About three dozen residents showed up to take part in an interactive discussion on the township’s budget process at a town hall meeting on Nov. 19 at Aboyne Hall.
Of those, at least 16 were township staff or councillors introduced by the mayor.
Around the room were placards providing glimpses of expenses and revenues for various department or programs/services offered by the township.
The focus of the night’s meeting was prioritized spending. Mayor Kelly Linton started by thanking those who attended “our first ever budget open house.
“We just want to make sure this process is as open and transparent as possible,” he said.
The presentation included a recap of the township strategic plan, which Linton said he considers important as a framework for the discussions.
He said the township has a responsibility to prepare a budget that meets the needs of the community and ensures all local initiatives and priorities are addressed.
“It’s not just about the money, it’s about meeting the needs of the community … the budget is about setting priorities to build a community we can all be proud of,” Linton said.
“Any time you visit the arena or pool, spend time at the park, have your streets plowed, or our firefighters respond to an emergency call, you are witnessing your tax dollars at work.”
One of the reasons for the meeting was to identify what the various township departments do and the approximate cost to do that work.
Wall posters identified the work and costs by department, with figures based on 2015 costs, not projected costs for 2016.
Linton said the township’s priorities and initiatives document “holds us accountable to you the public.”
He added the first priority is creating reliable infrastructure.
Part of that includes replacing or reconstructing four bridges by 2019, moving forward with a tree management program, providing emergency power at the Sportsplex, and protecting Centre Wellington’s water by lobbying the Ontario government.
While the township collects tax dollars, Linton said Wellington County gets 57% and the province gets 17%, leaving the township with 26%.
Linton said 36% of the township’s budget goes into roads, 21% to general government, 20% to parks and recreation, 12% to fire services and 3% to planning and development.
In addition, Linton said Centre Wellington relies heavily on “hundreds of volunteers and their thousands of hours spent helping the community.”
“Without our volunteers, I don’t think you would even recognize the community.”
He pointed to the Victoria Park Seniors Centre in Fergus, where volunteer hours between April and Oct. 31 resulted in saving of $119,003.
Linton said without volunteers in the community, the numbers presented would be a lot higher or service levels would be lower.
Survey forms asked participants to rate the importance of levels of service, overall satisfaction, whether or not funding for the service should increase or decrease and changes could be made to services.
Afterwards, residents spoke to staff and councillors individually.
“This was an opportunity for us to let residents know how we spend their tax dollars and to provide a meaningful opportunity for their input and feedback,” said Linton.
“Our open government approach is about being transparent about our funding decisions in every department. As a progressive municipality, we want to ensure that our priorities match the needs of our community.”
Residents not able to attend the budget meeting on Nov. 24, still have an opportunity to voice their views through an online survey available on the township’s website, www.centrewellington.ca.
This survey shows residents how their tax dollars are spent, and asks them if they would like to spend more or less on a service, less on particular service, and provides an opportunity to comment on services.
The online survey will be available until Dec. 3. Council has committed dollars toward purchasing online interactive survey tools for the 2017 budget process.
Council is expected to discuss the capital budget further this week and, if needed, on Dec. 1.
Hard copies of the survey are available at the Centre Wellington Civic Centre (township administration office) at 1 Macdonald Square in Elora, Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.
