Council Meeting
Previews & Highlights
Previews and highlights of upcoming and recent City Council and General Committee meetings, posted weekly on Fridays and Tuesdays.
General Committee and City Council meetings air and stream live on
Rogers Television. Formal channels to communicate with City Council include Circulation List and Deputations.
HIGHLIGHTS: General Committee
7 p.m. Monday, January 21, 2019 (Budget)
Check out the full agenda at barrie.legistar.com.
All motions approved during the Jan. 21, 2019 General Committee meeting will be considered for final approval by Barrie City Council at its Jan. 28, 2019 meeting.
2019 Business Plan
City Councillors gave initial approval to Barrie's 2019 Business Plan. It includes a proposed property tax rate increase of 1.94%, plus 1% for the Dedicated Infrastructure Renewal Fund. The 2019 Business Plan also includes proposed water and wastewater rate-based budgets, and proposed increases for water and sewer rates. Water rates are set to increase by 3.44% this year and wastewater (sewer) rates by 3.39%, for a combined increase of 3.5% compared to 2018 levels.
Barrie Police Service 2019 budget
Councillors gave initial approval to the Barrie Police Service (BPS) budget, which is part of the 2019 Business Plan.
The BPS budget includes $53.3 million in municipal funding this year. This increase includes the cost of hiring 2 police officers and 5 civilian members this year, along with contractual obligations for 241 officers and 115 civilians in 2019.
BPS has worked to realign positions previously held by a police officer with a civilian where possible; the addition of 5 civilians in 2019 would allow the redeployment of police officers to respond to calls for service. 97.8% of the total 2019 Barrie Police budget is for salaries, benefits and overtime. The BPS budget represents 22% of the City of Barrie's operating budget.
Capital Budget
- The 2019 Capital Budget is currently at $263.6 million, including $99.8 million in previously approved funding, $87.9 million in new funding requests, and $65,133 associated with New Investment and Service Recommendation Operating Budget requests.
- Key projects include:
- Barrie–Simcoe Emergency Services Campus
- Year-Round Downtown Market
- Harvie Road Crossing
- Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements
- Storm Water Infrastructure
- Widening of Mapleview Dr. E (Country Lane to Yonge)
- Hurst Drive Rehabilitation
- Neighbourhood Renewal projects (HNS Allandale, Queen's Park, Wellington)
- Road Resurfacing Program
- McKay Road ROW expansion project, Veterans Drive
Barrie Air Show
City Councillors gave initial approval of a motion that the Barrie Air Show be approved to return in 2019, and that $65,000 be allocated from the Tourism Reserve Fund to support the necessary staff required. The Downtown Barrie Business Association would consider launching a sponsorship campaign to help pay the remainder of the air show's total $125,000 cost, should it be approved by Council. The City last hosted a June, 2017 Barrie Air Show, as part of its Canada 150 celebrations, which attracted more than 40,000 people to waterfront parks, nearby buildings and rooftops.
The Barrie Air Show is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the strong connection between Barrie and CFB Borden, as well as aviation science, the history of military aviation and technical training at Borden. The air show would be free and accessible for all, and would attract Barrie and area residents, visitors from the Greater Toronto Area and Central Ontario, along with aviation enthusiasts. A Canadian Forces Snowbirds representative will be in Barrie in late January for an advance meeting with key stakeholders.