Town council chips at tax hike, Upping user fees by 5 to 10 per cent among items considered

Posted Feb 9, 2012 By Derek Dunn

EMC News - Arnprior councillors reached in a variety of directions to save money and cap the 2012 tax increase at 3.54 per cent or lower.

Unlike past years when council presented staff with a percentage it could vote for, often in the 2 per cent range, this year staff wants to go to taxpayers for an additional about $225,000 on top of the about $14 million it collected last year.

Council chipped away at expenses during the Feb. 7 meeting, beginning with the library board's request for $9,400 to pay for the future replacement of equipment. Mayor David Reid indicated that if money was set aside to pay for the lifecycle of all town equipment, the taxpayers couldn't afford the burden.

Next was the OPP funding. In the past five years, council has budgeted for 14 officers even though it felt only about a dozen were needed. This year it will budget for 12.

Reid said it wasn't a big risk, even though OPP have long pushed for more officers.

"When you are struggling to save tax dollars, you have to be creative," he said. "We are not prepared to pay anything more than that."

The savings mean $113,000 can go toward a capital project.

A third spot to save money is the funding of the 150th anniversary celebrations. The town will give $10,000 toward it or $40,000, depending on whether or not a higher level of government will contribute. Because few communities are celebrating their 150th this year, council is confident the town will get the grant. So it will budget for the lesser amount. If the grant is rejected, the town will dip into its $483,000 levy stabilization fund.

Reid suspects McNab-Braeside will contribute more in future to user agreements - for the library and other town services - when the current negotiations conclude. But he opted to settle for $10,000 as a working number.

Reid also circulated a document proposing a 5 per cent increase to many user fees and charges, including the rink, pool, community hall, and fitness centre. Others include administration and financial fees and inspection under fire services and buildings, in public works the planning fees and others would go up by 5 per cent

The mayor proposed boosting the museum and library charges by 10 per cent.

Reid showed that in many of those areas fees and charges haven't increased for a few years.

"I definitely think there's room to look at some increases," he said.

Reeve Walter Stack said he won't support the increases until dollar figures are attached to the percentages, and is leery of doing so anyway given the slumping economy. He added that, while at the pool last year, he was told on two occasions that if fees rose parents would be forced to pull their children from lessons.

Reid said the exercise is about finding a balance between costs and attracting clients.

He was also told cemetery fee increases need the approval of a higher body.

Recreation director Glenn Arthur said he would "caution" against raising pool rates, they are the highest in the county and more than the City of Ottawa's right now.

Coun. Mark Willmer would like to see fees and charges increase with the cost-of-living.

Treasurer and acting chief administrative officer David Pollard said waste management is a "self-funding" program. But Reid countered that if the town incorporated the landfill's lifecycle and the cost of opening another, fees are likely not high enough.

Staff agreed to include dollar figures with the percentages for the Feb. 8 meeting, after the newspaper's deadline.

derek.dunn@metroland.com