Council begins budget discussions

City Council and staff began discussing 2013 budget deliberations at a special meeting held Monday at the Civic Centre.

City of Sault Ste. Marie Chief Administrative Officer Joe Fratesi told Council no final decision on the proposed budget would be made at Monday’s meeting, but invited Council members to bring forward any concerns.

The proposed budget prepared by the City includes a 3.56 percent property tax increase on the average home valued at $146,000.

Documentation released Friday shows the proposed 2013 budget comes in at over $99.6 million, a $4.2 million (or 4.42 percent) increase over the 2012 budget.

Included in the budget is $2,090,000 in contingency provision, partly for contract negotiations for unionized City workers.  Sault firefighters and EMS workers contracts expire in January and March 2014, respectively.

A City surplus of $1,000,000 is also included in the budget.

Facing the City is a $203,000 reduction in Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) money, a $374,000 decrease in Ontario Lottery payment in lieu of taxes, and a $150,000 reduction in gaming and casino revenue.

City staff has indicated changes in OMPF funding, in particular, will pose challenges for the City beginning in 2014.

The DSSAB (District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board) annual levy is yet to come in.

In addition, the final surplus audit from 2012 is yet to be finalized.

The target date to conclude 2013 budget deliberations is April 8, immediately following Council’s regular meeting on that day.

There are two “what if” scenarios which may see the proposed property tax hike of 3.56 percent be whittled down to 3.02 percent, or as low as 2.48 percent.

Ward Two Councillor Susan Myers asked if there were any areas in City expenses that could be made if Council, as expected, objects to the proposed 3.56 percent property tax hike.

To that, Fratesi responded alterations could be made to a number of areas, including police and fire services, and winter maintenance by Public Works and Transportation.

However, Fratesi continued, everything within the budget is “near and dear to someone’s heart” and that any cuts or alterations in the way money is spent would not be easy.

Councillors also expressed concern over lost tax revenue from businesses that have closed up shop, such as St. Mary's Paper and Transcom.

Ward Two Councillor Terry Sheehan said it is vital the Sault’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) continues to step forward and be a job incubator for the community to broaden its tax base.

$11,623,000 in roadwork is slated for 2013, including Queen Street East Phase II (from Simpson Street to Pine Street), Kohler Street from Queen Street to Wellington Street, Great Northern Road from Second Line to Third Line, as well as other road resurfacing projects.

Pricey high priority expenditure requests from various City departments include a one-time cost of $410,000 for the purchase of a new, forty foot, heavy duty low floor bus for City Transit, to replace an existing bus which is now 23 years old.

There is also a need to purchase one Para bus to replace the current, 13-year-old Para bus.  The estimated cost of that request is $75,000.

Supplementary budget requests from outside agencies include a $35,000 request from the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre and $15,000 from the St. Mary’s River Marine Heritage Centre (the Norgoma).

Data shows the City’s long-term debt was down to $14.6 million as of December 31, 2012, down from $16.7 million in 2011.

$4.3 million of that long-term debt is for spending on the West End Community Centre (WECC). 

The City's credit rating was upgraded to A plus in 2012.

Ward Six City Councillor Frank Manzo, never one to support City budgets, said there were simply not enough taxpayers in Sault Ste. Marie to support the proposed budget.

“There’s too much in the budget for taxpayers to absorb,” Manzo said, adding that facilities such as baseball parks should be paid for by groups that use them, not taxpayers at large.

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