Ottawa Public Health and Long Term Care
Important subjects, right?
Provincial legislation or not, these two departments have no business extracting funds from municipal taxpayers. Health care is a provincial responsibility under federal law.
The province refunds the municipality for the lion’s share of expenses, but the two departments will have a drain on Ottawa resident taxpayers to the tune of some $24 million this year as outlined in the 2011 draft budget.
Back in 2001, these two departments operated as one.
Ottawa Public Health
Responsibilities have expanded over the past 10 years. Still, those responsibilities should not be paid for from your property tax.
This separate department had a gross expenditure of $20,315,000 in 2001. The province paid for $8,334,000 of the expenses and there were recoveries of another $2,800,000 from other areas. It still required $7,975,000 from the Ottawa taxpayer to balance its books.
2001 salaries, wages and benefits for 239 employees consumed 71 percent of the gross expenditures. Average annual salary was $60,414.00.
In 2011, the Department wants to spend $52,828,000. That’s a 150 percent increase since 2001. Of the gross expenditure, The Ottawa property taxpayer is being asked to cover $13,094,000.
The department has grown from 239 employees in 2001 to a projected level of 505 employees in 2011 or a 111 percent increase.
Average annual salaries would be $86,035.00
Even though the province funds a large portion of the expense, it is our tax dollars in either case. Growth in this department is far beyond residential growth and is a symptom of the ills in our total health system.
Long Term Care
On the other hand, growth in this separate department over the same years has been neglected. It is a case of getting your priorities right. The people requiring long term care have been ill served.
In 2001, there were 537 employees in the Long Term Health Department. In 2011, 576 employees will be required.
Everyone knows that the demographics have indicated increasing demand for this type of care, but priorities have been misplaced. The municipality would rather spend more money on advocating non-life-threatening health issues through the Public Health Department than spending money on people that need care in order to survive.
You can see the difference when you compare salaries with the two departments. Long Term Health employees will have an average salary, including benefits, of $51,705.00 in 2011, while the public advocacy group will have an average salary, including benefits of $86,035.00. It really doesn’t make any sense when comparing the number of employees or employee costs.
The new Ottawa Council should really look at the priorities in these departments.
Bill O’Malley
