Municipal Services Corporation

In 2018, the Township of Oro-Medonte approved the establishment of a Municipal Services Corporation (MSC) to oversee key infrastructure services, including municipal drinking water, wastewater, and streetlighting. These essential services continue to be managed through the Township’s Environmental Services Department, delivering on the Environmental Services principles of safety, compliance, accountability, sustainability and continuous improvement.

Municipal Services Corporation Facts

The Township created an MSC under the provisions of the Municipal Act, section 203 and Ontario Regulation 599/06 Municipal Services Corporations and operates on a full-cost recovery basis with costs borne by service users. ​

• An MSC is a corporation whose shares are owned by a municipality, or a municipality and one or more other public-sector entities.
• An MSC can only provide a system, service or thing that the municipality could provide.
• An MSC is required to receive permission from a municipality to operate in its geographic boundaries.

Municipal Services Corporation Governance

Professional governance of the MSC is predominantly accomplished through skills-based boards of directors, but the Township, as the sole shareholder of the MSC also appoints a current or former member of Council to the MSC Board.

The Board of Directors of the MSC is responsible for establishing and approving annual budgets while Township Council as the sole shareholder has the oversight responsibilities to ensure operations and decisions are in the best interest of the municipality. 

Based on current services provided by the MSC, the following skills criteria are required in the overall composition of the MSC(s) Board of Directors:

• Civil Engineering/Water Resource/Environmental Engineering – strong working knowledge and/or direct experience in civil engineering/water resource/environmental engineering and general project management.
• Financial Expertise – strong financial acumen as it relates to financial reporting and analysis within the public sector.
• Awareness of Services Provided by the MSC and Overall MSC Business Model – awareness of services provided by the MSC, and specific challenges related to the provision of Environmental Services in a rural community with urbanized pockets; awareness of the Municipal Act (municipal governance), and the governing principles of an MSC.
• Government Relations – possess a solid understanding of managing government relations at all levels.
• Corporate Social Responsibility/Public Relations and Communications – experience and expertise with respect to environmental stewardship at an organizational or broader community level.
• Risk Management – professional expertise as it relates to assessing and advising on the issue of risk management within a financial/business environment.