Newmarket mayor surprised province appointing auditor to review town's finances amid controversial Bill 23 push

'We were not provided a reason, at this point, as to why Newmarket was chosen,' Mayor John Taylor says

Yorkregion.com
May 5, 2023
Lisa Queen

Newmarket Mayor John Taylor is surprised the provincial government is abruptly appointing an auditor to look into the town’s finances as part of a push by Queen’s Park to build 1.5-million homes in Ontario as part of Bill 23, also known as the More Homes Built Faster Act.

“I received a letter late yesterday informing us of the provincial audit of Newmarket; we are currently reviewing the letter,” Taylor said in an email to YorkRegion.com shortly after the province sent out a news release on the afternoon of May 4 on the appointment of an auditor.

“We were not provided a reason, at this point, as to why Newmarket was chosen," Taylor said. "The press release indicates that it is an audit to be done in partnership and to better understand the financial impacts of Bill 23 on municipalities and the need for provincial funding to offset those impacts. I look forward to a productive dialogue to better understand the audit process and the positive impact it will have in making municipalities more financially sustainable and to 'keep us (financially) whole'.”

YorkRegion.com sent questions to the ministry about the audit but has not received responses to those questions yet, a few hours after the release was issued.

Newmarket is one of six municipalities, along with Toronto, Peel Region, Mississauga, Caledon and Brampton, that will have a third-party auditor review their finances later this year.

“At a time when Ontario, like the rest of North America, is experiencing challenging headwinds like inflation, soaring interest rates and labour shortages, these audits will help ensure the province is ready to deliver on its goal of building 1.5-million homes by 2031,” the province's news release said.

The audits will help the province and municipalities understand "potential or perceived" impacts of Bill 23's changes to development fees and charges, the release said.

"This aligns with the province’s previous commitment to ensure that there is no funding shortfall for housing-enabling infrastructure as a result of the More Homes Built Faster Act, provided municipalities meet or exceed their assigned provincial housing targets," it said.

“As an example, these audits may find duplicative spending on back-office supports that would be better spent expanding frontline services,” it said.

“We are working with our municipal partners to get a factual understanding of their finances to ensure development charges, and the ability to invest in local services and projects, are supporting rather than hindering housing supply growth,” Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark said in the news release.

Watch YorkRegion.com for more on this story as it develops.