County of Simcoe 2023 budget approved with 3.5% tax hike

An 11th-hour calculation put forward by Bradford West Gwillimbury’s mayor left County of Simcoe councillors and staff scratching their heads Monday as they were faced with the possibility of ratifying the county’s 2023 budget.

However, Bradford Mayor James Leduc’s plea to reduce the $695-million budget by about $2 million didn’t gain enough traction and the budget was passed as is, which will see county taxpayers pay 3.5 per cent more in 2023. This represents an increase of approximately $9.77 annually per $100,000 of property assessment.

During Tuesday’s meeting, staff and councillors seemed surprised when Leduc brought a spreadsheet with 20 items he suggested could be removed from the budget, which he said could equate to about $2 million in savings in 2023. While not outlined in depth, items included cuts to museum services, new hires, planning and salaries/benefits.

“We’re in a time where there’s a lot of stress out there. I think we can find a way to reduce it,” Leduc said, noting he would have prepared a more complete presentation, but he ran out of time. “It’s a well-done budget; I just think there are opportunities for us to make a reduction for the residents.”

The county’s chief administrative officer, Mark Aitken, said county staff had also just received the list of proposed cuts and would need time with it to determine if they would even help reduce the increase to the tax levy as some of the funding for the items proposed was coming from the provincial and federal governments and would not affect the levy in 2023.

“Some of these positions are partially subsidized through flow-through money. We’d have to determine what the impact is,” he said.

Trevor Wilcox, general manager of corporate performance, said it was “a bit of a surprise” to have changes suggested months after the budget was first proposed.

“We’ve had many rounds of debating every item that was put in this budget,” he said. “Up until this point, we’ve only had a few items that were identified as concerns.”

Leduc said he felt residents are suffering from overall taxation and it was worth the effort to reduce the budget by however much is possible.

“In Bradford, this is killing us,” he said. “Bradford cannot afford this anymore.”

Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin said she felt the 3.5 per cent increase was reasonable this year, especially with so much unknown regarding provincial legislation such as Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, and how that would affect municipal budgets across Ontario.

“However, I support Mayor Leduc getting the answers to the questions he’s proposed,” said Dollin.

In November 2022, the former county council rubber-stamped its endorsement of the 2023 draft budget, recommending a 3.5 per cent increase for the taxpayer — the largest year-over-year increase proposed at the county level in more than five years.

At the Jan. 10 budget meeting, the county’s new council went over the work done on the budget by the previous council, while bringing fresh concerns they heard while campaigning to the table for consideration.

However, the overall tax rate remained unchanged based on those discussions.

The 2023 budget includes funding for continued investment in three major affordable housing developments — in Orillia ($21.3 million), Barrie ($1.8 million) and Bradford West Gwillimbury ($15.3 million) — and the addition of more than 22 full-time, permanent staff positions.

There are funds allocated for the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport strategic plan and the redevelopment of Simcoe Village in Beeton.

Major road construction projects this year include County Road 4 in Bradford West Gwillimbury/Innisfil and County Road 21 through Baxter with related road, bridge and intersection components.

County of Simcoe Paramedic Services forecasts are calling for volume growth to be 5.7 per cent in 2023, which will come with an overall price tag of $59.8 million. Salaries and benefits account for $49.3 million of that.

In August 2022, Wilcox warned county councillors the 2023 budget would come in with a higher tax levy than normal.

Some of the expected increases to expenses at the county level at that time included an 18 per cent rise in insurance rates, a 12 per cent jump in natural gas costs, three per cent more for electricity and water, and a projected hike in Ontario Works cases.

Since at least 2016, the county tax levy increase year over year was kept at two per cent, with two exceptions: In 2018, it came in at one per cent and, in 2021, there was no increase.

The 2023 draft budget, containing operating and capital expenditures, includes:

Long-term care (homes and seniors services — $92 million
Paramedic services — $67 million
Children services — $105 million
Social housing — $91 million
Ontario Works — $70 million
Transportation and engineering — $77 million
Solid waste management — $85 million

Figures provided represent the amount in the 2023 budget for these projects, not the entire projected cost, which, in many cases, is spread out over numerous budget years.

The 2023 budget was ratified Tuesday by a vote of 24-5, with Leduc, Bradford Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu, Springwater Deputy Mayor George Cabral, Innisfil Deputy Mayor Kenneth Fowler and Collingwood Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer voting against. Tiny Deputy Mayor Sean Miskimins, Wasaga Beach Deputy Mayor Tanya Snell and Essa Deputy Mayor Michael Smith were absent from the meeting.

Council also voted to direct staff to prepare a report on the budget cuts proposed by Leduc and their impact to be considered at a future meeting. If any of the cuts are approved at that time, council will then determine how to allocate the savings, which could include the funds being placed into county reserves.

Where do your county tax dollars go?

For every $100,000 of Municipal Property Assessment Corporation assessment on a home in Simcoe County, the taxpayer would pay $288.80 in 2023 in county taxes. Here’s what each service would receive as part of that levy: