Grey County has released the initial look at its 2021 budget, which proposes a 2.81 per cent levy increase.
“The 2021 budget as proposed by staff, and based on the most current information, contemplates an estimated net levy requirement of $62,410,700, which is an estimated overall net levy increase of 2.18 per cent,” said Kevin Weppler, director of corporate services for Grey County.
Weppler provided the county council with the first overview of the proposed 2021 budget at a recently held committee of the whole meeting.
Prior to incorporating the 2020 assessment growth, the proposed budget outlined a requirement of an additional $2.6 million to be raised from taxation or an estimated levy increase of 4.35 per cent.
Assessment growth is the sum of all the changes that happened in the county’s tax base during the 2020 year, including new construction, major renovations, demolitions, and property value appeals.
“This 2021 budgetary levy increase has been estimated to be assisted with an additional $1,270,800 in new 2020 assessment growth,” Weppler explained. “This would then equate to a 2021 net budgetary levy increase of 2.18 per cent to be raised from taxation.”
According to Weppler, if assessment growth does not meet or exceed this estimate, the required funding will be raised from taxation.
“Assessment growth numbers will be further updated at the end of December,” he added.
The 2021 draft budget was prepared with a number of assumptions including: assessment growth, supplementary taxation, write-offs, insurance, salaries, benefits, and utilities.
A number of assumptions were also made in regards to COVID-19 financial impacts, including staffing levels, PPE expenses, federal/provincial funding, and “other budgetary cost pressures as a result of the pandemic."
The proposed budget was also prepared with the concept of maintaining the current level of service, supporting department mandates, legislative requirements, priorities and expectations for service levels.
Proposed additions to the budget include two new county staff positions — a new payroll and benefits supervisor and a financial analyst.
In the economic development department, $93,600 has been budgeted for the addition of Grey Road 4 to the county’s transportation program.
The Grey Transit Route (GTR) consists of 30 bus stops on four routes: Highway 10 between Owen Sound and Orangeville; Highway 26 between Owen Sound and the Town of the Blue Mountains; Highway 6 between Owen Sound and Wiarton and Grey Road 4 between Flesherton and Walkerton.
Three of the four GTR routes are funded through a government grant until March 2023. In order to operate the Grey Road 4 route in 2021, the county will be required to cover the associated costs.
A detailed report on the county’s transportation initiatives is expected to be provided to council members on Dec. 10.
In the county’s housing department, the 2021 budget proposes establishing free, public wifi in the common areas of 27 housing building sites.
The wifi project is estimated to cost $76,000, with $43,000 to be funded from the reserves to cover capital expenditures, and an annual operating cost of $33,000 is expected to be funded through taxation.
In the paramedic services department, the county has outlined the cost of adding a night shift to the Chatsworth EMS, at $700,000.
The proposed budget also includes a one per cent corporate budget increase, equal to $598,100, for construction, resurfacing and minor capital budget.
“This funding is in addition to any inflationary cost increases estimated for the 2021 budget portfolio and this is based on the 2016 Asset Management Plan recommendation of increasing tax revenues by one per cent each year for the next 15 years, solely for the purpose of phasing-in full funding to the tax funded asset classes covered in the Asset Management Plan,” explained Weppler.
The county has also proposed further investment into its long-term care (LTC) department, allocating $388,800 to aid human resource challenges in the sector.
“There's a lot of initiatives going on to work toward improving the number of skilled staff that are available in our area. There are partnerships happening with economic development, and the college is working on getting people into the healthcare field,” said Jennifer Cornell, director of LTC for Grey County.
The LTC funding will be allocated to additional staffing hours in dietary, laundry, personal support workers, activation, registered nurses, and clerical staff departments.
“As the workload increases, if we're able to support the staff with additional hours, it helps make the work experience better. We're better able to do the things that we need to do, and the residents have a better experience,” Cornell said.
When it comes to property assessments, according to Weppler, 2021 property values will continue to be based on the valuation date of January 2016, as the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s Assessment Update was postponed due to the pandemic.
“Unless there was an alteration or physical changes, property values will be unchanged from 2020,” Weppler said.
A more fulsome budget review will take place at a county committee of the whole meeting scheduled for Jan. 29.
“This is just trying to give you an overview on what staff have proposed, and what we are planning to bring forward in January for council review and in each of the departmental presentations,” Weppler added.
