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Mono residents face a staggering 13 per cent tax increase

January 9, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

Mono residents will face a 13 per cent tax increase this year over last year.

Town council voted Dec. 10 for a 13.2 per cent tax rate increase in the 2025 municipal operating and capital budget, a level Deputy Mayor Fred Nix said would hurt residents.

Councillor Elaine Capes agreed.

“I cannot put forward a 13-plus per cent increase in our budget,” Capes said. “I can’t do that to the people that I know will suffer for that high of an increase.”

However, Mono council voted to approve the proposed final budget, except for the figures for library services.

“So that means we’re slamming a 13 per cent increase onto the tax,” Capes said.

“I really object to your term slamming,” Coun. Ralph Manktelow said. “I really think that’s inappropriate. We’re doing our best.”

Nix initially suggested some ideas on how to lessen the hit to taxpayers’ wallets.

“I think we as councillors have to bend over backwards, even if it’s for a minor amount of money, and show that we’re on side by taking no increase in our salaries in 2025,” Nix said.

In the end, council agreed and chiselled $4,273 from the proposed spending plan. The budget has a four per cent cost of living allowance raise for municipal staff but not for elected officials.

Mayor John Creelman favoured a pay increase for council members. He said he has been on councils in the past when salaries had been neglected for many years.

“And we ultimately had to catch up to reflect the value of the work that we do,” Creelman said. “I still believe that public servants in our position are not adequately renumerated for what they do. This is tinkering at the edges. I think we can do far better.”

Nix also suggested council reduce the budgeted staff training and development expenses to $4,000. He said his two suggestions would save more than $8,000.

“You’re aware that this amount goes towards conferences that some of us find extremely valuable?” Creelman said.

“I’m aware,” Nix said.

Creelman said he and Nix as mayor and deputy mayor respectively often have the option to attend conferences as Dufferin County’s representatives.

“(That) shovels the budget somewhere else,” Coun. Melinda Davie said.

“Exactly,” Creelman said.

“I hadn’t thought of that, but that’s a good point,” Nix said.

Davie said cutting salary and training may prevent attracting the best council in the future. A good salary plays a role in attracting electoral candidates.

Ultimately, council went against Nix’s suggestion about a cut to training.

“We managed to cut $3.9 million out, leaving us with the current proposal,” Creelman said.

The spending cuts focused on reserve contributions for future projects and capital projects that could be deferred another year.

One such capital project, the Bridge 21 guide rail replacement of $160,000 was eliminated in favour of repairing them at the more economical cost of $60,000.

A car mishap on Bridge 21 on Blind Line about 170 metres south of Dufferin Road 10 damaged parts of the bridge’s steel Thrie Beam barrier system earlier this year.

The Thrie Beam barrier system is mounted to the bridge’s concrete fascia with a specialized anchor system to withstand traffic impacts.

As a result of the impact, the concrete surrounding these anchors was also compromised. Work on the bridge was expected to start on Jan. 6 and take about six weeks to complete.

There was a recommendation that council move $218,727 from an OPP reduction or rebate in contract service costs into a capital reserve for future projects.

“We could use that to reduce the budget increase on the citizens in this current year?” Capes said.

“Yes,” Creelman replied.

“But we’re choosing not to, with that motion?” Capes said.

Nix said the reason for the motion to squirrel the money away in a reserve is to try to avoid facing a 2026 budgetary problem.

“This is a small little piece of money for the Public Works,” Nix said. “I think we have to do it now or we’ll be in even more trouble next year.”

Davie said it’s being responsible to put money into reserves where it can grow through interest.

“We have been really hard on reserves and this is a message that they’re important to us and it’s a good place to put the money,” Manktelow said.

“I feel that the $218,727 should fall to the bottom line to reduce the proposed rate increase for this year,” Creelman said.

Les Halucha, the town’s treasurer, said the 2023 and 2024 budgets were difficult processes and nobody can foresee how next year’s spending plan will be.

“So it’d be nice to have an extra $218,000 in the bank to pay for something that could come up that we don’t know will come up this time next year,” Halucha said.

Council ultimately agreed to move the money to a capital reserve.

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