Throughout 2024 in the Municipality of Grey Highlands, an underlying theme of many discussions and conversations at the council table was the future capital spending needs for asset management.
The theme was obvious as members of council discussed the plans to update the municipality’s master servicing plan. The conversation was simple: there is growth coming and in the future many communities will look different. The municipality has to figure out how to expand and enhance water and sewage services to accommodate the growth.
The theme was obvious when council discussed a pair of bridge inspection reports that showed the municipality needs to spend tens of millions of dollars in the coming years to upgrade and/or replace bridges.
Mayor Paul McQueen said the bridge costs could “bankrupt” the municipality, while Coun. Dan Wickens said Grey Highlands would need to win a lottery jackpot to pay for all the bridge needs.
There is no doubt that for many municipalities across Ontario, capital spending and asset management is becoming one of the defining issues of our time. And it has manifested itself in different ways. In Wilmont Township, staff proposed a 50 per cent tax increase to inject funds into the township’s capital reserves for future infrastructure needs.
In Grey Highlands, the debate is not that dramatic, but at council’s first budget committee of the whole session capital needs loomed large over the discussion.
The numbers were stark and challenging. The ten-year capital plan shows that Grey Highlands needs to spend $90-million to maintain its physical assets. Currently, the annual tax levy has just $1.6 million in it for capital spending.
Grey Highlands council is considering the idea of having a local tax increase of 10 per cent just for capital spending. While this would be a bold step and would represent a commitment to address the issue, it is not without its downside as there is no doubt residents may not be happy with local taxes going up so dramatically.
Grey Highlands staff have warned council that the current asset management plan has been chronically underfunded.
Difficult choices loom in the future for council and the municipality as a whole. The capital spending needs are not going to go away. Bold action will be needed and it may not be popular with the public.