It's not zero, but only 0.031 per cent more.
Barrie homeowners could see that increase on their 2024 property taxes after councillors gave initial approval late Wednesday night to the city portion of next year’s operating and capital budgets.
That increase would add $1.48 to property taxes for a typical Barrie home assessed at $368,000, and with a 2023 tax bill of $4,724.
“It’s a very prudent budget that invests in infrastructure and holds the line on operating costs,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall.
“We have to make some difficult decisions to not hit the taxpayer too hard,” said Coun. Gary Harvey, chairman of the city’s finance and responsible governance committee.
City council will consider final approval of the budgets Dec. 6.
But that small tax increase doesn’t include expected city police, County of Simcoe and Barrie Public Library budget increases, to be determined in January, and the two per cent tax-rate increase for infrastructure investment funding or IIF, used to replace and renew Barrie’s roads, pipes, buildings and bridges. Half would go for tax-based infrastructure and the other half for stormwater infrastructure.
The IIF, formerly the dedicated infrastructure renewal fund (DIRF), would add $94.36 to the property tax bill for a typical home.
“That’s something we committed to last year,” Nuttall said of the IIF. “We were very public about this year and next year specifically -- there would be a doubling to two per cent from one per cent. It was cut for many years and we need to make up for that.
“At the same time, I’ve made a commitment to hold city operations to zero and we did that, and put a few bucks into the reserves at the same time," he added.
But there are other increases.
Barrie’s user-rate budget for water requires a 3.97 per cent annual rate increase, or $15.42 more next year for a typical Barrie home. For wastewater (sewer), the rate increase would be 4.94 per cent, or $27.61 more for a typical home.
For a typical household that uses 180 cubic metres of water and wastewater annually, the 2023 cost of water services is $389 and for wastewater services $559. Those annual bills would increase to $404.42 and $586.61 respectively next year.
The 2024 tax-supported base operating budget for city operations and the IIF has gross expenditures of $325.5 million and a net property tax levy requirement of $191.9 million.
Councillors spent a large portion of last night's meeting arguing small-ticket items, and not every budget amendment was dealt with.
Withdrawn was a motion, for example, that a new gardener position be approved, but two new park maintenance attendants not be hired.
And that $34,000 be added to the budget for seasonal and temporary staff.
“This has to do with quality of life for our residents, but it is not really measurable,” Coun. Clare Riepma said of city parks maintenance.
The city has 30 full-time parks staff, but that swells to 100 during the summer months.
The motion was withdrawn due to confusion as to why the city needs more parks staff without a perceived increase in corresponding parks work.
Deputy Mayor Robert Thomson’s motion to save the city $167,474 on downtown sidewalk winter maintenance, on the other hand, was approved. This practice was initiated during the pandemic to help downtown businesses, which are responsible for clearing sidewalks in front of their buildings.
“Now the downtown is alive and well, everybody is working and I believe that money could be spent in a different way,” Thomson said.
The money would be transferred to the city’s tax capital reserve.
The city’s operations department budget would be increased by $76,000 for street tree pruning, fertilizing and watering.
“We have 36,000 trees on our streets and they are growing every day,” Riepma said. “This is a little like looking after your car. This is preventative maintenance.”
The budget cost cutting to reach near-zero actually began a week ago.
On Nov. 22, and facing a 1.06 per cent property tax increase in the city’s portion of the 2024 operating budget, councillors reduced expenditures by $3.3 million, taking that increase close to zero.
These cost cuts would come in 16 areas, from reducing legal service costs to having less consulting and fewer contract services, to charging fees for the use of city parks for weddings. Costs would also be cut by eliminating a co-op student position in transit and parking, and advertising would be allowed in sports fields and courts to increase revenues.
There’s also $507,000 in potential savings in administrative monetary penalties rather than paying for court time.
But the largest savings would be $1.73 million by splitting the hiring of 20 firefighters in 2024 and 2025, rather than just next year, for Barrie Fire and Emergency Service Station No. 6. The land sale just recently closed for 1.8 acres at the southwest corner of Prince William Way and Mapleview Drive East.
Barrie Fire Chief Cory Mainprize estimates the new station will be built by mid-2025. He said the station design is 95 per cent complete, it goes to bid in mid-December, the builder will be selected early next year and construction is to begin in and around April -- with it taking a little more than a year to complete.
Driving next year’s tax increase on the city portion of the operating budget is a $9.2 million or 2.88 per cent hike in costs just to maintain Barrie’s service levels, although this is partially offset by an anticipated $6 million increase in property tax assessment next year. The 16 reductions move it close to zero.
Still to come is the Barrie Police Service budget, scheduled to be presented in the new year.
Barrie police typically comprise 20-plus per cent of city spending. And police spending is historically the largest portion of Barrie’s annual operating budget: this year it’s 22.1 per cent, it was 21.8 per cent last year and 22.2 per cent in 2021.
The County of Simcoe, another city service partner, supplies land ambulances and paramedics, health and emergency services, Ontario Works, children’s services, social housing, long-term care (LTC), seniors services and community services, which includes homelessness, to the city, which gets an annual bill.
Simcoe County council approved its $774-million operating and capital budgets Tuesday. County officials did not make Barrie’s share available to BarrieToday when requested on Wednesday.
While municipal governments cannot pass deficit budgets, they can accumulate debt.
Barrie’s forecast debt level at the end of this year is $299 million, but it drops to $280 million next year, then it’s $294 million in 2025, $291 million in 2026, $287 million in 2027 and $277 million in 2028.
Large 2024 debt items include almost $5.2 million for the city’s fleet renewal and $3.9 million for the waste water treatment facility’s new advanced nutrient renewal system.
The city’s 2024 capital budget totals $691 million -- including previously approved funding requests of $269 million, $253 million this year and $169 million in ongoing, multi-year costs.
Key capital projects in 2024 include the construction of Bryne Drive South from Harvie Road to north of Caplan Drive, building the Allandale and downtown transit mobility hubs, constructing Duckworth Street from Bell Farm Road to St. Vincent Street and the new transmission watermain and road expansion on Bayview Drive, from Little Avenue to Big Bay Point Road.
Also in the capital budget is the new waterfront 1,000 tree-planting program, with a request of $50,000 for 2024 and then $50,000 per year for next nine years, to be funded from the city’s ecological offsetting reserve.
Capital spending is funded from a combination of property taxes, development charges, issuing debt, grants, user rates and reserves.
Development charges are designed to recover the capital costs associated with residential and non-residential (commercial, industrial, institutional) growth within a municipality from developers, so that existing residents don’t have to foot the bill for new residents.
One 2024 base budget that’s not increasing is parking operations, with gross expenditures of $2.4 million and gross revenues of $2.4 million.
Major service partners -- Barrie police, County of Simcoe, Barrie Public Library -- make their presentations to councillors on Jan. 17, 2024, then those budgets go to general committee on Jan. 24 and council on Jan. 31.
Once the operating, capital and service partners budgets are approved, Barrie homeowners will know the full extent of their 2024 property tax increase.
The city's 2023 operating and capital budgets resulted in a 2.89 per cent property tax hike for Barrie homeowners. On the typical Barrie home assessed at $365,040, that increase equaled $134 more this year — bringing its total taxes from $4,612 in 2022 to $4,746 in 2023.
City councillors should have little doubt how their constituents feel about property taxes. Oraclepoll Research did a phone survey of Barrie residents this past fall.
To maintain existing city service levels, respondents were asked if they were willing to pay slightly higher taxes. While 43 per cent said yes, 48 per cent said no and nine per cent were unsure.
Respondents were also asked if the taxes they pay to the City of Barrie are fair in relation to services received. While 44 per cent answered yes, 46 per cent said no and 10 per cent were unsure.
Oraclepoll’s survey of 1,000 adult Barrie residents took place Oct. 18-26, 2023 and the results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent.
Barrie’s annual operating and capital budgets not only set property tax rates, but levels for more than 60 services such as fire fighting, snow clearing, road repairs, transit, parks and recreation and water treatment.
“Service levels across the community rest with (city) council,” said Michael Prowse, the city’s chief administrative officer (CAO), of the budget decisions.
City staff presented the 2024 operating and capital budgets Nov. 22, sending them to general committee Wednesday, with final approval to the city portions of the budgets at the Dec. 6 council meeting.
