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2010 Business Plan & Budget
2010 Business Plan
2010 Business Plan is About ‘Doing What Matters Most
Release- January 26, 2010- After incorporating several amendments, Monday night City Council passed the City of Barrie’s 2010 Business Plan. (More)
Please note that Review and Approval Process for the 2010 Business Plan (as indicated in the Transmittal letter included on page 3 of the document) is anticipated to be amended and the following outlines the revised timeline:
The 2010 Business Plan was distributed to Council on January 4, 2010. Service Partners will be presenting their budgets to Council on January 11, 2010 and deliberations for the City’s 2010 Business Plan are scheduled on January 18 (potentially extending from January 18 – January 20, 2010. Subject to the results of the General Committee review and the addition of a meeting to the Council meeting schedule, Council will consider the 2010 Business Plan at a meeting on January 25, 2010.
2010 Business Plan Questions and Answers
- What is the property tax increase?
Council approved a 2.3% property tax increase. For a home assessed at $250,000, this translates into a $74 property tax increase.
- Are water and wastewater rates increasing?
Yes. For a typical home – one that consumes 180 cubic metres of water per year - the increase will be approximately $27 for water services and $20 for wastewater services.
- Aren’t we in tough economic times – is a property tax affordable?
City Council considers many factors when deciding the type and level of service it wants residents to receive. General economic conditions are one of the factors, and all available analysis anticipates an economic recovery will occur throughout 2010. Council also approved a set of financial policies which, among other details, establishes affordability thresholds for property taxes. Staff check the cost of the business plan against the affordability thresholds when preparing the budget. The 2010 Business Plan is within Council’s affordability thresholds. You can read more about this in the “Financial Condition” section (pages 42 – 45) of the Executive Summary in the 2010 Business Plan.
- Why can’t we use the funds that the City has in reserve instead of raising taxes?
Using funds in reserve instead of raising taxes is like selling your car and using the proceeds to pay your household’s monthly bills – sooner or later the money will run out but the expenses will continue. The City of Barrie puts funds aside for various purposes, most often to help fund investments in new infrastructure or to renew infrastructure we already own. Some of these reserves were created for a specific purpose, so the funds are restricted and could not be used to reduce a property tax increase. Using funds in reserve instead of raising taxes actually leads to a higher tax increase in the future - or reductions in service - if the City’s infrastructure and asset renewal plans are going to be achieved. You can read more about this in the “Financial Position” section (pages 46 – 57) of the Executive Summary in the 2010 Business Plan
- New construction and infrastructure work in the City might be necessary, but what’s being done to maintain the assets the City already owns?
Growth continues to drive the need for infrastructure spending over the next ten years, but asset renewal will be increasingly important. Recently City Council approved the creation of an asset management strategy that covers all of the corporation’s assets – roads, buildings, water and wastewater systems, parks and other equipment. This strategy will help staff create asset management plans that ensure the City gets the most out of the investments made in all of its assets.
- What will we see for all the taxes and user rate charges we pay as we have referenced the SWTP which does not come from taxation?
You will continue to receive the day-to-day services you received in 2009 like waste collection, recreation facilities and programs, parks and emergency services. You will also see work underway or completed on several capital projects including a Satellite Library Branch in the south end, base building renovations of the Allandale Train Station, a new Fire Station #1, various road work including the completion of the Lakeshore/Tiffin/Essa/Bradford intersection and the opening of the City’s Surface Water Treatment Plant.
- Why is so much attention given to the City of Barrie’s budget?
When City Council approves the budget it is really approving a plan that describes the local government services and service levels that will be provided throughout 2010. It is really the City’s business plan for the coming year. It describes how the City will pay for the plan - through a combination of property taxes, user fees and funds received from other levels of government – and where the money will go to provide programs and services.
- Do property taxes need to increase?
City Council decides whether property taxes need to increase based on the decisions it makes about the services and service levels it wants residents to receive from their local government. Council provides direction to City staff at the start of the budget process about what it expects the recommended budget to include, and what an acceptable level of taxation should be. For 2010, City Council directed staff to produce a budget that maintained existing services and service levels, with costs that do not generate more than a 2.4% property tax increase for a typical home.
- Aren’t property taxes high enough already?
Actually, the City of Barrie’s property taxes are relatively low. For example, compared to other Ontario municipalities with more than 100,000 residents, a detached bungalow in Barrie pays approximately 14% lower property tax than a similar property in other cities. Property taxes are based on Council’s decisions about the types of services and service levels that should be provided, and about the degree to which user fees should be used to pay for them.
- How do I know the City is providing good quality services for the taxes I pay?
Only you can judge whether you are satisfied with the municipal services you receive. But the City takes its commitment to contributing positively to residents’ quality of life very seriously. City Council considers several factors when deciding how to balance the sometimes competing priorities of residents who want more or better service and others who want government to cost less. It is not an easy task, so we have developed several tools to measure our performance. One of those tools is a citizen survey, which revealed that 77% of residents are satisfied or very satisfied with local government services. We also use a variety of performance indicators to describe how our programs and services perform compared to the expectations described in our Business Plan and Budget. We report the indicator results quarterly throughout the year to City Council. In 2010, we also plan to participate in a benchmarking network with other Ontario municipalities to compare our service performance against other similar municipalities using common measurement methods and performance indicators.
- Aren’t there services the City can improve?
Yes. The citizen survey identified road maintenance, economic development and land use planning as important services that needed to improve. This is valuable feedback that helps municipal staff create plans for 2010 to address residents’ concerns. We’ve already taken some steps to improve these services. For example, in 2009 the City changed its process for street sweeping that not only improved the service, but it also cost less. Recently, City Council approved a new Economic Development strategy that will guide the city’s efforts for the next five years. And staff are working to ensure the land that could become part of Barrie as a result of the pending boundary change is supported by a solid policy framework that will guide its development.
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