2016 Richmond Hill budget to include special levy

yorkregion.com
Feb. 24, 2016
By Kim Zarzour

Richmond Hill residents will face a 4.25-per-cent increase to the municipal portion of their property tax bill this year, along with a $15 special levy to fund repair and replacement of aging infrastructure.

That means the average home, assessed at $638,000, will see a property tax increase of $136.12 when the Region of York and school board budgets are factored in.

Council approved the 2016 operating budget of $156.2 million at a meeting Tuesday.

The town’s $84.5-million capital budget passed in November.

Richmond Hill’s municipal tax rate remains lower than most in the GTA, said David Dexter, treasurer and acting commissioner, corporate and financial services.

In York Region, only Markham has a lower tax rate, he said.

 “This is a responsible budget, given the challenges and pressures the town is facing,” said Mayor Dave Barrow.

“Council is committed to maintaining quality services for our residents and we have spent months garnering public input and opinion, as well as working with staff to ensure the lowest possible increase without impacting our community. I truly believe we’ve done everything we can.”

Council also increased the Seniors’ Tax Assistance Grant to $360 per eligible applicant.

The special levy for 2016 of $15 will be directed to aging infrastructure, including roads, parks and buildings and will appear as Capital Asset Sustainability on Richmond Hill tax bills.

The town has reserve funds to pay for the repair and replacement of municipal infrastructure, but in recent years, Richmond Hill has needed to spend more to maintain it than it has contributed to the funds.

Without the special levy, Richmond Hill’s finance department warned council the town could run out of money to repair infrastructure as early as 2021.

Council also approved a 9-per-cent increase to the 2016 Water, Wastewater and Stormwater budget - making the annual rate $57.10 for residential properties.

That represents the increase York Region will charge Richmond Hill for these services, based on the metered water consumption by homeowners.

As part of this year’s budget process, council and staff engaged the public through an information session for residents at Hillcrest Mall on Jan. 23, an information session for the business community Jan. 19, emails from residents and the introduction of a new online budget feedback tool.

That online survey resulted in responses from more than 130 people, the majority of whom said they wanted the same levels of service for each category, including fire and emergency, roads-related maintenance, winter maintenance, recreation and culture, parks maintenance, recycling and waste collection, bylaw enforcement and library services.

“Our budget is the monetary expression of our organization’s priorities, plans, commitments and responsibilities,” said Brenda Hogg, Regional Councilor and budget chairperson.

“Our community is always changing and we need to ensure appropriate funding is available now and in the future, for the projects that matter to residents. This budget addresses immediate and long-term goals.”

For more information, go to RichmondHill.ca/Budget