A preliminary five-year plan presented to Wellington County council on Nov. 26 projects a 3.3 per cent tax impact in 2016.
The preliminary plan was endorsed by the county’s administration, finance and human resources committee on Nov. 19 and forwarded to county council for consideration.
The plan provides county council with a preliminary operating budget, capital budget and tax rate forecast and is used as a starting point to coordinate the financing of major capital initiatives through levy funding, debt and reserves.
“The five-year plan provides council with a longer-term view of the major issues impacting on the programs and services provided to the residents and businesses within Wellington County,” states Susan Aram, the county’s manager of financial services in a written report.
“The scope and magnitude of services provided by the county necessitates this long-term view of service levels and the associated budget impacts.”
The plan projects county operational spending of just under $191 million in 2016, compared to about $185 million budgeted for 2015.
The 2016 projection contains $41 million in capital spending, up substantially from the $26-million capital budget for 2015. However, the rest of the five-year projection pegs annual capital spending between $24.7 million and $32.4 million from 2017 to 2020.
Operationally, the plan projects a steady increase in spending from $199.4 million in 2017 to $218.9 million in 2020. That represents tax levy increases ranging from a high of 6.8% in 2017, declining annually to a low of 3.1% in 2020.
Levy requirements during the five-years covered by the forecast rise from $88.1 million in 2016 to $108 million in 2020.
The capital program projects a total of $153 million in capital spending over the next five years. Key initiatives include a $64.6-million investment in the county road and bridge network, the reconstruction of the county’s Drayton and Erin garages, construction of a new Hillsburgh library, a county contribution to local hospitals, the construction of an additional 55 affordable housing units in Fergusson Place Phase II, and continuing improvements to social and affordable housing units.
The report notes 46% of the entire capital budget is projected to be financed from tax levy revenues and 36% from reserves, with one debt issue totaling $1.2 million for the construction of the Drayton garage facility.
The county uses the five-year plan as a blueprint during annual budgeting deliberations. At the Nov. 26 meeting, some council members indicated they weren’t pleased with the preliminary figures.
“Certainly from my own perspective, I’m not happy with the numbers that were presented here and the tax impacts,” said councillor and Wellington North Mayor Andy Lennox.
He led an unsuccessful push in January to delay passage of the 2015 budget in order to give new councillors time to get up to speed and all councillors time to put their own priorities into the budget.
“I hear a lot of discussion of economic development and one of the things that concerns me is that the more wealth we hold on to in the County of Wellington that comes out of our taxpayers, that’s economic development we’re taking away from local municipalities,” said Lennox.
Warden George Bridge responded that councillors have only had a preliminary look at budget projections based on available actual spending numbers.
“You never know what year-end numbers are until year-end happens,” he pointed out. “I’m hoping, along with you councillor Lennox, that there’s opportunities there … I think we’ve got a good base to go with.”
A special meeting of county council will be held on Jan. 11 to review the 2016 budget and five year plan.
Standing committees will then review the budget and plan and make recommendations to the administration, finance and human resources committee. The administration committee will then review all recommendations and recommend any budget amendments to county council, which is expected to consider approval of the 2016 budget and approve the 2017-2020 forecast in principle at its January meeting.
