A motion from Springwater Township Coun. Phil Fisher passed at Wednesday night’s council meeting will save the average Springwater homeowner less than $20 next year.
Fisher put forth an amendment to the township’s budget that would see $147,330 in proposed policing costs shaved off the municipal tax levy, saving individual taxpayers about $1.35 per month.
His amendment was passed by a vote of 4-3, with support coming from Deputy Mayor George Cabral and councillors Danielle Alexander and Anita Moore.
Fisher’s passed amendment resulted in a final municipal tax increase of 5.78 per cent and a final blended tax increase of 4.06 per cent or an annual increase of $179.44 for a typical single-family detached dwelling with an assessed value of $497,000.
Without Fisher’s amendment, taxpayers would have faced an increase of $195.62 annually.
“Of course, we don’t really know what the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) fees will be in the future, but my rationale is we do know that people need to save money right now,” Fisher said. “Given the present economic climate, I think it would be smart to give it back to the taxpayer.
“We’re not in the business of spending their money or shelving it for further expenses. It’s found money at this point and we should be giving it back to the taxpayers,” he added.
Fisher’s view and his amendment were at odds with the direction the township’s senior management recommended.
“Without the amendment, the difference would flow through to the surplus at year end; it would impact the 2025 year-end surplus or deficit,” said Greg Bedard, the township’s director of finance. “Given the discussions regarding the amount of debt that we’re taking on, it would be my recommendation that this surplus would be applied against any debt.
“That seemed to be agreeable through budget deliberations, therefore reducing the amount of debt that we have to take on and reducing the debt requirements and annual repayment of such.”
He added that if the township were to reduce the OPP levy based on the full financial relief, it may be looking at a tax increase in the future.
“We know it costs $3 million to police the township in 2025,” he said.
“Without a change to the OPP billing model, we have to assume it will cost $3 million or $3 million-plus the next year to police the township,” he added.
Coun. Matt Garwood was against the amendment. He said every year brings increased costs. He doesn’t foresee that changing any time soon.
“I do have worry with sitting here saying we’ll deal with something in the future,” Garwood said.
“We have sat here for three budget cycles now and each cycle the same issues come up — expenses are rising and therefore those costs are being put on to our residents.
“We don’t know a lot of what’s going to happen next year, but it’s almost certain nothing is going to get cheaper,” he added.
He said he hoped council would be forward thinking and put the township in a better position.
“I worry we’ll be in the same ... if not a worse position in another 12 months,” he said.
Jeff Schmidt, the township’s chief administrative officer, echoed Garwood’s concerns.
“We know policing is $3 million,” he said. “We also know this is a one-time relief of $432,000 and council can make their decisions about how they want to apply that one-time relief, but we do know policing is $3 million and it’s not likely to get any less,” he said.
“The decision is yours.”
Schmidt went on to say he doesn’t think the costs will be any cheaper in the future and putting money aside for future relief is something council should consider.
“We’ve had this conversation through this budget cycle,” he said. “The burden is not getting any less next year.”
Mayor Jennifer Coughlin was not in favour of Fisher’s amendment.
She said saving for tomorrow is financial planning.
“I think, by ensuring we do have a reserve, that we have a healthy reserve, that we continue to put money away,” she said. “The plan our CFO and CAO brought forward, I think, is good planning, so I will not support this.”
Coughlin, Coun. Brad Thompson and Garwood did not support Fisher’s amendment. Council passed the budget by unanimous decision.
