Cop arbitration adds to Region’s $2.2M deficit
An arbitrated settlement for Niagara Regional Police officers is one of several unanticipated costs contributing to an anticipated $2.2-million regional budget shortfall this year.
While updating Niagara’s corporate services committee on the municipality’s budget for the second quarter of 2017, deputy treasurer Helen Chamberlain said “levy-supported results are forecasting an estimated $2.2-million deficit.”
That’s only about 0.3 per cent of the total $750 million of tax supported expenditures, “which is a very small variance.”
The police board is taking steps to mitigate its contribution to the overall levy shortfall by dealing with its own $3.1-million deficit forecast, after a new contract for police officers was settled through arbitration earlier this year.
“It concerns me that the ruling of the arbitrators continually say that the argument for ability to pay is not relevant,” St. Catharines Coun. Bruce Timms said. “Here we have a clear problem — a $3-million inability to pay.”
Chief administrative officer Carmen D’Angelo said he and acting corporate services commissioner Jason Burgess will meet with NRP administration on Friday to discuss mitigation strategies.
The Region’s court services department also contributed to the forecast deficit, falling short of providing $830,000 in expected income garnered primarily through fine payments.
“We’re still getting net revenue from the courts, but it’s about half of what was anticipated,” Chamberlain said.
Meanwhile, emergency repairs were needed for water and sewer system equipment, while water sales have decreased as a result of the very wet season, has led to a $3.5-million deficit in the region’s water and sewer budget.
Despite the shortfalls, Chamberlain said other regional departments are anticipating significant surpluses this year, partially offsetting the deficit.
She said waste management, for instance, is expecting a $ 5. 1- million surplus by year’s end.
And with four months left in the year, Chamberlain said regional management is looking for opportunities to mitigate that shortfall, through strategies including leaving staff vacancies unfilled, deferring or eliminating consulting costs, and deferring waterfront grant programs.
Through those strategies “we’re able to provide some mitigation strategies for some of those large pressures that we anticipated,” Chamberlain said.
Niagara-on-the-Lake Coun. Gary Burroughs urged regional staff to develop more realistic projections when developing the 2018 budget.
“Let’s try and be realistic in all the categories including the police budget. Hopefully, it will all be resolved by then and we will know the real numbers,” he said.
Port Colborne Coun. David Barrick, who led the region’s 2017 budget deliberations, pointed out that Niagara “has won awards for budget accuracy” in past years. Burgess agreed.
“The track record, at least before I got here, was a very good one of us meeting or exceeding budget,” he said.
“But I do take your comments seriously, Coun. Burroughs, that increased accuracy and addressing potentially some of the risk factors in some of the forecasts need to be highlighted better to council.”