Did you know the TransCanada Pipeline pays property taxes of $165,885 annually to Mississippi Mills, of this over $138,000 or over 82% comes from the Pakenham Ward followed by Ramsay at 12% and 6% from Almonte. All this goes into the general coffers.
Since amalgamation all the hydro revenues have gone to the Almonte Ward. This was to offset the water and sewer charges. Now we have a bigger more powerful generating station and is slated to generate almost $8 million over the next 20 years.
Note: No Town tax money or Almonte Ward funds financed the new hydro generation plant. The MRPC borrowed $19 million and will repay the loan and interest from selling power for an estimated $2.1 million yearly.
When the Town transferred its transmission lines to the Ottawa River Power Corp (ORPC), ORPC agreed to pay 7.5% interest on the value of the assets ($902,490) over 20 years. This amounts to about $65,000 each year until 2022, for an addition $780,000 in revenue. That money goes to Almonte Ward too.
The four Almonte Ward Councillors, with support from Mayor Al Lunney and Pakenham Ward Councillor Denzil Ferguson, have stopped any effort by progressive Councillors, such as John Edwards, to amend the by-law to allow sharing. The next Council can change the by-law to mandate sharing the hydro revenue. First, we must elect people who believe all wards should be treated equally.
Position - Look, it's not the Almonte River, it's the Mississippi River and if we're to be one big happy family then we share all revenue streams.
