MAPLETON – Township council has approved a 2022 budget with a 1.64 per cent increase in the local municipal tax rate.
The increase means residential taxpayers will pay a total of $473 per $100,000 of assessment in 2022, an increase of $7.64 over the previous year.
The budget, as approved at the Dec. 14 meeting, is unchanged from the draft version presented at a public workshop on Nov. 18, noted finance director John Morrison.
A press release from the township points out even with the 2022 increase, the local tax rate has declined over the past three years.
“Though this year there will be an increase of $7.64 per $100,000 of assessment, over the past three years your Mapleton council has worked hard to have an overall decrease of $2.69 per $100,000 of assessment,” states the release issued jointly by Mayor Gregg Davidson and CAO Manny Baron.
Highlighted projects in the budget include:
- getting the Drayton water tower completed and operational in 2022;
- upgrading the water well supply capacity;
- upgrading the wastewater pumping station; and
- $2.6 million in road improvements.
Other factors impacting the base operating budget for 2022 include:
- a 2.41% cost-of-living wage increase for township staff (totalling $241,970) and an increase to associated benefits of .29% ($24,266);
- a 1.04% ($88,539) rise in insurance premiums; and
- addition of executive assistant and purchasing coordinator positions to township staff, adding $78,000 per position (.92%) to the budget.
“This budget furthers the township’s long-term finance plans by way of promoting modest growth that will, over time, ensure and moderate the tax burden downwards and still provide for the sustainability of the township’s roads, bridges, and other assets,” the release states.
At the Dec. 14 meeting, which was held at the PMD arena, councillor Michael Martin moved that council use an unexpected boost in provincial infrastructure funding to reduce the planned tax levy increase to zero.
The budget projects a 4.02% rise in the tax levy (the portion of the budget funded by taxation), an increase of $341,501 over the 2021 levy of $8,502,691.
On Dec. 8 the province announced municipal allocations for 2022 from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF). Mapleton will receive $862,237 next year, but had only included a sum equal to the 2021 allocation of $399,840 in the budget.
“I would like to see this just get applied to our levy increase,” said Martin. “We’re pretty happy, I believe anyway, based on meetings that we’ve had, with the budget, where it’s at.
He added, “This is essentially just some unexpected revenue.”
Martin suggested any money left after reducing the levy increase to zero should go into reserves or the township’s tax rate stabilization fund.
“I’d be in support of that,” agreed councillor Paul Douglas.
Morrison pointed out the OCIF money can’t be used to directly subsidize a levy reduction.
“If you’re applying it to the tax levy, that’s not permitted as a use for this form of grant money. It has to be infrastructure,” said Morrison.
“It’s conditional grant money, not unconditional grant money,”
The finance director recommended the unanticipated funds be applied to the Drayton Water Tower project.
In June council awarded a contract to Landmark Structure Co. to put up an elevated tank in Drayton for $6,149,000 including HST.
The company’s bid, the only one received for the project, was about 50% higher than an earlier design cost estimate of around $4 million, a difference attributed largely to a sharp escalation in the cost of building materials related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Progress is being made in the construction of a new Drayton water tower, seen on Dec. 8, situated off Drayton Industrial Drive. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
As a result of the tower cost and other factors, residential users of municipal water and wastewater systems in Drayton and Moorefield are facing a 22% increase, around $25 per month, in base rate charges next year.
While diverting the extra OCIF funding to the tower project would allow the township to lower the rate increase to around 19 per cent, or $23, Morrison recommended leaving the planned increase in place in an effort to stabilize rate increases going forward.
Mayor Greg Davidson noted the additional OCIF funds could be applied directly to a budgeted project, which would have the result of lowering the tax levy.
Morrison said that would only result in a lower tax levy if a planned contribution to reserves was reduced by the same amount.
“Come next year, when we need those reserves to continue to fund other projects, you’re saying to that council that now we have to raise the reserve contribution by $300,000 and maybe more,” he explained.
“It will create a problem that will ripple down through the next 10 years of that capital plan,”
Morrison added, “And then you’ll have people complaining ‘I’m going to have this huge tax increase next year.'”
Councillor Marlene Ottens spoke in favour of putting the additional OCIF money toward the tower.
“If it’s a conditional grant, then I don’t really want to fool around with the conditions on the grant,” said Ottens.
“It’s an infrastructure grant, so I think we need to apply it to infrastructure. Our big-ticket item is the water tower and I think it helps us a lot if we apply it to the water tower.”
“My motion still stands if I can get a seconder,” said Martin. “If it’s conditional, if it’s unconditional, we can make this work.
Martin added, “I understand the water tower logic, but it’s money (the OCIF allocation) that’s earmarked for the municipality, not just for the users on particular systems.
“And I know its robbing Peter to pay Paul .. I just think this is grant money that the ratepayers as a whole across the township should benefit from.”
Martin’s motion, which was seconded by Douglas, to use the funds on projects to prevent a tax levy increase was defeated in a 3-2 vote, with Martin and Douglas in favour and Ottens, Davidson and councillor Dennis Craven opposed.
A motion to approve the budget bylaw as presented was approved in a subsequent 3-2 vote, with Ottens, Davidson and Craven in favour and Martin and Douglas opposed.
Later in the meeting, council deferred deciding on the proposed new water and wastewater rates until the next council meeting.
“Nobody in their right mind would like a 22 per cent increase on anything,” said Craven.
“I’ve heard from three or four ratepayers that can’t understand why it’s that high. But if we had kept on raising the rates a little bit more every year for the last 20 years, we would not be having this discussion tonight.
“Maybe we learn a lesson if we put the 22 per cent on now and actually increase a little more gradually as we go and actually pay for what we get now, instead of paying in the future.”
“I can certainly understand the hesitation of everyone. Twenty-two per cent is a lot,” said Davidson.
