Can the amount of money the city wants from residents in the 2015 City Budget be reduced, I say definitely, yes.
At the last council meeting of 2014,council conveniently passed an appropriation order that transferred $4.5 million of unallocated debentures from the 2003 loan for the Homes for the Aged to pay for the EMS/Fire facilities that had originally been scheduled to be paid for from the Stabilization reserve fund in the 2012 budget.
This $4.5 million could easily be used to further reduce the 2015 tax levy increase that city administration is asking of residents. I do not want to hear the excuse we should not use reserve funds to reduce city taxes, after they did that very thing in the 2012 budget to pay for the EMS/Fire facilities.
In two decision packages that the city manager provided to city council that they accepted and will reduce the initial proposed tax levy increase, was an item that was to reduce a contribution to a capital reserve fund. There are two other capital reserve funds that can be deferred in 2015 reducing the tax levy increase another$770,000.
It has come to our attention that the new provincial courthouse in Thunder Bay is not yet on the city tax roll as it appears MPAC is awaiting to place an assessment on it, as a similar courthouse in Belleville with an assessment value of $37 million is being appealed.
The taxes to be collected from the new courthouse will be retroactive to 2014 and I would guesstimate should bring in another $1.0 million in taxes yearly based on commercial rates. The city tax levy increase should therefore be reduced another $1.0 million.
Council finished budget deliberations February 11,with a tax levy increase of $7.6 million or 4.64 per cent.
If council chose to adopt the reductions mentioned above the tax levy increase would stand at $1.33 million or 0.8%. Remove the new assessment growth of $1.1 million, and existing taxpayers would only have a tax levy increase of $230,000.00.
The only way I would recommend the reductions mentioned is if this council had the political will to cut wages of emergency wages and benefits by 10 per cent, which I do recommend.
As for the Rate Supported Budget city administration should be directed to apply under the New Building Canada Fund to help with the infrastructure costs of water, waste and storm sewers to get those costs down after the Federal government rejects their request for a proposed event centre.
