Wasaga Beach council considers 1.5% tax hike

By Ian Adams Wasaga Sun

Wasaga Beach taxpayers could be now facing a 1.5-per-cent increase in 2016.

At its Dec. 8 committee of the whole meeting, councillors accepted a recommendation to add another to the budget to deal with road, sewer and other infrastructure work expected over the next decade.

CAO George Vadeboncoeur put the recommendation to the committee to increase the tax rate, noting that the town needs to look to the future and the potential impact of holding the line on spending.

“Knowing the projects that are coming down the pipe in 2017 and beyond, significant projects that are going to be tax-supported projects, that if council considered a modest tax-rate increase this year that would build a base to help fund these capital projects,” Vadeboncoeur said. “Because of assessment growth that has occurred county-wide, the tax rates for the county and education falling, there was an opportunity for go forward with a modest tax rate increase that would capture some of those dollars.”

That includes projects such as the rehabilitation of the Main Street bridge, a multi-use sports facility, a new public works depot, and the widening of River Road West.

With no tax rate increase, the person with an average house would still be looking at a $49 hike because of an increase in assessment value. The hike in the tax rate by 1.5 per cent would add an additional $20 to the tax bill.

The increase would add $288,000 to municipal coffers.

“For us, it’s laying the groundwork for the future of the municipality, and that’s why we felt it was important for council to consider,” Vadeboncoeur said.

The mayor says staff followed through with council’s direction to deliver a budget that held a line on a tax rate, giving council the flexibility it needed to add if required.

“What we’ve done here, we’ve looked down the pipe at everything we have coming for the town over the next three, five, seven, 10 years or more, and we have to do what’s prudent to make sure we have the funding to do what we need to do,” said Brian Smith.

Smith noted the decrease in the tax rate for Simcoe County, and for education, provided the fiscal room the town needed to increase the rate without it becoming a burden on taxpayers.

“I would have done the same this year as last year; I believe in encouraging the staff to come in at zero to make sure they’ve found all the efficiencies,” he said. “We have to plan for the future, and when you look at Wasaga Beach and Places to Grow, and what we’re looking to do with Beach Area 1 and 2, and Main Street, we have to make sure we have dollars in the bank.

“I think the average person out there is OK with that, as long as we stay at a reasonable level.”

Municipal staff gave councillors several options to consider, ranging from not increasing the tax rate, to increasing the rate by up to 2.21 per cent.

“We felt 1.5 was reasonable, less than inflation, not to much of a burden though it is an increase, and it prepares the municipality better for the future,” he said. “It’s knowing what your expenses are going to be down the line, and preparing for those expenses.”

Wasaga Beach’s municipal budget is expected to be ratified at council’s Dec. 15 meeting.