HEATHER BOA Bullet News GODERICH – After some fine tuning of numbers, Goderich Town Council will still need to cut services and capital expenditures, find new revenue or raise taxes by as much as eight per cent to balance the 2013 draft budget.
Councillors reviewed line by line a chunk of the town’s department budgets – including environmental, parks, and tourism – and considered five pages of adjusted line items, but if it were to accept all recommendations to date, it would need to come up with more than half a million dollars in order to hold the line on taxes. Judy Kay, the town’s treasurer, reviewed tax scenarios ranging from zero to four per cent.
However at the end of the meeting, Coun. Jim Donnelly said it’s still early in the budget process.
“We’ve addressed some big numbers and big numbers attract attention. I think they should be put in this perspective: that at this stage the council isn’t making any decision. It’s time for information and for reflection and I simply say don’t give up the ship, that the job isn’t done yet,” he said.
He said while capital costs, like buying playground equipment, can be deferred, divided over a number of years, or not done at all, it’s much more difficult to manage the day-to-day operating costs because it means cutting or eliminating services. As well, he noted that capital expenditures are often accompanied by operational costs. For example, administration is recommending an additional $16,600 in operational costs to pay the cost of hydro, water and maintenance for the new washrooms and water feature planned for the Court House Park.
The 2013 draft budget includes a number of projects to update the town’s infrastructure:
- $250,000 is slated for the tornado infrastructure reserve fund, which is much like a bank account, to pay for bills and debt associated with the tornado. Council approved spending this summer of about $2.5 million to rebuild Court House Park, although in late August the town’s engineer, Bruce Potter, of B.M. Ross and Associates, brought in an estimate that boosted the cost to about $3.08 million. Upgrades will be made to the infrastructure while repairs are done. “You don’t put sidewalks and curbing and asphalt down without cleaning up the 100-year-old sewers that are underneath there,” said Larry McCabe, who is the town’s administrator and clerk. Goderich Hydro is forced to consider upgrades to the hydro services as new buildings on The Square incorporate elevators and other elements that increase the demand for electricity. “It’s like watering your lawn with a quarter-inch hose instead of a two-inch hose,” said Deb Shewfelt, who is the town’s mayor.
- A $4.8 million connection link capital project at three town roads that connect provincial roadways: Bayfield Road from Britannia to the south limit of town; Britannia Road from Bayfield Road to Victoria Street; and Victoria Street from the five-point stop lights at Elgin Road to Britannia Road. The project includes road, watermain and sanitary sewer reconstruction, and some lighting. It relies on a $697,060 provincial grant received a number of years ago, a $236,040 tax levy, with the remainder funded by water and sewer charges. It may be possible to use a share of money from gas taxes that the province gives to municipalities for public transit projects. “The tax dollars are minimal,” McCabe said.
Council expects to meet within the next month to continue budget discussions.
