Georgina councillors shave more money off 2014 budget

Taxpayers will see a $22.65 hike, down from a proposed $49 increase

Georgina Advocate
March 10, 2014
By Heidi Riedner

An extra $49 on your property tax bill just got shaved by more than half after a second day of budget deliberations at Georgina council.

While final approval of the town’s $62-million budget is slated for March 26, council whittled down the tax levy portion to represent a $22.65 hit to homeowners based on an average home assessed at $293,500 after going through the rest of departmental budgets Friday.

The 0.62-per-cent increase represents the blended rate after incorporating the municipality’s rate with those of the Region of York and school boards.

Crediting senior staff with producing a responsible budget and more than 450 notes explaining certain account lines, more detailed rationales for spending and year-to-year comparisons, Mayor Rob Grossi said this year’s budget process was “a much less painful experience” than in the past.

A further few items were either dropped or delayed, including spending $45,000 over the next three years to replace or refurbish library chairs after Mayor Grossi asked the library board to come back with a better solution.

It mirrored a similar suggestion he made regarding the $40,000 request for washing machines for the Georgina Fire Department’s bunker gear that was deferred earlier Wednesday.

Ward 1 Councillor Naomi Davison wanted to drop the $60,000 funding request for the Splash festival or reduce it to $20,000, but the request was defeated.

While year-end numbers for 2013 are yet to be finalized, Mayor Grossi said a healthy projected surplus should go against the tax levy to give residents a much-needed “bonus”.

Transferring roughly $360,000 was approved with only councillors Davison and Ken Hackenbrook voting no.

Councillors Dave Szollosy and Phil Craig were not in attendance at Friday’s meeting due to prior commitments and did not participate in the vote. A sidewalk for Station Road in Pefferlaw from the pedestrian bridge to Pefferlaw Road at an estimated cost of $307,000 and a pilot project for municipal water tap improvements at Black River Road and Park Road, as per the suggestion of Sutton resident Helmut Kik, costing roughly $5,300, were both added to the budget with no impact to the tax levy.

Both projects will receive detailed staff analysis and come back before council.

Residents can have a more detailed look at the town’s budget online at georgina.ca.