Simcoe County has plenty to offer Innisfil residents
By Tony Guergis, Warden, County of Simcoe

Warden Tony Guergis

Each week, The Scope will feature a column from Innisfil's political leaders. This week, warden Tony Gurgis introduces Simcoe County to Innisfil residents.

I am proud to be serving you for the second year as warden of Simcoe County, the largest county in Ontario and in my estimation, arguably the best place in Canada to live. Over the next few months, I will use this column to discuss the important issues facing county council and the many critical services that the county provides to our residents. You can expect to learn more about how council decisions affect you and your community.

Did you know that the county provides an incredible range of services to its residents including roads and other infrastructure, paramedic services, social housing, children and community services, Ontario Works, forestry, library services, solid waste management and operates four long term care facilities? And this is only a portion of what this county provides to you - our residents and visitors.

Stretching from Highway 9 in the south to Collingwood and Clearview Township in the west, Ramara in the east and Severn in the north, Simcoe County is home to more than 400,000 residents. That population is expected to continue growing at a fast pace, exceeding 600,000 by the year 2031 as more people discover the abundant opportunities offered to residents in this region.

The County of Simcoe is an upper tier municipality comprised of 16 towns and townships including the Town of Innisfil, and also provides some crucial and essential services to the cities of Barrie and Orillia.

County of Simcoe services touch the lives of residents across this region every day in a way that is often invisible to most people. Garbage and recycling collection, long term care services, social housing, roads and bridge construction and maintenance are all responsibilities of the County of Simcoe. And on other fronts, our county staff works cooperatively with local municipalities to ensure smooth, efficient delivery of other services such as assistance in times of disaster and emergency.

County of Simcoe Paramedic Services are highly visible each day in our communities, responding to more than 70,000 calls for emergency medical help each year to our municipalities and the cities of Barrie and Orillia. We currently employ over 260 paramedic professionals providing emergency medical service at an annual cost of more than $32 million.

Simcoe County's Transportation and Engineering Department oversees more than 850 kilometres of roads, 130 bridges and 50 oversized culverts in our towns and townships.

This has been a busy winter so far for snow plow operators responsible for maintaining those many hundreds of kilometres of county roads travelled daily by residents and visitors to this region. Public safety is always our highest priority for county roads construction and maintenance crews.

Crews operate on day and night shifts dispatched from six depots and 10 storage facilities. The road system in Simcoe County is divided into 34 plow/salter/sander routes with 44 pieces of equipment being utilized in a typical rollout - 29 county plows, 10 county sanders, and 5 contracted units. The county adjusts the amount of equipment being used as required.

In a typical winter season, the maintenance program costs about $3 million.

To find out more about the County of Simcoe, visit our website at www.simcoe.ca or call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-263- 3199. I look forward to future columns to share more information with you about the county and its varied services.