Oil and energy-the latest Northern Ontario municipalities scourge.

As if municipalities in Northern Ontario did not have enough to worry about with the collapse of the forest industry, "competitive" granting programs, the loss of the secondary industry, skilled labour, declining population and assessment and increased taxes.

Now, the energy "crisis" (including oil), which has been building for the past several years, is quickly escalating.

The municipal operating budget illustrates that eight to nine per cent is dedicated to energy costs. This is a large number when one considers some municipal operating budgets may use 60 to 65 per cent for human resource costs, while external boards, materials, supplies and general overhead must also figure into the equation. As energy costs increase, there is a primary effect on the energy portion of the budget. The effect does not stop there. It is felt in every sector. Goods and services increase as the energy cost rises. As this occurs, it also affects all other costs within the municipal operating budget such as human resource costs as negotiated contracts and other agreements look to maintain the standard of living. In the end, it is the ratepayer who will pay for these increases. As the price of all energy increases, so does the municipal budget. In the absence of increasing revenues, the only way to deal with these increases is to reduce services-not a palatable solution for any community.

Unfortunately, most communities must deal with this increasing cost paradigm. Some are on the very verge of collapse. For the ratepayer, everything is increasing. It costs more to drive their vehicles, heat and light their homes. As they travel to the local food or general merchandise store, they will find the cost of many items has increased because items must be imported from other localities. At the same time, as the economy collapses, the number of ratepayers on a fixed income increases, bringing into question their ability to pay for anything other than the bare essentials-which may or may not include their property taxes, ouch!

I am not quite sure what the solution to this mess entails. I do know that cutting services to maintain municipal budgets only penalizes the very people who the municipality serves. I would also question the type of community that would result if municipal centres were closed or snow plowing only applied to certain roads or perhaps potable water was only available every other day. Can you imagine? Even if the effect on the municipal budget was minimized, ratepayers, including the municipal corporation, must deal with increasing costs in other sectors, this is certainly not conducive to a "healthy" or "sustainable" community. A sad day indeed for Northern Ontario.

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I suspect the media will see an increase in efforts by municipal governments to deal with the apparent gouging that is going on in the oil or fossil fuel market. There will also be more of a municipal presence at Ontario Energy Board meetings through the Algoma Coalition, a group with a geographical base from Lake Huron Shores north to Wawa. They have been strengthening their coalition the last several years.

More importantly, smaller, more isolated communities must make an effort to become self-sustainable through local energy solutions such as wind, solar and biomass. These energy sources can be used to power smaller communities thereby reducing the reliance on the grid or Big Oil. Such projects could also power greenhouses that could be used to grow fruit and vegetables year round for local and regional distribution, thereby cutting costs and reliance.

As I said, I am not quite sure of the solution to our predicament, but changing our way of thinking is a start. Is our glass half full or half empty?

Wawa's Chris Wray is the CAO of the Township of Michipicoten

cwray@wawa.ca