Without the technical expertise that ERCA is able to offer from a regional perspective, each municipality would have to fund this expertise on its own,” Fryer said. “This relatively small contribution is an excellent investment in ensuring that our region is the Place for Life.”
The levy funds less than 30 per cent of the authority ’s operations, placing ERCA in the bottom five of all conservation authorities and well below the provincial average of about 45 per cent, Wyma said.