Puslinch councillors are looking for long-term solutions to deal with high insurance rates.
On March 19, Puslinch council endorsed a motion by councillor Jerry Schmidt asking the province to come up with a comprehensive, long-term solution.
The motion noted that nearly 200 municipalities supported a similar motion made by Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece.
Schmidt’s resolution notes that the Ministry of the Attorney General is consulting municipalities and the legal community to create a long-term solution with three options being the Saskatchewan Model, The Multiplier Model and the Combined Model.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) AMO supports the Combined Model, which creates limits on the damages that may be recovered from a municipality under limited circumstances.
Mayor Dennis Lever said this resolution deals with joint and several liability.
He explained that even if municipalities are found one per cent at fault in an accident, they may still bear the burden of the costs under the current policy.
“This has had significant impacts to insurance costs for municipalities,” said Lever.
“In Puslinch Township, our insurance is the single largest bill we have in the township.”
He stated that while there are engineering-related bills which may be larger, portions of those bills can be re-billed to a third party.
Lever said the province has sought a solution to this issue over a number of years and, “Finally there seems to be some action.”
Councillor Jerry Schmidt added “while it is encouraging that the province has agreed to look into the concerns … the three options being favoured … still leave something to be desired in both the eyes of AMO and of Puslinch.”
He said AMO suggested municipalities should support a combined method.
“It behooves us to join our voice with the rest of the municipalities … and hopefully we’ll be heard,” said Schmidt.
