Wellington County shows surplus of $2.13-million from 2009

The ad­mi­nis­tra­tion, finance and personnel com­mit­tee chairman gave a pat on the back to the county treasury de­partment on April 29 when he reported a surplus from 2009 of $2,134,700.

That is 3.2% of last year’s tax levy.

Committee chairman Chris White said coming that close on an budget of $165-million means the department did “a great job.”

Dyer said in his report many of the “significant de­part­ment variances are as a result of the allocation of in­direct costs.” He provided a description of the significant numbers from the 2009 budget.

The roads department saved $350,000 due to lower than ex­pected winter control costs, which was offset slightly by high­er roads maintenance costs.

The county museum and archives had savings of $1.5-million as a result of the ap­proval of a Build Canada grant. Dyer said that money was trans­ferred to the corporate contingency reserve fund and appears as an offsetting vari­ance in the general expen­ses and revenue line.

There was a higher than expected amount taken in planning application fees ($45,000), plus lower than ex­pected legal and professional fees ($90,000) and savings in property mapping of $25,000.

Social services was over budget as a result of higher than expected Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program payments of about $165,000, offset by higher than anticipated subsidy from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (about $80,000), and about $25,000 in savings in child care.

Social housing saved over $60,000 due to lower than plan­ned minor capital expenses, due to the Social Housing Renovation and Repair Fund approvals, plus savings of approximately $120,000 due to utility and property tax sav­ings and some $60,000 in sav­ings to non-profit and co-op hous­ing providers.

Offsetting some of that was higher than expected costs for maintenance and snow removal at Wellington Terrace Seniors’ Home, of $60,000.

Dyer said in his report the county also had savings of $426,500 based on supple­men­tary and omitted assessment runs produced by the Muni­cipal Property Assessment Corporation reconciliation of $501,300, plus revenue from Grand River Raceway and the slots of $182,000.

That was offset by the trans­fer to the contingency reserves for the Build Canada approval of the archives project in Aboyne of $1,507,000, and additional tax and other write-offs of $142,000.

Dyer said there are still some figures to come, but he does not expect them to sub­stan­tially alter the results in his report. He noted the extra money is going to the county’s contin­gency reserve plan, as deter­mined by council last year.