Budget advances with 4.55% increase
Clearview council had a chance to fine-tune the 2024 municipal budget Tuesday to create a spending plan members were comfortable presenting to the public.
The budget will be presented for public comment Monday, reflecting a 6.5 per cent increase in municipal spending.
The increase is reduced to 4.55 per cent when factoring in the taxes collected on behalf of the County of Simcoe, school boards, and the Ontario Provincial Police. The tax rate will result in an increase of $65.20 per $100,000 of property assessment.
The biggest addition is for a $300,000 allocation to a new stormwater management pond reserve.
Deputy Director of Public Works Dan Perreault, reported that staff has identified three existing stormwater management ponds that require much needed maintenance.
The ponds are built by the developers during construction of a subdivision and are then turned over to the municipality.
A cost estimate to clean out the ponds came in at $2.3 million – $560,286 for the Collingwoodlands subdivision pond, $1,108,670 for the McKean subdivision pond and $621,945 for the Zancor subdivision pond.
Perreault said, “Due to the costs noted above, it may not be fiscally achievable to perform the required work in one budget year, that is why staff are recommending to begin a reserve in the amount of $300,000 starting in 2024 and continuing contributions to this reserve in order to complete the clean out of the ponds identified, and any future ponds that the township will assume in future developments.”
Council also added cell phone allowance, mileage and health benefits for elected members, ranging from $24,615.20 to $51,658.36 depending on dependents, and also on who chooses to opt in to the benefits program.
Councillor Robert McArthur asked staff for justification for adding staff (four new positions and a restructuring of the parks department).
“Five new hires in one year is pushing the envelope,” said McArthur. Staff said an IT assistant is much needed and essential to security, an additional planner will help meet deadlines and hopefully save the department money by ensuring timelines are met, an operations technologist for the public works department will help implement more technical projects, and an economic development officer will be available to implement the new Strategic Plan.
McArthur made no motion to remove any of the positions from the budget and councillors were not able to convince staff to combine any of the positions.
Once again this year, council deliberated about contributing to a reserve earmarked for affordable housing for seniors.
Councillors were all over the spectrum on how to approach the issue. During last year’s deliberation Councillor Marty Beelen made a motion to defer any payment to the reserve until 2024, which passed. This year, he made another motion to strike the contribution to the reserve but without enough votes, the motion failed.
“We don’t know how to administer this and it really wouldn’t make enough money in that reserve to do much for affordable housing,” said Beelen, adding that he doesn’t like the name of the reserve because affordable housing should be for everyone.
“I have a big issue with taxing people that own a house for people that don’t have a house. Sometimes you’re taxing them into not owning a house anymore,” said Beelen, adding that there are homeowners who have big mortgages. “To seniors, who have spent their whole lives buying a house, to tax them more when they’re on a fixed income is unfair. If you want to make it the haves pay for the have-nots, they should be looking at income, and that is a federal thing, not a municipal thing.”
The reserve was established in 2020, championed by former Deputy Mayor Barry Burton who wanted to see the municipality better positioned for housing partnership opportunities. At the time, Burton encouraged council to earmark half a million dollars per year for three years for a reserve fund to create affordable housing for seniors, reasoning that if the township put together $1,500,000 they could push the County of Simcoe for matching funds and begin to address the housing crisis in a meaningful way. Instead, council voted to put aside $150,000 in 2020, $250,000 in 2021 and $350,000 in 2022. The amounts were further reduced to $150,000 per year during the pandemic. The reserve now sits at $400,000.
On Tuesday, council was debating a $100,000 allocation to the reserve, which was approved after a circuitous debate.
“We should keep something going… If we left it at $100,000 at least we’re putting something towards a potential project down the ways,” said Deputy Mayor Paul Van Staveren. “We have to put money where our mouth is.”
“Sorry Marty, I understand where you’re coming from but I can’t support your motion,” said Councillor John Broderick. “If it were up to me it would be a $250,000 add every single year. I firmly believe we need to move there.”
Mayor Doug Measures, who voted in favour of cancelling the reserve transfer, said the County of Simcoe has just established a seniors’ affordable housing reserve.
A final motion to approve maintaining the affordable housing transfer of $100,000, and renaming it to the affordable/attainable housing to capture all housing needs, passed unanimously.
The budget will be presented at a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11, at town hall, located at 217 Gideon St., Stayner.
