Centre Wellington Township residents will see a 2.3% increase in its municipal budget for 2010; a result that pleased council here on Monday night.
Council passed a budget with $35.04-million for operations and the same amount for capital projects. In overall terms, the township’s increase means a total increase of 2.02% of the total budget for this year.
The total increase in 2010 taxes for a residential property with an average 2010 assessment of $256,640 would be:
– township portion, 24.5% of the total, going from $766 last year to $784 this year (all figures rounded off) with a total increase of 2.3% in spending;
– county portion of 56.5%, going from $1,762 to $1,808 for a 2.59% increase; and
– education portion, 19%, remaining the same as last year at $606.
That brings the total tax bill for 2010 to $3,015, a total increase of about $63 at the average assessment.
The operating budget was passed with a view the township will maintain the current level of services. That includes all township-owned roads being cleared within five hours following a snow storm and snow removal, sanding and salting of sidewalks and municipal parking lots.
Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj said it was a particularly difficult year for the township. She noted Centre Wellington had been hoping for a continuation of the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) grant, which the province has been providing to municipalities since amalgamation to offset some of its costs.
That $1.4-million was reduced this year by just over $308,000, or 20%, and it left township staff and council scrambling to make it up.
“It required many good decisions,” Ross-Zuj said of the final budget. “We managed to do that and still maintain our services.”
However, the mayor warned continued grant cuts by the financially strapped provincial government are likely to mean in the next year or two the township will be forced to consider cutting services in order to save money. The province has indicated it will be eliminating the OMPF grant, so Centre Wellington will be scrambling to find just over $1-million to make up that funding
She noted the township’s increase in its spending amounts to about 40 cents per day, and the township will still complete $10-million worth of capital projects this year.
Budget committee chairman Fred Morris said in his report to council the township was challenged by low interest rates because its reserves earned less money than normal.
“However, despite these shortfalls in our revenues, we have prudently brought a reasonable and realistic budget forward for the coming year,” Morris added.
Morris said council considered four main factors in its decisions:
– it had to be aligned with the township’s strategic plan;
– the estimates had to reflect the economic conditions of the time;
– the township should strive to maintain its current service levels; and
– the budget should anticipate the political expectations of 2010.
Ross-Zuj noted that Centre Wellington is among the most fortunate municipalities in Canada because its citizens, unlike those in many other municipalities, are not facing a huge debt from infrastructure projects done last year.
She said the township’s decision to use its share of the profits from the slots allowed Centre Wellington to pay its one-third share of those infrastructure projects. The federal and provincial governments each paid one-third of many projects just to boost the economy, but many municipalities are now facing debts to pay their one-third share of those costs.
The township will undertake several projects over the coming year, including:
– a new water tower in Fergus;
– reconstruction of Sideroad 19 from Beatty Line to Highway 6, plus Victoria Crescent ad Burnett Court, in Fergus;
– continuation of grant funded bridges including one on Middlebrook Road in Pilkington; one on Jones Baseline in West Garafraxa; and the 8th Line bridge at Wilson’s Flats in Pilkington;
– construction of sidewalks on Gordon and Gzowski Streets plus a pedestrian activated cross-walk in Fergus;
– replacement of a culvert on the 6th Line in West Garafraxa;
– improvements to the township’s web site;
– installation of new play equipment in Hoffer Park (behind the municipal building) in Elora;
– implementation of various trails and boardwalks and a new park gateway, tree planting, and naturalization in Victoria Park in Elora;
– development of pathways and gathering areas, installation of playground equipment and landscaping at Pattison Place Park in Fergus;
– installation of Opticom system on two more traffic signals to improve fire emergency response times and public safety;
– various projects at the Elora cemetery, including chapel upgrades, fencing; and headstone foundations; and
– reconstruction or repaving of several rural roads, including Gerrie Road, from Sideroad 15 to Sideroad 10 in Nichol, 2nd Line East from Sideroad 4 to Sideroad 10 in Pilkington, and the 7th Line, from County Road 19 to Sireroad 15 in West Garafraxa.
