Still deliberating
Budget discussions continue at Windsor council as large capital items threaten to swell the debt
Running a town is not an easy or cheap thing to do.
Windsor council wrapped up three days of budget deliberations on May 2, and they’re not done yet, with some tough decisions to be made during the committee of the whole meeting on May 8, where they’re expected make the final decision on the tax rate and services.
Mayor Anna Allen said budget discussions are going well so far, although the process is always a tough one.
One new item being discussed in this year’s operating budget is a new staffing position — a communications person.
“That would be a multi- job role. There’s some holes in our administrative structure that could use more support,” Allen said. “With social media and a big project coming online and the vibe downtown, we don’t want to lose that, so we want to keep the communications clear and open.”
She said that the position would be cut from the budget if it means taxes would have to rise.
Council is hoping to maintain the tax rate at $ 1.90 per $ 100 of assessment residential and $ 3.99 per $ 100 of assessment commercial. However, that could be tricky with some major purchases on the horizon.
A bright spot on the town’s bottom line is an increase in commercial assessments by approximately six per cent, which means that although taxes weren’t raised, more money is coming in.
There was also a rise in the deed transfer tax, meaning more homes were sold.
“You can’t rely on that year to year, as that changes depending on the real estate market,” she said. “But I do know that our community is growing, with new people in town and more businesses opening up.”
Mounting debt?
Windsor fire chief Scott Burgess appealed to members of council for a new aerial fire truck, as their existing one is beyond its life cycle.
The cost to replace it is approximately $ 1.25 million, which would need to be financed unless other means of paying for it are found. This would add to the town’s debt, which currently sits at $ 6,897,613 — an 11.5 per cent debt service ratio.
Council will need to be careful about adding too much additional debt, as once they reach the 15 per cent debt service ratio, the provincial government may start to enquire about how much debt they’re taking on. The 15 per cent debt service ratio also stands as the town’s cap for debt as policy.
The mayor said the Windsor Fire Department is going through right- sizing, following the department’s split with West Hants.
“They’ve been restructuring their department to meet the needs of who they service today,” she said.
“Part of that does include retiring three vehicles that are well past their lifespan… so what they have to do is replace three vehicles with one,” she continued.
“Whether or not we support that purchase will depend on many things, but it’s high on our priority list,” she said. “So we will try, through reserves, or whatever means we can to try to make ( the aerial) happen, without raising the tax rate.”
Allen said if the town manages to achieve a surplus from the 2017/ 2018 budget, those funds may be earmarked for the aerial, pending council approval.
Arena project
The new arena project, perhaps the largest project on Windsor’s capital budget, has been slated for year two, or the 2019/ 2020 budget, to allow for the federal and provincial funding application process to go through.
Allen said she’s confident the province will step up and provide one third of the funding, which would be approximately $ 4.16 million, an increase over the previously committed $3 million.
“We have nothing in writing yet, but that is standard procedure, where all three levels of government pay a third,” she said.
Private donations to the project of $ 2.2 million will also be needed to help make the project a reality.
Estimates of the town’s debt load over the next five years, prepared by the director of finance, Doug Armstrong, show the town’s debt service ratio increasing to 13 per cent in 2019, 14.6 in 2020, 15 in 2021, 18.5 in 2022 and 20.3 per cent by 2023.
That’s if all capital projects are approved and financed, and nothing is set in stone at this point. Visit HantsJournal.ca for the latest as council continues to deliberate the budget.