The Treasurer presented the 2022 pre-budget presentation to Committee, noting the earlier than usual presentation of this report and summarized the following: the Township's tax base, potential impacts to the 2022 budget, analysis of total residential tax rate from 2011-2021, tax payment change to a median residential property from 2015-2021, taxes as a percentage of income, property tax compared to other monthly personal and household expenses, capital expenditure analysis, 2022 capital and 5-year long-range capital forecast, annual requirement of assets, priority capital projects, reserve and reserve fund balances, budget objectives and future considerations and next steps.
It was noted that there has been a gradual decrease in OMPF funding over the past two years, with the Township unaware of the 2022 amount, but a decrease will have an effect on the 2022 budget. Known impacts to the tax levy were listed as follows: CUPE contract renewal, annual CPI contributions increase, 2022 WSIB premium rate increase, and the CPP employer contribution rate increase, which equates to $43,975.00 or a 0.75% increase to the tax levy.
The Treasurer provided an informational chart outlining the amount of taxes paid annually by the average Canadian family. Property taxes only account for 10.9% of the total taxes and only 56% of property taxes are allotted to the lower-tier municipalities to fund a variety of public services. It was noted that from the municipal budget, costs for OPP and Conservation Authorities must be taken into consideration, reducing the budget for public services provided by the Township even further.
Committee briefly discussed MPAC assessment schedules, noting that the 2016 assessment would still be in effect for 2022. It was noted that MPAC visited the Township office in August to assess building permit plans with the intent to add additional assessments to the roll, this value is unknown at this time. MPAC adjustments may not be completed until the 2023 tax roll.
The Treasurer recommended that the Township commits to a 2% tax levy increase annually for infrastructure replacement.
The Treasurer identified 3 major Council priority projects that will require further discussion in order to determine funding sources. It was noted that the Township has applied for government grant funding through the ICIP Green Stream for one of the priority projects.
Members discussed the timeline for updating the AMP. It was noted that the data is collected annually on municipal assets and entered into the Citywide software for future use in compiling the AMP which is legislated to be updated every 5 years. The most recent AMP for the Township is dated 2019, the next update to the AMP that is required is July 1, 2024. There was a general discussion on how the Township may use the AMP and long-range capital forecasting to convert gravel roads to surface-treated roads. It was noted that gravel roads are not incorporated into the AMP unless the road is converted to a surface-treated road.
Future budget meetings were scheduled for November 18 and December 9 at 6:00 p.m.