Kincardine sitting at 4.65% tax rate increase, talks continue Monday night

Kincardine council began its second round of budget talks Jan. 17, with a 2.65-per-cent tax rate increase.

The treasurer noted some changes which drove up the increase to 3.1 per cent, and two hours later, council had managed to add staffing and projects so the tax hike was at 4.65 per cent.

This equates to $69.72 for an average residential assessment of $244,000, for municipal purposes only. Once the Bruce County levy and provincial education tax (down by five per cent) are added, the overall increase would be 1.68 per cent or $48.76 on the average residential assessment.

Fortunately, council is set to continue budget deliberations Monday at 5 p.m. at the municipal administrative centre.

During discussion Jan. 17, treasurer Roxana Baumann noted the changes that boosted the tax hike to 3.1 per cent:
 

• Negative impact of $89,000 in payment-in-lieu from Ontario Power Generation (OPG) due to the decrease in the provincial education tax rate – to 0.170 per cent from 0.0179 per cent
• Increase of $14,000 in brush chipping expenses ($20,000 total expense) to reflect actual spending
• Increase of $32,500 for financing costs to service the Ontario Peninsula Farms (OPF) lands behind the Sutton Park Mall
• Increase of $90,000 for the tractor loader cost estimate – to $370,000 from $280,000 in the capital budget
• Additional $81,000 due to the increase in the minimum wage to $14/hour

Prior to discussion of three major capital projects – servicing OPF lands ($4-million), replacing the Whitney Crawford Community Centre in Tiverton ($5-million), and servicing the land in the Highways 9 and 21 business park ($11.6-million) - Baumann pointed to several key financial indicators and the proper debt load for the municipality.

In summary, she said the priority project is servicing the OPF lands in response to Bruce Power's Major Component Replacement (MCR) project. The initial phase of $1.57-million is already in the 2018 capital budget.

She added that council cannot just consider the community centre and Highways 9 and 21 projects, but must take into consideration the many other capital/infrastructure projects that will need to be undertaken within the next 10 years. For example, the Davidson Centre pool which must be rehabilitated in the near future – a 2010 estimate for renovating the existing pool was about $3-million.

As council discussed the community centre in Tiverton, councillor Randy Roppel said council will have no idea of the actual cost until it is put to tender.

Baumann said the estimated cost, based on an 11,780-square-foot building, is $4.747-million. This includes site costs and servicing, parking lot and parking lot lighting, and a propane-filled emergency generator.

She said the Tiverton Lions Club operates the current community centre under a contract that expires in March, 2020. The Lions are not interested in managing the facility under the same terms as the existing agreement, but would consider an arrangement whereby the municipality would pay the Lions a management fee to operate the facility.

Mayor Anne Eadie said she was hoping to put this issue to rest by the end of this term of council. Plus, with interest rates set to increase soon, this is the time to do it; community fund-raising will help pay the cost; and the municipality can sell the old library.

“I was hoping we would see more government grants for recreational infrastructure, but there's been nothing yet,” she said.

Eadie recommended deferring the $500,000 for a fleet replacement reserve fund, and using that money for the new cell at the landfill site. That would free up money for the community centre and library project in Tiverton.

Bauman cautioned that the $500,000 for fleet replacement is coming from the Bruce Telecom dividend.

Councillor Maureen Couture said the $640,000 from the Armow Wind community fund could go toward the community centre and library project.

“I'd rather look at all our priorities, rather than just silo out the Whitney Crawford Community Centre,” said councillor Laura Haight. “We have noting set aside for the Highways 9 and 21 servicing, or Huron Shores Hospice, or proposed hospital expansion which will be a huge project. I'm not opposed to the community centre, but what are the priorities for infrastructure?”

She also argued against deferring the $500,000 for the fleet replacement reserve fund. “We can leave the Whitney Crawford Community Centre for now. There will be a return on investment for the lands serviced.”

Regarding the servicing of the Kincardine Business Park at Highways 9 and 21, public works director Adam Weishar said it would be done in stages. The first phase would be extending water and sewer across Highway 21 on Russell Street at a cost of about $1-million, extending Durham Street to Highway 9 at a cost of $1.8-million, servicing Millennium Way at $300,000, providing a stormwater pond at $670,000, and a water booster pump at about $900,000.

Council finally agreed that it must service the OPF lands which it has already committed to doing this year, and the first stage of the business park.

It was also agreed to give pre-budget approval to the purchase of a plow truck, at a cost of $253,410; and a new columbarium unit at the Kincardine Cemetery, which is already in the capital budget.

Council then discussed additional staff, including website implementation (one-time contract) at a cost of $42,500; a Ward 2 summer student at $11,100; changing the fire prevention officer position to a full-time job at a cost of $13,300; a building inspector and bylaw enforcement officer at a cost of $45,400; and an economic development officer at a cost of $75,000 to $85,000.

All the positions were approved, with the exception of the economic development officer which was deferred to the next meeting when staff would bring a report to council.

Council agreed to spend $80,000 on the second phase of the turbine noise investigation.

Councillor Linda McKee said this means a lot to the people living in the midst of the Armow Wind project. She noted that the information collected could be a benefit three to 10 years down the road if there is something put forward.

“So, you want the information for a potential litigation down the road?” asked Haight. “Then it would make more sense to wait the three to 10 years to collect the data.”

“There are noise complaints and people are suffering,” said Roppel. “We should do what we can do. We've done the first phase before the turbines started turning, now we should do the second phase.”

Haight suggested staff check the Armow Wind community fund agreement and ensure this study does not breach that agreement.

After more than two hours of debate, council ended the budget talks with a 4.65-per-cent increase in the tax rate for municipal purposes only. Talks continue Monday night.