Guelph-Eramosa councillors have cited provincial downloads, escalating costs and “irresponsible” 0% tax increases in previous years to help explain a proposed 8.31% tax levy increase this year.
The 2012 draft budget – not yet finalized or approved but favoured by councillors at a Jan. 23 meeting – translates into a 6.8% local tax increase for the average resident, due to increased assessment across the township.
“It sounds like a lot, but in reality it’s 56 bucks,” Mayor Chris White said of the proposed 6.8% Guelph-Eramosa increase.
White was referring to the expected local tax increase of $56 (from $829 to $885) for owners whose home is assessed at the average of $352,800 in 2012.
Several councillors seemed to indicate there was little they could do about the local increase, which they repeatedly stressed is softened by what is expected to be a relatively low tax increase at the upper tier (county council was expected to approve a 1.9% increase on Jan. 26 though results of that meeting were not known by press time).
White, also the warden of Wellington County, said county council and Guelph-Eramosa council worked to ensure the “blended rate” – the combined tax rate for the county, township and education portions – was below the rate of inflation.
A summary provided by finance manager Linda Cheyne showed the blended rate for Guelph-Eramosa residents in 2012 will be about 1.45% – if both municipal councils approve their draft budgets and the educational increase comes in close to zero.
“I’d like to see the county do this for a decade,” White said of keeping the county increase below 2%.
Unlike last year, when Guelph-Eramosa council decided to use extra rate stabilization funds ($177,827) to effectively lower the tax levy’s effect on residents, council decided to forego that move this year.
Several councillors expressed concern the rate stabilization account – regularly used to offset surpluses or deficits from the previous year – was being depleted (its balance is about $252,000).
The original draft budget presented by Cheyne included a $50,000 transfer to reserves for proposed renovations at the township office in Brucedale. But councillors agreed to remove that item to lower the budget and also because they felt the township would likely seek a loan anyway when the time comes for the upgrades.
Councillor Doug Breen called the $50,000 “a drop in the ocean” if the township proceeds with the project and said transferring that amount to reserves now would have no bearing on the final decision.
White agreed and told council that due to the size of the proposed tax levy increase, “this isn’t the time to be playing.” He added, “Realistically, we’re going to have to debenture it anyhow.”
Cheyne said removing the transfer for the building lowers the proposed levy increase from 9.47% to 8.31%.
Other decreases since the original draft budget in December include lower insurance costs (about $90,000 less due to an RFP), and a lower-than-expected levy from the Grand River Conservation Authority (under 2% more, as opposed to recent years when the levy hike was over 6%).
In discussing the overall 2012 tax levy increase, Breen bemoaned the decrease in the township’s portion of overall tax dollars, which, he said, has fallen from 24 to 18%.
Councillor Corey Woods added a couple of years of 0% local tax levy increases under former mayor Clint Martin also hurt the township.
Breen agreed, calling the move “irresponsible.” He congratulated the county for trying to keep its tax levy increase low but hinted the township’s hand is forced with the local increase.
“If we do nothing but (an increase equal to) inflation … we’re still losing ground,” said Breen, noting costs are always going up.
White cautioned the budget is not final, adding the township will host a public meeting on the proposal on Feb. 13 at 7pm.
Major proposed capital expenditures in the 2012 draft document include:
– $80,500 for fire department items such as new bunker gear and portable radios;
– $107,000 to repair a 6th Line bridge;
– $121,800 to reconstruct the Rockwood tennis courts;
– $130,000 for Rockwood street upgrades (Weatherald, Division and Thatcher);
– over $1 million for the water department, including $830,000 for a new well and pumping station for the new Harris street development in Rockwood;
– $1.4 million to reconstruct and pave Jones Baseline (from County Road 124 to Mill Road); and
– almost $3 million in wastewater items, including a $1.9-million conversion of a pre-treatment plant and $1 million to increase the capacity of pumps and sewers and replace some sewers at the Valley Road facility.
