Now that council and the public have had some time with the 2020 draft budget, staff were able to address some outstanding questions from council on Monday afternoon about their respective portfolios.
After their initial look at the draft budget on Dec. 5, councillors were invited to jot down questions and email them to the respective department heads.
“Many of the questions were very insightful,” said chief administrative officer Fareed Amin. “Many of them also caused us to take a second look at the budget and expenditures. I think it is really important for us as a team to get that candid feedback.”
Amin said there were some long-range fiscal questions posed, as well as questions about the proceeds from the sale of the airport and the public utility.
“That money has been set aside and has been sitting in an account, waiting on the deliberations of council and the public consultation,” said Amin. “It is my recommendation to council that money should not be used for operational expenses. I strongly recommend that money be used for what I would consider legacy projects, or important long-term investment.”
“The reason is... this is one-time funding,” he said.
Treasurer Marjory Leonard said she had many questions related to the tax rate and the judicial inquiry.
“We will have exhausted all our discretionary reserves by the end of the year. I’m not entirely certain we will actually have the full amount to pay that out,” said Leonard.
Leonard added that initial estimates for Phase 3 of the inquiry rang in at $100,000.
“That would have been an optimistic estimate. We will probably be increasing that to somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million,” said Leonard.
Director of planning and building services Adam Farr said he received questions on a possible new parking program and mobile application technology.
“The proposed new parking technology is to allow for mobile payment, as well as to allow for credit card payment,” he said. “This is the modern industry standard.”
As there wasn’t time to dig deeper into the budget and ask further questions, Amin said an additional special strategic initiatives standing committee meeting would be scheduled before the budget could be ratified. He indicated that since 96 hours notice is required to schedule a meeting, it likely wouldn’t take place until early next week, and would be announced to the public when a date and time was confirmed.
If you still have questions about the 2020 draft budget, a Coffee with Council open house will be taking place Dec. 10 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in council chambers.
$33 million, broken down
According to 2020 draft budget, taxes are projected to decrease 1.36 per cent, which would mean an approximate $31 reduction in taxes for the average residential property in Collingwood, assessed at $324,385.
The proposed tax levy comes in at a total of $33,080,556, to be distributed as follows:
- Transportation - $5,953,262
- General government - $6,412,254
- Police and Fire (Protection services combined) - $11,586,294
- Parks, recreation and culture - $5,169,658
- Planning and development - $1,726,497
- Library - $1,768,626
- Capital levy - $1,571,000
- Housing - $88,240
