Future Tiny municipal building to be challenged by protesters

A slow chorus of voices against a proposed replacement for Tiny Township’s aged municipal building has been building over the past year, with an announcement that protesters will be outside the 130 Balm Beach Rd W. council chambers this Wednesday afternoon.

Spearheaded by Tiny resident Karen Zulynik, the peaceful protest is expected to include signs reflecting some residents’ rejection to a proposed multi-million dollar township hall which included a $400,000 price tag on the recent draft budget for the design phase to start the project.

Comments on social media and in council chambers through previous deputations noted that some of the residents in protest weren’t given the opportunity to voice their opposition to the building.

On the ‘new municipal administration building’ page of the Tiny Township website, the municipality provided the roadmap and documentation regarding the building and its community involvement, beginning in 2013 with a building needs assessment and continuing over the decade with various committees, tours, reports, consultations, and public information sessions listed chronologically.

Noted in a 2022 asset management report, the building was ranked as ‘very poor’ on the lowest tier of a scale for age of the township’s non-core assets.

In council meetings over the past year, members of council and staff have defended the need to replace the current facility; recently Mayor Dave Evans said without infrastructure reinvestment that the building, “one of the poorest assets we have… it will fall down.”

Such comments weren’t enough to placate those readying to protest, despite vocalizing opposition during involvement at three simultaneous public engagement sessions across the municipality in early December, prior to the draft budget discussions.

Zulynik informed MidlandToday of the intended protest for Wednesday afternoon, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

“There is a big movement here in Tiny regarding the new administration building,” wrote Zulynik, “and the majority of taxpayers are unaware of what's going on. And the property owners that are aware have been very outspoken and are against it or at least want it put on hold so there can be more discussion.”

Following repeated calls for action on social media pages with resident backlash against her devotion, Zulynik was compelled to begin her own group on Facebook called ‘Tiny Township: Community Discussion all things Council’ where she and others could further discuss the matter.

A protest advertisement – including the official Tiny Township logo – was delivered over the weekend to the doors of township residents, who voiced confusion on the protest’s origin, including the unfounded claim “that most residents feel we cannot afford a new multi-million dollar”, with the flyer also stating “that residents do not support another large tax increase”.

At the draft budget discussions in December, Deputy CAO and director of corporate services Haley Leblond emphasized that Tiny’s proposed 2024 municipal tax rate increase would place them at the second lowest tax rate compared to all other Simcoe County municipalities; council tentatively approved an 8.19 per cent municipal tax rate increase at the discussion with finalization aimed once further county and provincial information arrives.

An online petition on the Change.org website, with over 675 signatures as of the time of publication (of the township’s 19,000 registered voters), noted that the 8.19 per cent municipal tax rate increase (not to be confused with the blended tax rate increase which ratepayers see on their home bills) would be added with the 2023 property tax increase of 10.82 per cent and an uncited expense for a 19.9 per cent overall increase over two years.

Further calculations included estimations of upcoming budget increases to 2027, citing a guessed 38.8 per cent increase in property taxes over five years, rounded up to “almost a 40% aggregate increase” in an email received by MidlandToday from Tiny resident Nick Leblovic. 

The petition additionally reiterated the lack of transparency and public consultation, which was a talking point in a December council deputation by Tiny resident Diane Leblovic.

“This is part of the planned spending spree by council,” wrote the Leblovics, “attempting to focus attention of these types unaffordable ‘shiny objects’ in an attempt to divert attention away from their general mismanagement of the business of our township.”

The open session of Tiny Township council is scheduled to be held at 5:30 p.m, with the committee of the whole meeting to follow thereafter.

Archives of council meetings are available to view on the Township’s YouTube channel.