The Town of The Blue Mountains (TBM) is looking to re-examine its relationship with Grey County, due to the large financial contributions the town makes to the county as it undergoes rapid growth.
In 2022, TBM will contribute nearly 30 per cent of the county’s total tax revenue.
In the 2021 census, the town was listed as Canada’s second-fastest-growing municipality, with its population jumping over 33 per cent between 2016 and 2021.
In a notice of motion Feb. 28, Coun. Rob Sampson argued that the town’s financial contributions to the county impede its ability to effectively manage growth.
“It is frankly punitive to us to be the fastest-growing municipality by far in a two-tier municipal structure, as it relates to the taxes that end up flowing to the upper tier that we could be benefiting from at the lower tier for infrastructure investments,” he said.
“It's helpful to have growth and growing municipalities in a [two tier] structure to support that growth across the whole county,” he said. “It's not helpful to have that done consistently, year in and year out, because what it does it robs … our ability at the local level to fund things like rec centers, and roads and other important infrastructure that basically supports that growth.”
Sampson argued that one of the issues with a two-tier governance structure is that tax rates are not equalized for fast-growing municipalities.
“The way municipal financing works is that presumably, rates are lowered when [assessment values] are increased, so the net impact on the ratepayers should be flat,” he said. “The problem is in two-tier or multi-tier municipal structures, if you are above-average growth, then you will end up not getting the rate equalized … you will be penalized and that has happened to us consistently for the last number of years.”
“Statistics Canada, frankly, has shown how much out of whack we are on growth as it relates to other municipalities within Grey County.”
Council directed staff to prepare a report examining the financial contributions the town has made to the county, as they relate to investments made within the town, and to consider the impact on taxpayers if a South Georgian Bay regional government were formed, consisting of Meaford, Grey Highlands, Collingwood, Clearview and Wasaga Beach.
Mayor Alar Soever argued that TBM receives relatively few services from the county.
“The county boundaries were established 100 years ago and the growth has happened the way the growth happened,” he said. “When you look at service delivery, for instance, the county right now is Owen Sound-centric and … in Hanover, and there's the Highway 6 and 10 corridor.”
Soever said that a wide variance in housing values across the county has caused TBM to contribute far more taxes.
“The Simcoe County tax rate is lower than the Grey County tax rate, and that is because … assessments are on average higher, so therefore you can have a lower tax rate and it is in terms of growth,” he said.
“Our assessments are twice per household, what they might be in West Grey, Owen Sound, Hanover, like if you buy a $400,000 house in any of those communities, that same house here costs $800,000, so that means your taxes are double.”
Coun. Jim Uram was sympathetic to the issues Sampson raised, but argued that the town should approach the province before it gives any consideration to changing its relationship with Grey County.
“Most of the issues that we're dealing with the County of Grey, other upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities are dealing with as much as we are, and may have the same problems,” he said.
“I'm wondering if this is not something that should be brought forward as a provincial matter, that should somehow look at the inequities between upper and lower-tier municipalities quite strenuously and say, ‘Alright, how do we get high growth areas to get a better proportion of the funding so that they can grow properly? Does the province have a responsibility to these high growth areas?’”
Uram also pointed out that establishing a new regional government could be costly, and that modifications to the governance structure itself might be the best way forward.
“I’m wondering how much that regional concept would cost us – where … our new municipal building would be, what kind of a council we would have, and how long would it take us to get to that avenue? Is there a way to achieve the same results by getting the province to take a look at the municipal act, and by negotiating with those municipalities for shared services?” he said.
“I think you're going in the right direction by taking a look at this, but I'm wondering if we're blaming the wrong people.”
Coun. Andrea Matrosovs said that she supported Sampson’s motion hoping it will bring more clarity to the town’s relationship with Grey County.
“It is looking to get some data compiled in front of us to decide where we might go with our neighbouring partners, or neighbouring municipalities or counties,” she said. “We can't reach out and start into actions without having this kind of information compiled.”
