Niagara-on-the-Lake residents could see a general levy tax increase of nine per cent if nothing changes in the town’s future budget deliberations.
This was the final landing spot after a four-hour budget review committee meeting on Thursday, when the operating budget, totalling more than $54 million, was up for discussion.
This is nearly a 13 percent increase from the municipality’s spending in 2024.
The general levy portion, expenses paid by taxpayers, is coming in at more than $17 million.
Approved in principle last fall, the capital budget is sitting at $17 million.
A number of expenditures and topics were discussed Thursday during the first budget meeting of the new year.
On the agenda was a consideration of a number of “business cases,” consisting of 10 items adding up to $1.14 million.
One case that generated debate was a law clerk position to be hired by the town with a salary of $122,000. The town will explore whether this position can be addressed through shared services with the region, but there could be a roadblock on that avenue, said interim chief administrative officer Bruce Zvaniga.
“The ironic thing is that we need the law clerk to help us define a shared services agreement,” he said.
A $30,000 digital security expense was added to the budget, and committee members also agreed to spend $90,000 on an IT position, if necessary.
Put forward by Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa, it was determined that the town spend this amount but also explore a shared service agreement with the region, still allocating the funds in the event they are needed in the formation of a shared service with the region.
Zalepa referred to it as a ”placeholder,” and his motion was eventually approved, but not without some concern voiced.
“I would like it to be an exploration before we commit to the money,” said Coun. Wendy Cheropita.
Another business case the town will move forward with is a customer relations management system, which Zalepa said could be paid for over a number of years..
The platform designed to manage and monitor customer interactions with the town has a cost between $110,000 and $185,000, according to staff documents.
Zalepa said the way the town currently handles complaints and requests from residents creates a lot of “stress on the organization.”
A report will come back at a later date on this item.
A phased-in approach to cover $492,000 in fleet transfers by paying $50,000 annually, suggested by Coun. Sandra O’Connor, was tabled for the time being.
Also on the business case list was a bylaw manager with a salary of $166,000.
Cheropita praised fire chief Jay Plato for taking on the lead role of the bylaw department recently, and said staff are “definitely stressed” without a lone person in charge.
She also suggested that because much of the responsibilities of the bylaw department have to do with tourism, the possibility of funding this position through Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) dollars should be investigated.
Freeborn said MAT funding is mostly to be used for capital costs, but that the soon-to-be-finalized tourism strategy does include some operating costs being covered by MAT, which could result in this position also being paid for that way.
Zalepa suggested service fees could also play a role in covering this salary.
An issue raised by Coun. Erwin Wiens was the amount of legal expenses the town has.
About $1.6 million was spent last year and there is $650,000 set aside in this year’s budget, but Wiens said this number should be trimmed to $400,000 to “force council to be more transparent,” potentially limiting the number of decisions that end up in litigation, he said.
He said the town budgeted $65,000 for legal costs in 2018, and that number has soared since then.
This number is “out of hand” compared to other municipalities in the region, said Wiens, the budget chair.
Treasurer Kyle Freeborn said staff are “currently comfortable” with the $650,000 set aside for legal fees.
Zvaniga also weighed in, saying the town is currently faced with a “significant” amount of litigation, and that the $650,000 is appropriate the town “can’t predict how successful we’ll be,” in those legal cases.
A motion by Wiens to look at reducing that amount was defeated.
A motion on the agenda about a hiring freeze, introduced by Cheropita last year, was not discussed as she said it is likely “null and void” due to the positions discussed during Thursday’s meeting.
Coun Erwin Wiens told the Local he isn't worried that the town’s budget hasn’t been given its final approval yet.
A date and time for the next budget review committee meeting has not been set, but will be “as soon as possible where every councillor can make it,” he said.
It’s “not uncommon” for the budget to be incomplete this time of year, he explained. “It would be nice to be finished earlier but we want to go over the numbers and do a good job."
It has “taken longer than anticipated” but it’s “not out of the ordinary.”
Asked about impacts a late-approved budget could have on tenders for capital projects, Wiens said the town has addressed this through a previous motion that allowed staff to set aside funds for this reason, ahead of the budget being approved.
This allows the town to carry on with “day-to-day business,” while the budget is nearing completion, said Wiens.