2010 Budget

The 2010 Budget process is well underway, with a Special Committee of the Whole meeting held on January 21, 2010.  Committee entered into deliberation and reached a unanimous position on the 2010 Proposed Budget, to be recommended for consideration by Council at the regularly scheduled Febraury 16, 2010 Council meeting. 

An advertisement giving Notice of Council's Intent to consider the Final 2010 Budget can be found by following this link: 20100202 Notice for Budget Estimates

The 2010 Budget process generally consisted of the following:

  • Through use of the Town's Stategic Budget Guideline (SBG), staff were given direction on November 10, 2009 to prepare the 2010 Draft Budget within a 7.86% tax levy increase, for a total tax levy target of $6,738,052. 
    • For reference, the 2009 Tax Levy was $6,247,035.
  • On January 21, 2010, the 2010 Draft Budget as prepared by Staff was presented (see links below), and consisted of: 
    • a Base Budget of $6,552,526, for a tax levy increase of 4.9%, well under the Target 2010 Budget
    • a series of Mandatory New Initiatives, for a total of $144,909, for a combined total of $6,697,436 (tax levy increase of 7.2%)
      • this combined total of the Base Budget and the Mandatory Initiatives still was under the Target 2010 Budget
      • the Mandatory Initiatives are generally unavoidable items due to either being pre-approved through prior direct deliberation, legislatively mandated, economically driven, or contractually bound
    • a series of Discretionary Initiatives, for a total of $429,880 were also presented as items that are either new in nature or dollar scope, and recommended by Staff for consideration by the Committee.
      • the combined total of the Base Budget and both Mandatory and Discretionary Initiatives lists would result in a total levy request of $7,127,315 (tax levy increase of 14.1%)
  • During deliberation of the 2010 Draft Budget,
    • all Mandatory Initiatives were reviewed and accepted into the 2010 Proposed Budget. 
    • Of the Discretionary Initiatives, revisions based on new information and funding options were considered.  While most of the requested Discretionary Initiatives were adopted in some form, several were defeated, resulting in a total tax levy requirement of $140,629 to support these Discretionary Initiatives.
    • the combined total of the Base Budget and both Mandatory and adopted Discretionary Initiatives results in a total tax levy request of $6,838,065 (tax levy increase of 9.5%)
    • Council reconsidered its prior direction on the funding of Wilson Street, proposing to fund the Town's cost of the Wilson Street Corridor Rehabilitation Project over 3 years (2010, 2011, and 2012) instead of just two years. 
      • This stretching out of the funding plan by a year freed up $228,692 for the 2010 Budget (to be recovered from future taxes). 
      • This funding choice, combined with the Base Budget and both the Mandatory and Discretionary Initiatives, resulted in a Final 2010 Proposed Budget of $6,609,373 (5.8% tax levy increase)
    • A copy of the Final 2010 Proposed Budget can be found reflected in both the Final Chair Initiatives List and Strategic Budget Guideline.
  • The net levy increase does NOT represent the amount of the potential tax rate change or the blended ‘At-the-Counter’ tax rate.
    • The increase in the tax levy for 2010 will be offset by more than $68,000 of real growth in the Town’s assessment base
    • The phased-in reassessment values for 2010 results in a growth in the Town’s assessment base due to re-assessment, such that in order to maintain the same tax levy, the Town would need to lower its tax rate by about 4.5%
    • The ‘At-the-Counter’ tax rate represents the blended tax rate of the Town, County and Education tax rates.
      • The County has not yet concluded it’s final Budget deliberations
      • The Ministry of Education has not yet released its education rates for 2010.
      • Staff’s best estimate of the ‘At-the-Counter’ tax rate change, in relation to the 2010 Proposed Budget, is in the order of a 1.3% decrease.
    • The impact to a property’s tax bill will further depend on how much of a change in assessment applies to that property, relative to the average Town-wide change due to reassessment.

For further information about the 2010 Budget details or process, please contact the Town's Treasury department at teh Town Hall (80 Gore Street East) or at 613 267 3311.


Prior Year Budgets