The Southeast Public Health Board of Health met yesterday in Kingston for the regular monthly meeting. The agenda package is available online.
Allocation of municipal levy harmonization funding
At last month’s Board of Health meeting a decision was made to reset and harmonize municipal levies, effective January 1, 2025, using a phased approach over the next five years to achieve a targeted funding ratio of 67.5 percent provincial and 32.5 percent municipal funding. To offset the impact of the levy harmonization to municipalities in the newly merged health unit, the provincial government has committed to providing approximately $4.3 million in merger funding over three years.
The Board reviewed five options for allocating the provincial merger funding and voted to allocate the $4.3 million using a needs-based approach. In proceeding with this option, any negative impacts from harmonizing the 2025 municipal levies will be covered first (approximately $1.3 million) and the remaining $3 million will be allocated proportionately across municipalities within Leeds and Grenville, Lanark, Hastings, and Prince Edward Counties. Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington municipalities have excess municipal contributions due to overcontributions in 2025, which can be used for offsetting future levy increases.
The next step in this process will see Southeast Public Health creating unique municipal accounts for each municipality to track their specific portion of this funding. The amounts transferred to these municipal accounts will be used to help offset a portion of future municipal levies.
For additional analysis, please refer to the Board package.
Finance Committee updates
The Board approved the 2024 Draft Financial Statements for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health (KFLAPH), and the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit (LGLDHU), as well as the draft pro forma Statement of Financial Position for Southeast Public Health. Hastings Prince Edward Public Health and Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health reported strong liquidity and positive operating results, while Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit reported a deficit position, reflecting ongoing financial sustainability challenges. It was noted that with expenses continuing to outpace funding, financial sustainability remains a key consideration for the merged agency.
The Board approved the 2026 budget of $49,735,903 for the cost-shared and related budgets for Southeast Public Health, which includes an approximate 1.94 percent increase to mandatory programs. Key budget factors include continued wage and staffing harmonization, temporary merger stabilization funding, and increased travel due to the expanded geographic area.
Merger updates
A progress update on merger activities was provided to the Board. The activities include, but are not limited to:
- A significant step forward in the Southeast Public Health merger will see staff moving into their new teams and reporting to their “future” manager starting October 27. While the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act (PSLRTA) and program harmonization are still ongoing, some staff may continue to perform work from their previous role to ensure stability and continuity to programs and services. A transition plan and tools have been created and communicated to staff and managers.
- The launch of the new name, Southeast Public Health (SEPH), brand, minimally viable website and social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube) on September 29.
- The transition of all Southeast Public Health staff onto a common Microsoft tenant, enabling them to interact together on Microsoft products, including Outlook, Teams and SharePoint; and providing all staff with new email addresses ending in @SoutheastPH.ca, which aligns with the launch of the new brand.
- The establishment of a Change Management Advisory Group to provide strategic advice to support the successful implementation of organizational changes, facilitate staff engagement, and gather critical information to inform the evolution of change management.
- The evaluation and selection of applications to harmonize the Finance and Human Resources systems. Dayforce has been selected for human resources and payroll, and Sparkrock has been selected for accounting. Implementation will take place over the next several months.
- Work to harmonize medical directives.
- The evaluation of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems currently in use, in order to select one for the agency.
The next meeting of the Board is November 26, 2025 in Kingston.
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Media contact:
Communications@SoutheastPH.ca
