Infrastructure key to 2015 Barrie budget

By Bob Bruton, Barrie Examiner

This year’s city budget is all about building up Barrie.

City council gave final approval Monday to an operating/capital budget which increases property taxes by 3.2% for homeowners. But of that total, 1% is for repairing and building infrastructure – the roads, pipes and equipment so vital to a growing municipality.

Coun. Michael Prowse, chairman of the finance and corporate services committee, said taxpayers won’t see many new parks and buildings for the extra money.

“This isn’t a bright and shiny budget, it is one you have to go do,” he said. “It won’t happen overnight.”

“It is a workmanlike budget,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “This is the first budget I can remember in a long time that there is no new building or a major change to a building.

“You won’t be able to walk into this. It’s the stuff that’s underground and on the roads.”

“There’s not as much gravy on top as meat and potatoes,” said Coun. John Brassard. “The infrastructure renewal – I don’t think it’s enough. But we have taken some steps to correct the infrastructure deficit. We’re starting to make a dent in what needs to be done.”

Infrastructure highlights of the budget include reconstructing the Highway 400/Tiffin Street bridge, reconstructing and widening Mapleview Drive East between Huronia Road and Country Lane, and Essa Road between Ferndale Drive and Coughlin Road, Lakeshore Drive’s relocation to the old CN Rail line and Memorial Square’s makeover.

This year’s property tax increase breaks down to 2.2% more for city services, and a 1% increase to fund infrastructure – fixing, replacing and building more roads, pipes, city buildings and equipment. That 1% will generate $1.45 million.

“It’s proactive,” said Coun. Arif Khan of the infrastructure spending, “but a drop in the bucket compared to reactive costs. I don’t think future generations can keep up, so I do think it’s responsible.”

The city spent $33.4 million on infrastructure renewal in 2013, $36.6 million last year – putting aside 0.35% of property taxes and raising $720,000 for that work.

This year’s capital budget totals $65 million – but $31.3 million is for previously approved projects and $33.6 million is new funding.

This year’s proposed 3.2% property tax increase equals another $116 for the typical Barrie homeowner with a property assessed at $282,000. On that typical residential Barrie property, the 2014 taxes were $3,634. With a 3.2% increase this year they will be $3,750.

The budget also includes a 2.5% water rate increase and 5% more for sewer rates, in a typical home consuming 180 cubic metres of water annually. This adds $7 and $20 respectively to the annual household bill in Barrie, bringing this year’s water/sewer bill to $728.

So that typical Barrie homeowner will pay an extra $143 this year in property taxes and for water/sewer rates.

This increase also helps fund 16 new paramedics for ambulance service, 54 new housing units at the Brooks Street Seniors Home and additional city staff for road, playground and stormwater maintenance.

There’s an organics diversion pilot program for multi-residential buildings, permanent speed bumps on Cumming Drive, Cook Street and Sandringham Drive and replacing Barrie’s street lights with the LED variety, to save money, energy and maintenance.

Lehman also had a new motion that could help infrastructure financing, to continue to fund more capital projects through ‘pay as you go’ by increasing the city’s use of the federal gas tax, energy savings and debt retirement, as well as increasing the contribution to capital projects.

Coun. Barry Ward said using less debt to pay for infrastructure is essential.

“We are saving taxpayers millions of dollars,” he said. “And for me the big win is we will not see a drop in services.”

The 2015 budget includes city policing costs of another $1.1 million, or 2.4%, in municipal funding, pushing the 2015 budget to almost $47.5 million from $46.4 million last year. Most of the police budget pays salaries and benefits for the 241 officers and 101 civilians on the force.

The County of Simcoe’s 2015 budget lists Barrie’s share as $22.27 million, or 0.5% more than in 2014, when it was $22.16 million. The county provides paramedic (land ambulance) services to the city, Ontario Works (welfare), non-profit social housing, children and community services, and long-term-care and seniors services, as well as the Simcoe County Museum and Archives. The budget contains funding for more paramedics as well.

Barrie’s fire department is getting a 3% or $635,000 increase this year, to $23.1 million from $22.49 million. Most of the extra expense is in salaries and benefits for city firefighters.

Barrie Public Library is asking for another $475,031 this year, or about 7.2% more, from city taxpayers. Most of that is for maintenance – $314,523, or 4.8% – at its downtown and Painswick branches. This year’s library budget is increasing to $7.86 million from almost $7.4 million in 2014.

There’s also $50,000 in the budget for geese control, to pay a wildlife management company to develop a comprehensive plan, using several methods, to persuade the water fowl to go elsewhere.

The budget includes a salary increase of an much as 1.5% this year for the city’s non-union staff. This could equal as much as $242,000, although it could be less.

The city’s non-union staff includes 177 full-time, permanent staff and 29 permanent part-time staff, as well as a number of non-permanent part-time staff. The full-time equivalent number for non-union Barrie staff as of Jan. 31 was 193 employees and includes department heads, directors, general managers, managers, engineers, accountants, lawyers, etc.

As of Jan. 31, the city had 767 permanent, full-time equivalent employees, which includes Barrie firefighters, and 193 non-permanent, full-time equivalent employees who are part-time, casual or temporary, for a total of 960.

This year’s 3.2% property tax increase is a blended municipal/education rate, and assumes the education portion, set by the province, won’t increase in 2015, as it has not for more than a decade. The municipal or city tax rate increase, by itself, is 3.77%.

City council went into Monday’s meeting looking at a 3.24% increase, but reduced it by cutting $47,500 from a diaper disposal plan, another $115,000 from a multi-residential garbage pickup proposal and $42,000 from chimineas fee increase costs.

bob.bruton@sunmedia.ca

Breakdown of 2015 Barrie residential property tax bill

*51% – city services such as fire protection, garbage and recycling collection, snow removal on roads and sidewalks, traffic signals, street lights.

*34% – city service partners such police, paramedics, social services, libraries.

*15% – education, mandated by the province.

Source: City of Barrie