In late 2000, the province and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) developed and agreed to a funding template for the provision of Land Ambulance Service by local government as directed in the Local Services Realignment initiative. The purpose of this template was to determine the amount of provincial funding that would be provided to DDAs. Eligible costs for municipal services were funded at 50% while unorganized and First Nations areas were funded at 100%.
The template also required information on “cross border billings” regarding the cost of services the DDA provided to other Districts. The amount included on the template was used by the province to increase or decrease the DDA’s funding depending on whether one was a net recipient or payer for cross border services. If you were a net payer, the intent was that the province would provide you with additional funding so that you could pay the invoice for services from DDAs outside your District. If you were a net recipient, the intent was that your overall funding would be reduced by the net amount you would receive from other Districts.
Across Ontario, municipalities have been unable to invoice each other because of numerous problems with the legislation, the raw data provided by the province, and disagreements on the definition of what constitutes a chargeable call. Many committees have been looking at this problem since late 2001. Recently, the treasurers group formed a committee to explore and develop a solution to the problem. The Association of Municipal Emergency Medical Services of Ontario (AMEMSO) are recommending that
the legislation be rescinded and each DDA be funded in accordance with the services provided independent of where those services are provided. In light of the problems noted hardly any municipalities have produced cross border invoices.
This is a province-wide situation and the City of Thunder Bay is working with all groups trying to resolve the impasse. In the meantime, we are awaiting a provincial decision, which would resolve this matter for all municipalities.
The City of Thunder Bay also has a somewhat unique problem that compounds funding shortfalls. In June of 2001 the province was advised that the cross border billing numbers were being improperly applied in our template resulting in an annual loss of $298,356 of operational funding for Superior North EMS. A meeting was requested with the local Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Emergency Health Services staff. They were unable to address the concerns and offered to coordinate a meeting with senior provincial staff in Thunder Bay to clarify the situation.
This meeting was held in Thunder Bay on July 11, 2001. Two senior ministry staff refused to accept the arguments presented indicating there would be no problem once cross border billing was initiated.
Over the next 18 months, attempts were made to have the province show us their funding calculations for Superior North EMS. To date they have not been prepared to share this information with us. In December 2002, City of Thunder Bay finance staff found a copy of the province’s calculations apparently confirming the position of the City. The calculations indicate we are a net recipient of service from other DDAs. To date we have been treated as a net provider.
The consequence of this error is that the province reduced their 50% funding share by $298,356 on our approved template with the expectation that when the provincial billing occurs, we would receive our missing revenue. Because of their error, not only will we be unable to collect this $298,356, but also we would owe that same amount to other municipalities for cross border billing services. This shortfall in funding directly affects our ability to deliver services today. To limit this impact we have been funding capital reserves at an amount well below provincial guidelines and will be unable to meet future vehicle and equipment needs.
Based on the above, the following amounts are due from the province and conversely the municipal share as well;