Hard numbers

County budget picture much worse than expected

If you live in the County and use its services— prepare to pay more and get less. Members of council got their first glimpse of the budget proposed for 2012 last week— and the story it tells is grim.

First the big numbers. County administrators figure it will cost $51.5 million to run the municipality this year, up $4 million over last year. Revenue is predicted to rise by $1.2 million— leaving $2.8 million on the shoulders of County taxpayers.

The budget for capital projects such as major acquisitions and road and bridge repairs ($7.1 million) will be trimmed back in 2012, netting ratepayers $187,000 in savings. That leaves about $2.6 million overall to be funded by taxpayers in 2012—an increase of 10.6 per cent.

But this, it turns out, is only part of the story.

Not yet included in this budget is nearly $456,548 of grants this municipality has traditionally contributed to organizations such as the Regent Theatre, the Chamber of Commerce and Taste the County.

Also not in the budget currently are more than $1.3 million worth of additions proposed for such things as increasing nursing hours at McFarland Home, enhancing the municipality’s geographical information system, and a study to control odour issues at the Wellington wastewater treatment plant.

If Council were to approve all the proposed grants and additions before them—and that is far from a given—they would add $1.8 million to the tax levy pushing it from a 10.6 per cent hike to an eye-watering 28 per cent jump.

County manager Merlin Dewing says the budget he and his staff tabled last week was not designed to maintain the “status quo” but rather reflect the cost of doing business in delivering the services and facilities this municipality has said it wants.

It gets worse. Residents face stiff increases in 2012 in the fees they pay for water and sewer service. They will also likely be asked to pay significantly more for such things as garbage pickup and disposal, ice rental, as well as using County facilities like its town halls and community centres. Just how much more residents will be asked to pay for these services is to be debated at a committee of council meeting later this month.

Taken together the tax hike proposed in this budget and a conservative estimate of the swelling of user fees will mean the single largest increase County administrators have ever asked its residents to endure.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
The good news, and there is some (though modest), is that the municipality will receive a bit more from provincial transfer programs ($318,000) in 2012. The municipality is also expecting a “significant” surplus from operations in 2011—though it is not yet known how much this will be.

New residential and commercial growth pushed the County’s assessment higher in 2011, boosting the municipality’s tax base by just over $370,000 in 2010.

Longer term, Dewing says federal and provincial governments aren’t paying enough tax (or payments in lieu of taxes, to be precise) for land they own in the County. He said a recent Supreme Court decision opened up the door for municipalities to charge a rate more in line with current valuations of similar classes of privately held property.

Currently the municipality receives about $800,000 in payment in lieu of taxes. But Dewing suggests that a fairer valuation of these properties might net the County double this amount.

Treasurer James Hepburn noted that the impact on an average household (valued at about $240,000) of a 10.6 per cent tax hike would mean an additional $175 to their tax bill. But when grants, budget additions and user fees are added, the impact may top $300 per household.

In 1998 the County was composed of about 25,000 people. The total tax levied that year was $10.8 million. In 2012 the population is still about 25,000—many of whom are seniors and those on fixed incomes. The tax levy proposed, when considering all grants and additions, is $31.5 million. The tax burden, as proposed, will have tripled in 14 years but the population meanwhile barely budged. The numbers are bound to spark much debate across the County in coming weeks.