Council hears calls to cut the Town’s 2016 budget

December 2, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
Caledon staff are still looking at increasing the Town’s share of property taxes by 5.8 per cent in 2016, and some public grumbling is now being heard.
The Town hosted an open house session for residents to discuss the budget with senior staff Tuesday night, and some of those members of the public stayed around for the formal presentation that followed.
Staff unveiled the latest budget proposals two weeks ago. They called for increasing the Town’s share of property taxes by 5.8 per cent.
Caledon is responsible to collecting taxes for education, as well as for Peel Region. Councillors were reminded by staff two weeks ago that the Town kept 37 per cent of the taxes it collected in 2015, while 32 per cent went to the Region and the remaining 31 per cent went toward education.
Treasurer Peggy Tollett said at the time they were predicting a 3.8 per cent increase in the overall tax bill. She explained staff had estimated the Regional budget will be up about two per cent for 2016, and that will equate to a 0.7 per cent hike to the taxes Caledon residents pay. She added the figures are based on an assumption that the educational portion of property taxes will stay the same.
As well, there are proposals for a storm water management plan, as well as a levy to facilitate bringing broadband internet to town.
Bringing internet service to more homes and businesses is a priority with this council, and it was articulated by Mayor Allan Thompson in his election night victory address a year ago.
But there are some who wonder if it’s affordable.
“Anything above a two per cent increase is definitely not a good idea,” commented one man who lives in Blackhorse. He said it should be more in line with the rate of inflation, which staff, in their presentation, said was less than two per cent.
Staff had added the proposal to finance efforts to bring broadband to town will come through a broadband tax levy, which staff said would increase the Town’s share of taxes by 0.6 per cent. The man argued the Town should not be doing that, maintaining it’s too expensive.
Director of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer Fuwing Wong was of a different mind. He said they have heard that high-speed internet is important to rural residents, as well as the business community.
Council also heard from an Inglewood area woman who asked if any thought had been given to no tax increase, and where cuts could be made to achieve that.
Tollett said part of the proposed tax increases are to service growth. She added eliminating the tax hike would mean cuts to services, no additional items to the budget and no new capital projects. As well, she said staff has only made recommendations so far. Council will decide what’s to be approved.