Bradford budget carved, but you’ll still pay more

By John Slykhuis Barrie Advance Nov 08, 2012 

Bradford West Gwillimbury council members took a close look at next year’s proposed $26.6-million budget and decided the potential of an almost 7-per-cent increase on the town’s portion was unpalatable. 

There was $1.8 million of additional spending on the table when council members opened their two-day deliberations last week. 

They quickly went to work on reducing it.

Initially, it would have seen homeowners pay a total of $4,061, $130 more than they would have paid in 2012 on an “average” assessed home of $333,920. 

New assessment figures aren’t available yet.

Council and staff gathered in the acoustically challenged upstairs hall of the old Bradford arena to pore over the 120 pages of detailed figures contained in the draft 2013 budget and business plan. 

Bottom line? 

Your taxes are going up, but not by as much as they could have. 

The final budget has yet to be OKed after the school boards and Simcoe County approve their numbers.

“After two days of deliberation we cut $620,000 from the draft budget translating into a 2.27-per-cent blended increase,” Mayor Doug White said. 

“The draft budget contained a proposed 6.94-per-cent increase in the municipal portion of the total tax bill. This has dropped to 2.85 per cent.”  

That results in an increase of $89.47 from 2012 to 2013 for the average homeowner.

Mr. White said earlier the challenge was “…to find the right balance between providing the services our residents deserve while keeping a tight lid on taxes. This requires making tough decisions, particularly when it comes to new initiatives. I’m confident council is up to the task.”

When the other government bodies are factored in: police, education, library and Simcoe County, the potential increase fell from 3.6 per cent. Town spending accounts for a bit more than a third of the total tax pie. The other two-thirds includes education, Simcoe County and police services. Last month, new South Simcoe police Chief Rick Beazley presented his recently approved $16.4-million operating budget that cut costs by 0.78 per cent; a savings of $1.2 million for Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury taxpayers. 

The final bill, based on the tax rate arriving in your mailbox early next year, will depend on the adding and subtracting that will be done before it all gets approved from all levels of government.

Points of contention were, as always, what gets added (tax increase) and what gets subtracted (tax decrease). After all, what is essential in the budget is dealt with, such ase maintaining services, paying contracted wages and benefits, among other things, there was little wiggle room for the council members.

Wages and benefits, including the impact of cost-of-living and “stepped” increases sparked animated debate. The thorny issue of pay equity and how it affects entry-level salaries was another area, with Mr. White suggesting council organize a special workshop to address all the testy issues surrounding how much town employees are paid and why.

Others items included administration ($2.76 million); protection of persons and property, like the fire department, animal control, bylaw enforcement, crossing guards, etc. ($3.5 million); transportation, including roads, bridges, culverts, public works, to name a few ($5.6 million); leisure services ($3.7 million); the library ($1.9 million). 

Water and sewer rates will increase slightly.

Issues up for debate were consigned to the “parking lot” where individual councillors pleaded their case to add or subtract a particular item from the proposed budget.

Mayor Doug White praised staff for ensuring maximum efficiencies were sought in the proposed budget.

Deputy Mayor Rob Keffer expressed concern over a special capital levy for what amounts to 1 per cent next year ($470,220) and an additional 1 per cent over each of the next five years. 

Finance director Ian Goodfellow explained not enough money is being set aside to replace capital assets in future, with reserves continuing to be depleted.

After the meeting, Mr. Keffer commented, “We have provided money for new initiatives to make Bradford a better place to live. I look forward to public transit being available in the second half of the year. There is money for road and bridge improvements, as well as trails and parks.  There is money for the Community Improvement Plan for downtown, and money to keep working for seniors housing.  And yet I realize that taxpayers are increasingly under pressure, so these initiatives will have to be continually scrutinized for efficiencies.”

Ward 3 Councillor Gary Lamb said it was important to him “that we ensure that our core services are protected and not compromised by future unforseen circumstances. New information may require new decisions in the future”. During the meeting he lamented the lack of funds in the budget for the deteriorating roads in his more rural ward  in the town’s south end. 

Mid-town Thornton Avenue gets most of the attention in the budget, with $575,00 for its reconstruction above and below ground. 

Ward 7 Councillor Peter Dykie said his priorities were roads, the proposed medical centre partnership with Southlake Regional Health Centre and public safety. “Trying to keep taxes affordable is a key.” He said new growth is placing added pressure on existing taxpayers. “That’s what I don’t like.” 

Ward 6 Councillor James Leduc said the big issues in his opinion were the Community Improvement Plan and transit, both extensively debated. “I will support transit and support some of the CIP,” he said. “I thought council did a great job in reducing the overall budget costs while maintaining some of council strategic priorities.”

Ward 1 Councillor Raj Sandhu: “I think residents expect their council to provide them with top notch services while keeping a watchful eye on the spending. It is time that we move forward with implementing the transit system in town and also start putting money towards infrastructure.” He added he was “ extremely happy” council is moving forward with transit, downtown revitalization, the family health centre and roads.

 Ward 2 Councillor Del Crake said he was looking for “a balance that fulfills the absolutely necessary requirements to keep the community moving forward while not applying unreasonable financial pressure on the residents . There are a number of priorities on the table but all of them must give up something.” Mr. Crake said the final budget “is both fair to the taxpayer and the future direction of this community”.

Ward 4  Councillor Carl Hordyk said “Council worked very hard to keep taxes in check and yet continued to provide the services our residents have become accustomed to.” 

A date for final approval of the budget by council has yet to be determined.