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Orangeville’s 2025 budget approved with 4.9 per cent tax increase

December 12, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS

People are an essential resource for Orangeville to best provide residents with the services they need.

The town’s 2025 operating budget has as one of its focuses on the people who complete the tasks that deliver municipal services.

Orangeville approved a 10-year capital program during its Dec. 9 meeting. Council discussed the 2025 municipal operating budget when it met Dec. 10.

The 2025 budget as of Dec. 9 proposed a tax levy of about $45 million, which is a tax impact of 6.6 per cent. Council decided to remove from the proposed capital plan a fire hall furniture project and a fire hall master plan was deferred.

That whittled $125,000 from the possible spending plan for a tax levy increase of 6.3 per cent. That was before the Dec. 10 meeting.

The 2025 municipal operating and capital budget was approved and included a 4.9 per cent tax levy increase by the end of the operating budget colloquy.

David Smith, the town’s CAO, said a municipality is primarily a service provider.

“We don’t make widgets,” he said. “We provide services to the public and to each other. To do that we need people.”

He said those people drive snowplows, teach swimming, cut grass, attract new development, pay bills, and work with community groups.

“We are incredibly fortunate,” he said.

Investments are made in areas such as training and development opportunities, proper tools and resources to do the job, and recognition.

“All these things are included in our operating budget,” Smith said.

As it’s more affordable to maintain a resource rather than fix it, Orangeville benefits from having a strong staff, he said.

“It does take people to deliver the services that residents of Orangeville need and want,” said Cheryl Braan, the town’s CFO and treasurer. “Staffing costs are one of the largest budget components in our operating budget.”

More than 45 per cent of the operating budget is for staff compensation and benefits.

“The town is trying to right the ship when it comes to asset renewal and the state of good repair of our assets,” Braan said. “Staff believe that the best approach to one-time funding opportunities or expenditures offsets in the budget it to set them aside in capital reserves.”

That will provide more funding needed for capital and avoid the need to “add back the budget capacity in the future years,” she said.

The average Orangeville residential property owner’s tax bill was about $5,476 this year. Braan said that about 62 per cent of that tax bill was to cover services that are the town’s responsibility. That includes policing.

The other two portions of the property tax bill are what’s kicked up to Dufferin County and what supports education.

“So to understand the impact of the town’s budget on the total property tax bill, we need to multiply the town impact by 62 per cent,” Braan said. “In 2025, adjusted for the Dec. 9 amendments, this equates to approximately 3.87 per cent on the total tax bill.”

The upper tier council had yet to table its budget when Orangeville council met Dec. 10. But Braan said county staff have proposed a budget with a tax impact of about 5.6 per cent on the county portion of the bill.

The county’s portion is about 28 per cent of the total. If approved, Braan said, that would add another 1.55 per cent.

She said it’s known that there are no changes to the education portion in 2025.

Tim Kocialek, the town’s infrastructure services general manager, said his department is focusing on asset renewal next year. One of the key items in the proposed budget is a full-time stormwater management project manager position.

Orangeville has 32 stormwater ponds and many are as old as 40 years.

“And we haven’t had a capital program to clean the ponds,” Kocialek said.

That means there are about 30 ponds that haven’t been cleaned for years. A staff manager would get that going, he said.

“A lot of our budget is operating based,” he said. “There will be increases for fuel. There’s increases for the cost of chlorine or salt.”

Heather Savage, the community services general manager, said next year’s budget was designed to maintain service levels.

“Not many enhancements,” she said. “We’re getting caught up. Staff determined what the priorities are, which services required investments. The same rings true for operations.”

The department in 2024 experienced infrastructure challenges. There was also increased pressure on the parks and facilities team to exceed standards.

There are two facility operating contracts proposed to be converted to full-time positions.

Two more contracts in the recreational events and rental program are proposed to be made into full-time positions. Two staff members currently work full-time hours but remain classified as part-timers.

“Staff are at the heart of our service,” Savage said.

Antonietta Minichillo, corporate services general manager, said investments in people are key drivers in that department’s budget needs.

“We are setting a new course with the IT team that requires some restructuring, conversion of positions, and addressing of immediate threats,” she said.

To that end, there are two position conversions and a request for a new full-time position.

Smith said staff compensation has increased primarily because of benefit increases, which is impacting all staff.

Before the Orangeville Police Service was disbanded in favour of the OPP in 2020, Braan said policing costs were about 23 per cent of the total tax levy. Through the 2021-23 transition years, that percentage was constant at about 21 per cent.

The town transitioned to the OPP’s full billing model this year and policing costs dropped to about 10 per cent of the levy.

The OPP’s bill for policing in 2025 reflected a 40 per cent increase in cost.

“It’s driving the percentage on the total levy up to about 13 per cent, which is still below the percentage of costs in comparison to 2020,” Braan said.

Post-billing temporary relief for Orangeville is $1,048,483. Council decided to use half of that relief money to reduce the tax burden and to put the other half away for possible use next year.

“I think that leaves us in a strong position to reduce this year’s impact to the taxpayer without depleting the full amount coming from the province,” Mayor Lisa Post said.

That would lower the levy increase from 6.6 per cent to 5.32 per cent. With the savings from dismissing the fire hall furniture and fire master plan expenses, that brought the levy increase to about a five per cent.

“I think it’s the way to go,” said Councillor Andy Macintosh.

It would be reckless to throw the whole amount of the relief money at the levy, he said.

If the 50 per cent of relief money is reduced by $15,000, the levy increase will be 4.99 per cent.

“I think council is good with that motion,” Post said.

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