After seeing the first draft of its proposed budget, Erin council has told staff to take on more debt and add six additional capital projects.
At its March 11 budget meeting, Erin council, except for councillor Matt Sammut who was absent, heard from all departments on operational and capital budgets.
The first draft showed a budget of about $12.6 million, $765,011 lower than last year, with a proposed tax levy of 1.28% for an average assessment. The proposed capital budget is about $3.5 million.
Director of finance Sharon Marshall prefaced the discussion saying the municipality should consider taking on more debt.
“We’re in the normal range,” Marshall said. “Although, the province is looking to local municipalities to assume more debt.”
While the town had $636,172 in its 2014 budget for debt, none of it was used. Marshall proposed in this budget that $755,000 be allocated as possible debt.
But, as the meeting went on council also suggested paying for the $267,130 George Street reconstruction in Hillsburgh with debt. Marshall will ensure that amendment is reflected in the next draft of the 2015 budget.
Recreation
Recreation manager Graham Smith said there was a decrease in the money allocated to salaries, wages and benefits because the department is working with decreased staff. The town is currently undergoing an operations review and Smith said one of the full time employees is on maternity leave and they have not replaced her, leading to savings. The wages cost fell to $687,409 on the 2015 proposed budget, down about 3% from 2014.
Smith also said the department is trying to form a more cohesive team between employees from all three community centres.
The department is recommending a 3% rate hike at the Hillsburgh Community Centre.
At Centre 2000 in Erin, Smith proposed closing the snack bar because it is not generating any revenue. He said his department would likely come back to council in the summer with a plan to lease the snack bar space in the fall.
“It’s another service that we provide that, if it makes the whole facility more useful, then we should look at it,” Mayor Allan Alls said.
Smith also suggested changing the skate park hours at Centre 2000 to dawn until dusk, instead of 9am to 9pm and keep the gates open. That means the town would save money because it would not have to pay staff to open the gates during off-hours.
“[This] could result in extra complaints,” Smith said. “But it could cut our budget up to $4,500 annually.”
Also included in the proposed budget is a replacement playground climber for Victoria Park in Hillsburgh.
“Our playground inspectors that we have here in Erin … that has been addressed many years and we’re at a point now where it’s becoming dangerous,” Smith said. “It’s up to council to realize that these are our facilities and that we have to put money aside to make sure they’re safe for the people in the community that use them.”
There was $15,000 allocated for the structure in the budget and council decided to add another $15,000 in the next draft to ensure the project can be completed this year.
The recreation capital projects include: replacing the boards at the rink in the Hillsburgh Community Centre, the Centre 2000 sewage agreement, the roof at Barbour Fields, playground equipment replacement at Victoria Park and the floor at Ballinafad Community Centre. Also included for Ballinafad were two replacement furnaces and an air conditioner replacement. However, councillor John Brennan said those were not imminent and he does not think they needed to be included in this budget. He suggested a third of the allocated $15,500 for the heaters be put into reserves and a third more of the $9,500 for the air conditioning be put into reserves, for future maintenance.
The recreation department proposed an operating budget of $815,369, up 7.24% from $701,548 last year. The total proposed capital budget is $274,510.
Public Works
Roads superintendent Larry Van Wyck explained most of the portion allocated to roads will go for salary and wages. When there is extreme weather it costs more.
“We’re trying to hold the line on wages,” he said. “We submitted an amount that we think is doable, provided we don’t have any extreme weather conditions.”
Of the salaries, 10 to 15% of the budget is based on overtime hours, he said. The budget for salaries, wages and benefits for 2015 is proposed to be $885,525, up $11,525 from last year.
The town has received about $176,00 so far for ice storm damage from the province, from the $447,720 requested. Marshall said there is no reason to believe the town will not receive full funding. That funding gap has not been addressed in the budget.
Proposed capital costs include reconstructing Sideroad 17, Station Street rehabilitation, roads shop upgrades, Cedar Valley culvert construction, 1.5km worth of hard surface, GIS mapping, resurfacing Second Line, replacing a bridge on Fourth Line, replacing a pickup truck and reconstructing a section of George Street and rebuilding Daniel Street.
The budget for streetlights is taken from user fees. Residents in a specific area will pay a fee for the streetlights for the maintenance. There is no reserve built up, Van Wyck said.
Financial analyst Larry Wheeler said the water budget for 2015 closely reflects last year’s, with a slight increase in water testing and sampling. That is due to a three-year special sampling cycle. Because the town is currently going through a water rates study, Wheeler said, this is the last of a five-year water rates pricing scheme.
The proposed capital budget for water includes replacing a pickup, four water house data loggers, water rate study and financial plan, initial survey for meter replacement program and Green Energy Conservation plan.
The total proposed operating budget for the public works department is about $2.9 million, down about 4% from $3 million last year. The capital budget is approximately $2.4 million.
General government
Spending for salaries, wages and benefits for council increased $19,020 or 17.42% from last year to $128,190. Marshall said that is due to a new bylaw that came into effect this year that puts council’s wages on a grid with systematic yearly increases. There will be a standard wage, regardless of the number of council meetings.
In the capital budget there is $30,000 allocated for a solar panel project, which Marshall suggested should be funded through the reserves.
“As revenues came in for the hydro that we produce … that goes back into the reserve,” she said. Within eight or nine years, the goal is that the reserve will be paid back and the town will be able to use the revenue.
Alls warned the project is not yet a “done deal” because the town is still waiting for approval from the Ontario Power Corporation to allow the town to “take the power on the lines.”
Other proposed capital projects include an operational review, organizational review, hardware and software upgrades, a fibre optics project and municipal office upgrades and renovations.
The net proposed operating budget for general government is about $1.1 million, up 12% from approximately $1 million in 2014. The proposed capital budget is $170,950.
Planning and development
Council chose to drop its in-house planner and will use a planner provided by Wellington County. The budget reflects the fee from Wellington County. The wages also reflect paying one third of the wages for the person in the building department who will be doing some work for the planning department.
For planning and development department, the net proposed operating budget is $327,121, up about 40% from last year’s $224,471.
Protection
The building department is requesting an additional fulltime employee on a one-year contract. However, that person will spend two thirds of the time with the building department and the other third with the planning department doing administrative work, Marshall said.
Councillor Jeff Duncan said he anticipates the bylaw enforcement officer will need to be used more than in the past, “With the fill bylaw and some other things.” He wondered if the additional hiring will help free up the bylaw enforcer’s time.
Chief administrative officer Kathryn Ironmonger, said, “It should help free up some of his time to actually go out and do the enforcement stuff that needs to be addressed.”
The fire and emergency department saw an $8,200 increase to $20,700 in 2015 in minor capital expenses because it is now using a central dispatch provided by the City of Guelph emergency services.
The capital projects included for the fire department: a generator for Hillsburgh firehall, a rescue UTV, trailer and equipment, 32 sets of breathing apparatus with 100 air bottles, chassis for the custom pumper truck and two portable pumps.
Alls was unhappy with the increase in levies from the conservation authorities on the town this year. There was approximately a 51% increase on the 2015 budget to $213,020 up $71,566 from 2014.
“It does anger me that we’re forced to pay fees … while we’re trying to restrict our budgets,” Alls said.
The total proposed 2015 operating budget for protection to persons and property is $940,256, down 0.5% from the $991,960 from 2014. The total proposed capital budget is $584,400.
Additional capital projects
Staff included a list of the top eight capital projects to complete if there is room in the budget. Council asked staff to include: half the funds needed for Servicing and Settlement Master Plan (SSMP) items ($202,290 for water and $300,000 for wastewater), $70,000 into reserves for the sidewalk and drainage on Main Street in the north end of Erin Village, $15,000 for the Victoria Park playground equipment and $10,000 for two portable LED signs that could be put at the fire halls in Erin and Hillsburgh to post notices for citizens, especially in situations with power outages.
Marshall and the town staff will take council’s suggestions and present an new draft of the budget on March 24 at 10am in the council chambers of the Erin municipal building.
