The Town of the Blue Mountains Ratepayers' Association (BMRA) says that while the top-line numbers of the 2020 town budget are quite positive, the association still has a few concerns.
“The budget was the result of a lengthy process and I think they had to get that out the door to keep that process moving,” says Jim Torrance, president of the BMRA. “There are several positives in the budget, however, there are a few things that we will be watching closely.”
The Town of the Blue Mountains (TBM) council passed the 2020 budget on March 30, outlining a $16,572,926 local property tax levy and a $36.3 million capital budget.
The BMRA applauds the town for constructing a budget that provides additional services and increases staffing, while enabling a slight decrease to the property tax rate.
The 2020 tax rate represents a decrease of 4.27 per cent for 2020. This decrease is due to a larger increase in the weighted assessment versus the increase in the tax levy. The average property owner may see an increase of 1.80 per cent on their phased-in assessment. However, with the proposed tax rate, the average home assessed at $645,000 may see the town portion of their property tax bill decrease by $73.
The BMRA points out that while the town has established a decrease in the tax levy, the Grey County levy for 2020 has increased.
The Grey County 2020 budget has operating and capital expenses of $157.5 million. After operating and capital revenues, reserves and capital financing are calculated, $59.8 million needs to be raised through taxes to maintain and enhance existing services.
New assessment growth of $1,847,857 is included in county revenue, bringing the net levy increase for 2020 to 1.26 per cent, or $741,083.
Brian Harkness, chairman of the BMRA budget review committee points out that 60 per cent of the taxes TBM residents pay leave the town, as 40 per cent is sent to the county and 20 per cent goes to the school board, which is much higher than TBM county counterparts.
“For point of comparison, and to clearly illustrate the financial challenge TBM faces with our obligation to the county, the other municipalities in Grey County keep on average almost 60 per cent of their property taxes for their own use,” Harkness stated in a letter to BMRA members. “We’re clearly doing a lot of heavy lifting on behalf of Grey.”
In critiquing the TBM 2020 budget, BMRA brings up concerns around inadequate capacity at town hall, lack of funding for attainable housing and doctor recruitment and closing the infrastructure gap.
“As we have stated previously, this is an absolute necessity if our growth is to be sustainable, and our quality of life maintained,” Harkness continued. “The town has approved finances to support millions of dollars worth of capital projects that will modernize and expand our civil works infrastructure. We recognize the town has added new staff resources to manage, facilitate and communicate these important projects, but the hundreds of thousands of dollars cost overrun we are currently experiencing on our wastewater treatment plant upgrade clearly demonstrates how difficult the task will be while trying to stay within the proposed capital budgets.”
The BMRA also notes that the town has not provided any updates on a highly sought after recreational or community hub after town council turned down a request for a substantial expansion at the TBM public library in 2019.
“Communities such as Owen Sound and Hanover have outstanding facilities. Where is ours? Let’s push the dialogue this year,” Harkness stated.
The BMRA has submitted its budget commentary to the TBM, however, Torrance notes that with the development of COVID-19, there will undoubtedly be a need to reevaluate the numbers once the full impact of the crisis is realized.
“I am sure they are going to have to revisit it in the coming weeks and months, based on the changes that will be taking place in the world,” Torrance says. “I think it will be interesting to observe what the federal and provincial governments need to do, given the impact. We are going to need to get an understanding and a recalibration and I think [council] is turning their attention to those things now that the immediate crisis has passed.”
Torrance notes that the recently established COVID-19 taskforce is a step in the right direction, adding that the pace of area development will continue to be a major concern for the BMRA in the post-Corna virus world.
“There is going to be a need to look at how the pace of development proceeds and whether the pace of infrastructure is able to keep up with it,” Torrance says. “There is going to be pent up demand in the area when we return to a state of normalcy. And, so we don’t want to see development surge ahead of infrastructure. I think the town is going to have to assure us that they are able to move forward on infrastructure in pace with developments.”
