In 2013 and 2014, following the release of a landmark analysis titled "Facing our Fiscal Challenges: A Report on the Financial Sustainability of Local Government in Eastern Ontario," the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus researched and developed a series of five White Papers to explore further prospects for financial sustainability through to 2020.
These White Papers would also serve to inform the EOWC's partners in the municipal, provincial and federal sectors about the financial sustainability of local governments across rural Eastern Ontario, backed by extensive research.
The White Papers confirm, among other things, that rural ratepayers across the region are increasingly challenged to pay the costs of vital municipal services. Rural Eastern Ontario ratepayers, like local governments, are at a crossroads in terms of financial sustainability. Residents simply can no longer afford to pay the ever-increasing costs of municipal services, particularly when rural areas have increasing amounts of infrastructure to be maintained by a relatively small and widely-dispersed population.
To download and read the five EOWC White Papers, as well as the initial landmark study released in early 2012, please click on the links below. The White Papers are also available as a complete book, available for download below.
Initial Report: Facing our Fiscal Challenges, February 2012
White Paper 1: Municipal Infrastructure, August 2013
White Paper 2: Municipal Affordability, August 2013
White Paper 3: Ratepayer Affordability, December 2013
White Paper 4: Environmental Services, July 2014