Most of Centre Wellington councillors said they were pleased with their efforts on the 2008 budget, which calls for a spending hike of 3.9%.
The vote, though, was not unanimous.
Council approved a budget that means a total tax increase of 0.92% for this year. That is because the township’s taxes make up 23.9% of the total property tax bill. The education levy remains flat, and Treasurer Wes Snarr said the 20.2% levied by the provincial government has not changed since 1998.
The big bill is yet to come. County council takes up 55.9% of the tax bill. That was to be determined on Thursday.
A press release issued by the township after the meeting noted that people will soon see some infrastructure spending for tax dollars, but there was a conspicuous absence when it came to repairing one piece of infrastructure.
The 8th Line bridge in old Pilkington was not mentioned and is not going to be rebuilt this year. That bridge has been closed for nearly eight years, and Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj said council simply deemed it to be too expensive.
Council tried to repair the bridge about five years ago, and has received infrastructure funding of $600,000 each from the federal and provincial governments, and was to contribute an equal amount itself, for a total cost of $1.8-million. Instead, after fighting for years for approvals, the bridge would become the most expensive in Wellington County history at over $4-million.
“It’s just not one of our new projects,” said Ross-Zuj. “The cost is a huge, huge obstacle.”
Instead, residents in rural and urban areas will see a number of roads and bridge projects. They include:
– reconstruction of St. David Street, from Union to Princess Streets, in Fergus;
– reconstruction of Melville Street from Mill Street to Church Street, in Elora;
– development of urban design guidelines for the design of public and private spaces that will improve the overall quality, environmental sensiti-vity, sustainability, and visual character of the built environment of the township;
– a new heating and air conditioning system at the Fergus Grand Theatre;
– funding for the first phase of improvements to Bissell Park in Elora, in partnership with the Elora Lions Club;
– playground equipment for Beatty Park, in partnership with the surrounding neighbourhood, in Fergus;
– Victoria Park parking lot expansion and re-location of playground equipment, in Fergus;
– re-pointing the outside walls of the Elora Drill Shed National Historic Site, leased to the LCBO;
– engineering design and approvals for bridges at Carroll Creek on the 3rd Line of Pilkington, and Sideroad 20 in West Garafraxa;
– development of a site master plan for the grounds at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex;
– engineering design to improve traffic flow, safety, and storm drainage for work to be undertaken in conjunction with Wellington County’s reconstruction of Metcalfe Street from the bridge to County Road 7, in Elora;
– installation of Opticom system on two more traffic signals to improve fire emergency response times and public safety;
– equipment for five additional firefighters to improve service;
– reconstruction of rural roads, including 3rd Line of Pilkington, from Sideroad 5 to County Road 17, 4th Line of West Garafraxa from County Road 18 to County Road 22, and Sideroad 20 in West Garafraxa, from the 1st Line to 6th Line.
The operating budget enables the township to maintain the current levels of its various services, including all township-owned roads being cleared within five hours following a snow storm, and snow removal and sanding and salting of sidewalks and municipal parking lots.
Finance committee chairman Fred Morris called it “a sound, responsible budget.” He said it balanced the township’s ability to face a tax increase and provide services.
He said the capital projects are “significant, and lauded the roads projects planned for the coming year.
Morris noted that the township has 473km of roads to maintain, as well as 104 bridges.
He also liked the expanded spending for Parks and Recreation because, he said that makes the community a good place to work and play in.
Morris added that the funds for the development of urban design guidelines are “near and dear” to him, and he said in an interview after the meeting that it had been one of the issues he campaigned on in the last election.
Those guidelines would prevent developers creating what Morris called “cookie cutter” development when they build subdivisions.
He said the guidelines will outline “what we prefer to see in our community, and, to him, that does not mean row upon row of housing with the same design. He said rather than subdivisions, he prefers building “neighbourhoods with a homey feel. I hope now that we’ve got past the inertia of talking about it … There is some will in the community.”
Ross-Zuj said staff was warned when budget talks began that simply raising taxes is not an option for finding revenue for the township. Our strategic priority will be to investigate and pursue all reasonable means to maximize additional revenue from external sources … In deliberations to create this budget, council and staff mastered good balance between the concerns of the ratepayer and the significant committed funds that were required to continue with the delivery of excellent services.”
Foster opposed
The budget vote was not unanimous, and councillor Bob Foster made it plain that he had hoped to see it set at no more than 3%.
Foster said council should note that the economy is currently very fragile. He cited bad prices for farmers in pork and beef, concerns for manufacturers and exporters in Ontario, and said that if there is not a recession currently, there is one “on the horizon. I preferred no more than 3% – the consumer price index.”
Spending
The township’s estimated operational spending is just over $24-million. and its capital expenditures will reach $11.74-million this year.
Major expenditures this year include:
– $2.36-million, general government;
– $2.34-million, protection to persons and property (fire, policing services);
– $4.03-million, transportation services;
– $3.93-million, parks and recreation;
– 46,09,367, cultural and social; and
– $800,000 to the capital fund reserve fund.
That totals to just over $16.70-million.
Revenues this year include:
– $7.82-million, from property taxes;
– $3.57-million from fees and charges;
– $2.78-million from other revenues; and
– $1.54-million from the provincial government’s partnership fund grant, which is now locked at last year’s rate.
The sewer and water systems work on a user pay basis, with those using the service paying for it.
The sanitary sewer system’s operating budget is $2.4-million, and there will also be a $1.3-million contribution to reserves, for a total of $3.78-million.
The water system’s operating budget is $1.95-million, and council played another $1.57-million into reserves, for a total of 3.52-million.
The total cost of the two systems is $7.3-million.
The user pay capital budget for waterworks is $2.33-million, and the capital works budget for sanitary sewers is $2.38-million, for a total of $4.71-million.
That brings the total capital budget expenditures to $11.73-million, and that is how much revenue will have to be raised to operate sewer and water. There is some revenue, including $1.7-million in development charges and another $2.48-million from reserves.
