by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — Whitewater Region corporate services committee recommended council approve a levy increase of 3.75 percent so the budget can be balanced.
But, that’s without knowing what the levy is from the school board or Renfrew County. Without those numbers, council can’t pass the budget because it doesn’t know what the impact will be on property owners.
A public meeting to provide an opportunity for residents to discuss the tax-supported portion of the 2017 budget was held last night. Whitewater Region residents Gary Younghusband, Donald Deer and Bryan Dittburner provided written comments.
Mr. Younghusband suggested considering closing one or two of the five firehalls. Mr. Dittburner encouraged council not to support the $40,000 expense for OPA #11 appeal (Official Plan Amendment). Mr. Deer sent three different letters to council: he wants money in the budget for developing a remediation plan for Muskrat Lake; a review of the number of staff and revising the website and creating additional office space; and finally, does not believe council should grant any money towards the Muskrat Watershed Council.
With no discussion during the public meeting, treasurer Marsha Hawthorne reviewed the tax-supported budget one more time with council during the corporate services committee meeting held later.
In the end, she noted the revenue totalled $8,626,245 while expenses totalled $8,800,464, a shortfall of $174,219. This is a 3.75 percent increase over last year’s amount. In 2016, she noted there was a 7.25 percent levy increase.
Ms. Hawthorne stressed this is not the tax increase, but the amount needed to balance the budget. This does not mean all these projects will occur. When it comes time to discuss the property tax increase, the levy could be decreased if council decides to cancel projects / services instead of increasing the property tax.
It was noted earlier in the meeting that 62 percent of the money collected by council is sent outside the municipality, to Renfrew County, the school board (which is the province) and policing.
Ms. Hawthorne believes this is a well thought-out budget with many projects planned and administrative items to be completed.
“We are replacing a lot more equipment, we have a lot more roads projects, we have a lot of administration items that must get done,” Ms. Hawthorne said. “There are things we need to do.”
Councillor Chris Olmstead said one of the reasons people are upset with budgets is because it seems nothing is getting done. He sees this as a very aggressive budget and questioned if all of the projects would be completed.
Ms. Hawthorne said if there are no projects or services being provided, residents become upset. However, the work planned this year, the services being provided, are things people will see and will know their money is being spent.
Chief Administrative Officer Robert Tremblay said once the budget is passed, the request for proposals and tenders will be sent out, which means work can be done earlier.
“This is a positive budget in terms of roads projects that we’re trying to do, some of the maintenance projects we’re trying to do, investment in social infrastructure, such as the arenas, and also studies,” he said. “I know studies aren’t a sexy thing, but in some instances, we need those studies so we can really understand the budget numbers for the next five to 10 years.”
Staff is looking forward to delivering the projects and there has been a commitment from staff to get the work done, CAO Tremblay said.
Reeve Terry Millar commended staff on a solid budget, knowing there was only a .7 percent growth in the municipality, while the county growth was 1.5 percent.
“We’re in the middle of the pack of 17 municipalities in growth,” he said. “I believe staff has done a good job of working the numbers and watching the dollars.”
Mayor Hal Johnson noted this is a “really aggressive workload that we are demanding our staff to do this year. We feel, I think rightly so, that we’re, on our roads, way, way behind. To get the work done this year is going to make next spring a lot less dangerous for ball joints and tie-ends.
“In the spring, it’s very difficult to do things, but we are going to improve and it will be appreciated by people who drive on our roads and our residents,” he said.
While there was no recorded vote, Councillor Daryl McLaughlin opposed the budget, and Councillor Charlene Jackson was absent.
The next budget discussions will be on the user-pay systems, which is water and waste water plants. A public meeting for residents to provide their viewpoints is scheduled for Wednesday, May 5 at 6 p.m.
Just a reminder, any council and committee meeting is open to the public to attend. They are scheduled for the first and third Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in council chambers.
In other financial news…
Will Barr from MacKillican and Associations Chartered Professional Accountants provided a quick overview of the financial statements of Whitewater Region for 2016.
Reading the final statement from the auditor’s report, Mr. Barr said, “In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Corporation of the Township of Whitewater Region and its local boards as of 31 December 2016, and the results of their operations, changes in net financial assets (liabilities) and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards for local governments.”
In other words, Mr. Barr said the financial statements are just fine.
He reviewed a few pages of the 54-page report provided to each council member.
Mayor Johnson said, “That’s a big job. I do personally thank you, on behalf of staff and council, for providing this report.”
In other council news…
It was a busy council meeting, with scouts asking permission to Adopt-a-Park; council agreeing to lowering the deposit on building permits for those who also need to do demolition; a photo contest; healthy kids initiative; voting in next year’s municipal election; and various resolutions.
Check out next week’s Whitewater News for more council news.
