A tentative 8.19 per cent municipal tax increase was approved for the Tiny Township 2024 draft budget last night, with an estimated 5.028 per cent increase for the blended tax rate of residents.
It’s not finalized though, which may relieve some of those who visited council chambers to share their displeasure with the municipal process.
The special committee of the whole meeting was well-attended, with unscheduled deputations pushing the procedural limits of their five-minute allotment.
Tiny resident Diane Leblovic provided a chronological history of the ways previous terms of council had interacted and enveloped residents into municipal decisions. After three minutes, Mayor Dave Evans prompted Leblovic to ask a question directly relating to the draft budget, to which Leblovic replied that it was related to the proposed municipal building recommended for replacement in an asset management plan presented to council in May.
Evans interjected with a reminder that it was a budget meeting and not a town hall, with Leblovic quickly summarizing her requests: that the proposed $400,000 architectural design be put on hold for the upcoming year; calculated estimations for a new town hall and library; and a return to better engagement with the townsfolk.
The following deputation from Paul Cawley, president of Federation of Tiny Township Shoreline Associations (FoTTSA), noted “grave concerns” regarding resident engagement on the municipal building. At one point, Coun. Kelly Helowka called for a point of order thinking the deputation had veered from the topic of the budget, with Evans requesting Cawley keep to the budget focus.
Council and the public were given a summary from the previous meeting, where staff had been sent back with a proposed 8.125 per cent municipal tax rate increase and a blended tax rate increase of 4.99 per cent, being asked to aim for that latter target at 5 per cent.
One notable item was the Silver Birch Rd. gabion wall project, a top-priority public works request on a previous three-year deferred item that Helowka, Coun. Dave Brunelle and public works director Tim Leitch all noted was nearly vertical and in some places hanging over raising a safety concern.
The gross project cost of $446,000 to the 2024 capital budget caused murmurs through the audience.
“So this is a (roughly) $500,000 project that was deferred already, and it would be catastrophic if we were to not take action right now?” asked Helowka.
Replied Leitch: “That’s our opinion.”
Later in the meeting as the town hall was re-addressed, Evans shared comments for attendees.
“Two-thirds of our budget goes to two areas that, essentially, we have no control over in terms of we have to manage the costs – unless people want to have less roads and less road maintenance and less snowplowing, or less OPP,” said Evans. “(With) OPP, we actually don’t even negotiate – we just get a bill and have to pay that.
“We have $380 million of assets, and we’re underfunded by $50 million. So, at some point, we have to pay for this; otherwise things are going to start falling apart. This building is one of them, one of the poorest assets we have, and it will fall down.
“The reason we’re in this position is we have not invested in infrastructure in the past. That is a fact. That’s why you’ve had low tax rates of two per cent; they’re artificially low, and they have taken the infrastructure out of the township,” Evans stated.
With adjustments to funding gap items and the township’s parking lot list, a real-time calculation was made displaying the 8.19 per cent proposed municipal tax rate increase, and 5.028 per cent proposed blended tax rate increase.
Council and staff reiterated that the 2024 draft budget wouldn’t be finalized until the next meeting in January, and the final tax rates wouldn’t be known until March when the provincial education component for the blended tax rate was announced.
The updated 2024 draft budget report can be viewed on the agenda page on the Township of Tiny website.
Archives of council meetings are available to view on the Township’s YouTube channel.
