Wasaga Beach council eyeing small tax hike

By Whitney Neilson Wasaga Sun

WASAGA BEACH — The Wasaga Beach Committee of the Whole recently opened up the 2014 budget for public comment.

The tax increase is projected to be 1.24% for 2014. Based on an average residential home, this equals an annual increase of $52.17 for the average property taxpayer.

The county taxes are expected to increase by 2%, meaning the total tax increase would be $107.17 for an average home.

Staff estimated $47.6 million in revenue and $30.4 million for the town’s operating expenses next year. Capital expenses would be $17.3 million. The largest percentage of the revenue, 37%, is from property taxes. Public works is the largest portion of operating expenses, at 26%.

Major capital projects for next year include Knox Road East water and sewer, the Schoonertown Bridge expansion, Beach Areas 1 and 2 improvements, a self-propelled snow blower, and Main Street Bridge repairs.

The committee approved a 1% increase in the water/wastewater rate for 2014. This increase will cost an average household an additional two cents per day, or $3.21 for the year. Treasurer Monica Quinlan said that calculation is based off an average water usage of 161 cubic metres per year.

She said it’s important to note the municipality doesn’t profit from these rates and any excess money goes into the reserves to be used for repairs and replacements.

The building fees and development charges for 2014 will increase for new dwellings, renovated dwellings, decks, and demolition.

Parking fees will increase next year from $1 to $2 for hourly parking, and from $10 to $15 for daily parking. Quinlan said the parking fees haven’t changed in 10 years and due to a smaller tourist population parking revenues have decreased in recent years.

There will also be a slight increase in rink and soccer field fees.

Quinlan presented a chart of how Wasaga Beach residents’ tax dollars are spent. For every $100, the largest portion — $22.41 — goes to policing and municipal law enforcement.

Town council, administration, the treasury, information technology, economic development, the chamber of commerce, fire and emergency management, parks and recreation, the Wasaga Beach Library, municipal law enforcement, the Ontario Provincial Police, town transit, the special events committee, public works, and the building and planning committee presented their budgets and the budget committee approved all of them.

The Ontario Provincial Police budget will increase by 8.5%, effective Jan. 1 2014, due to wage increases. Local resident David Green asked if using 22 cents of every tax dollar for policing was similar to other municipalities. Vadeboncoeur said they’re close to the provincial average for police spending.

Another resident, Bob Preston, asked if the town will do anything about the plumbing at the RecPlex. He said the water is freezing cold in the winter and scalding hot in the summer.

“I’ve been to Y’s, I’ve been to athletic clubs,” Preston said. “They all have control. It’s not rocket science. It’s plumbing.”

Staff said they’ve had it looked at, but haven’t been able to get it fixed. Mayor Cal Patterson said they will do something about it.

The Wasaga Beach Library budget includes $47,000 for new books and equipment. The website will also be developed and the boardroom tables replaced, since they were bought in 1994 and now pose a safety hazard.

Resident Eleanor MacGillivray asked when the town will build a new library.

“That library is woefully inadequate now for the size of the town and its residents,” said MacGillivray.

She said she travels to Collingwood to use its library because it’s new. Quinlan said a new library for Wasaga Beach is in the 2017/2018 capital budget.

The special events budget will focus on Festival Square, including $4,500 for new tents, tables, and chairs.

The public works department budgeted $600,000 to replace the town’s 33-year-old self-propelled snowblower. It was bought used 10 years ago. Knox Road East water and sewer will cost $5.1 million, the Schoonertown Bridge expansion will be $2.9 million, and new school zone flashers are $65,000.

Local resident, Ron Eagle, asked when the town is going to install a guardrail on Eastdale Drive.

He said he spoke with public works staff about this in 2010 and the ditch has only become worse.

“This is a serious situation,” said Eagle. “Somebody is going to go in there and we’re not going to find them for a long time, whether it be a Ski-Doo or a car.”

Public works director, Kevin Lalonde, said reflective markers were installed and they’re not considering a guard rail there for now.

The fire department has seven capital projects planned for 2014, totalling $81,200. From that, $30,000 will be used for a new sign for station 1 to report emergency situations.

Parks, recreation, and facilities will use $250,000 for a portable stage and $61,000 for arena improvements.

Council budget will stay the same as 2013. Town CAO, George Vadeboncoeur, presented the administration budget and said the town will focus on developing affordable housing units, the 2014 municipal election, and Beach Areas 1 and 2 next year.

The town puts $20,000 aside every year to cover the costs of electronic voting for municipal elections. They will be spending an additional $30,000 for the election. All voting will be done online or over the phone.

The treasury budget includes $12,000 for a new envelope stuffer, $9,000 of which will come from reserves. The information technology department has no capital projects for 2014, but will make a contract IT position permanent for an extra $4,010.

The municipal law enforcement budget will increase parking fees and reduce seasonal staff.

Jenny Legget, economic development officer, said her department will use $25,000 to continue recruiting doctors to Wasaga Beach.

The chamber of commerce budget will increase by 2% for wage increases and computer upgrades.

The transit department will spend $25,000 next year to build three new bus shelters. The budget also includes extended hours for the Transit Link.

The building and planning department estimates $535,000 in building permit revenues for next year. The contract planner position will be extended until July.

Quinlan presented the four-year operating forecast and 10-year capital forecast.

“The first thing we did take a look at is the wages and benefits for the municipality and the amount we included as an inflationary amount is 2% per year,” said Quinlan, adding the municipality is planning for increases for gas, hydro and motor vehicle fuel costs of between 5 and 7%.

They set the borrowing rates at 3.85% per year and investment rates at 2.25%. The base assessment growth is estimated at 2% year over year and policing costs at 2% increase per year.

“Policing costs continue to be a big pressure for the town of Wasaga Beach, however as the CAO said earlier it is relatively average in relation to the rest of the municipalities,” she said.