Archive

Approved Town budget means 0.8 percent local tax hike for locals

January 31, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

It’s official – Orangeville ratepayers can expect to see a 0.82 percent tax levy increase on the Town portion of their 2019 tax bill.

Approved in full on Monday evening (Jan. 28), this year’s budget, one of the more frugal in recent memory, reflected this council’s commitment to bringing a new era of fiscal responsibility to Town Hall, says Mayor Sandy Brown.

“I’m pleased with this budget. I think Council, over the course of three nights, and Town Staff have done a fantastic job making the numbers work,” Mayor Brown said. “I think this Council was pretty unanimous in the lead up to last year’s election in saying that things needed to change from a spending standpoint in Orangeville. This is a good budget for Orangeville.”

Orangeville is looking at a total budget of approximately $56 million, with operating costs just north of $46 million and capital expenditures slated to come in at just under $10 million. On the operating side, the municipality is projecting revenues of around $10.1 million and an estimated $1.24 percent growth in assessments, which should add just over $433,000 to Town coffers. All in all, for 2019, the Town is estimating a net tax levy requirement of just over $35 million.

On the capital side, the Town is projecting a net tax levy requirement of $2.7 million, with revenues and other funding sources covering around $7.3 million of the budget.

For the average home assessed at about $363,000, taxpayers are looking at an approximate increase of $24.93 on the Town portion of their tax bill.

A few final adjustments were made on Monday, with Council voting unanimously to stump up $100,000 this year to replace lighting fixtures at Alder Recreation Centre. That project was initially slated for 2020, but Coun. Grant Peters, an environmental engineer, suggested that Council could see enough savings over the next 12 months to justify the expense. New LED lights will be installed at the site.

Elsewhere, at the request of Mayor Brown, Council agreed to dedicate $15,000 to the Dufferin Board of Trade to help set up two new community initiatives. $12,000 will go towards creating a website to promote various skilled trade opportunities in the region, with a further $3,000 given to help set up a film and television office in Dufferin County.

“There’s a real demand for skilled workers here in Dufferin County,” Mayor Brown told the Citizen. “We need welders, HVAC technicians, electricians, stonemasons, bricklayers, automotive mechanics. There are a lot of opportunities out there for our youth.”

He added, “All these hands-on trades, they’re jobs that can’t be exported. They’re well-paying career paths and you can guarantee there will always be a job for you pretty close to home. It’s a better career path to take than some others right now.”

As for the contribution towards a new film and television office, Mayor Brown is hoping that particular initiative pays off in a big way. He said the Board of Trade would be hiring two summer students to create a library of locations within the county that could, potentially, attract film and TV production companies. 

“These are two small-cost initiatives where the end result, especially for the skilled trades component, is to create more opportunities here in Dufferin County,” Mayor Brown noted.

Also included was $5,000 to help pay for a war monument that the Orangeville Legion hopes to install at Greenwood Cemetery. An initial request to provide the full $30,000 needed to complete the project was rejected last week, but Council appeared to have a change of heart after Mayor Brown recounted a recent meeting he had with Legion officials.

“There was a great deal of upset and confusion from those at the Legion,” Mayor Brown told Council. “It would appear there had been some dialogue between the previous mayor (Jeremy Williams) and the Legion. (Mr. Williams) sent a text to (former Legion president) Chris Skalozub saying the $30,000 request had been approved by the previous council. Staff pulled all the minutes of appropriate meetings and could find no record of that happening.”

Coun. Todd Taylor noted that, while he would vote in favour of the request, he was doing so only because of the nature of the issue. 

“I feel bad for the Legion for what has happened and I feel bad for us. This is outside of our process… A bunch of things bother me here, integrity is one of them,” Coun. Taylor said, seemingly referring to Mr. Williams. “It doesn’t feel good to me to do this, I wish the Legion had presented to Council as a whole rather than just meeting with the mayor.”

On the capital side, after much debate, Council decided it would carry out a $1 million redevelopment of Harvey Curry Park. Located on the south end of town, the site, which houses a splash pad and playground, is in dire need of repair, says Orangeville’s General Manager of Community Services Ray Osmond. The project will be financed over a 10-year period and as such will have no effect on this year’s tax levy. Mr. Osmond says a tender will be put out to complete the work, with construction expected to begin in September. He hopes the project will be completed by next spring.


Readers Comments (0)





Please note: Comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment.