Jane Torrance
Lanark County Council is our upper tier of government. The County is made up of 8 lower-tier municipalities, including Mississippi Mills, Carleton Place, Beckwith, Perth, Lanark Highlands, Drummond North Elmsley and Montague. Smiths Falls is a separated town but does contribute and share in certain responsibilities like social services.
I was appointed to County Council following an election by my fellow Councillors in Mississippi Mills. This is the first election where voters will be able to directly choose their County representatives by voting for a Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
As a County Councillor from 2014-2018, I have raised the profile of Mississippi Mills, and taken on a leadership role. I have
- twice chaired the Economic Development committee 2016 and 2017
- sat on striking committee 2017
- chaired the Public Transportation working group in 2017 and 2018
- appointed twice to Valley Heartland 2014-2016 and 2016-2018
- represented Lanark County at OVRT Partners meeting 2016 and 2017
- spoken for Lanark County on major issues in presentation to Provincial Ministers
- championed and led County-wide economic development strategic plan 2015-2017
- sat on leadership team for Lanark Tourism Strategy 2018
- sat on Lanark County Awards of Excellence Evaluation Committee 2014-2018
I have earned the respect of County Council and staff. I have brought the ideas and votes from Mississippi Mills Council to Lanark County Council. I have established a great relationship based on hard work, shared values, collaboration and demonstrated leadership.
Lanark County is responsible for
- Public Works
- County roads, including maintenance
- Adopt-a-Road
- Community and Social Services
- Housing and homelessness
- Income supports like Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support
- Developmental Support Services
- Children’s Services, including daycare subsidies and EarlyON
- Economic Development
- Planning
- Tourism
- County-wide strategy
- Transportation
- Trails
- Community Forests and County Forest Management
- Algonquin Land Claims
- Agriculture
- Corporate Services
- Ambulance Service
- Emergency services and preparedness
- Long-term Care
- Community Grants, including support of Youth Centres
Lanark County has its own Asset Management Plan http://www.county.lanark.on.ca/Asset7184.aspx and Long Term Financial Plan.
More than 1/3 of your tax dollars collected at Mississippi Mills are passed on to the County. The County sets their own budget ($33,357,002 in 2018) and then apportions the requested amount across the County according to assessment. In 2018, Mississippi Mills paid 7,157,381 to the County because we had 21.5% of the assessment (house value) in Lanark County.
The Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Mississippi Mills will represent our lower tier of government at Lanark County Council. It is important that we have strong and united representatives who will ensure Mississippi Mills gets our fair share of resources. Let’s keep our good reputation at Lanark County Council.
