2016 Recommended Budget

Transcription

1 2016 Recommended Budget Frequently Asked Questions (based on approved budget as of February 18, 2016) What is the 2016 budget increase in percentage terms? What is the average increase for Whitby taxes in 2016? Why does Whitby need a tax increase? How much of my property tax payments go towards the Town of Whitby? What is the difference between the Town of Whitby and the Region of Durham? How does the Town spend its portion of the property taxes? What is the Town s rate of inflation and why is it different from the CPI? What is the Town doing to control costs and reduce cost pressures? Will next year's tax increase be zero? How does the Town support the Whitby Public Library? With all the growth in Whitby, why do we need a tax increase? Don't development charges pay for the capital cost for new development? How is the Town addressing the capital program? What capital projects are scheduled for 2016? What capital projects are financed by Federal Gas Tax in 2016? How does Whitby s tax increase compare to other municipalities? How does Whitby s portion of property taxes compare within Durham Region? How am I affected by property tax reassessment? What is the Town doing to assist low income seniors? What is the Town doing to assist low income disabled homeowners? What is the 2016 budget increase in percentage terms? Based on the Town s recommended 2016 Operating and Capital Budgets and when combined with the Region and Provincial Education portions residents will see an overall 2.34% increase to the property tax bill. The Town s portion of the overall increase is comprised of 0.64% increase to support the Town s day to day operations, 0.32% to support the Town s additional infrastructure investment and 0.51% for capital

2 purchases related to accommodating an additional fire suppression crew and training officer in The remaining 0.87% increase goes to the Region of Durham. (Back to list of FAQ s) What is the average increase for Whitby taxes in 2016? The average Whitby residential taxpayer (average residential assessment value of $351,000), will see an overall $107 or 2.34% increase to the overall property tax bill. Of the $87 increase, $40 would go to the Region, $29 to support the Town s day to day operations, $15 to support the Town s additional investment in capital infrastructure and $23 to address community safety needs identified in the Fire Master Plan. 2.34% or $107 Overall Property Tax Increase (based on average home assessment at $351,000) Region of Durham 1.65%, $40 Town of Whitby - Operating 2.0%, $29 Town of Whitby - Town of Whitby - Capital 0.99%, $14 Community Safety 1.6%, $23 Why does Whitby need a tax increase? A total increase of $67 for the Town of Whitby has been approved by Council. An increase of $44 addresses the inflationary pressures of maintaining existing services and infrastructure, the annualized impact of previous Council decisions, providing for the cost of growth, as well as addressing provincially mandated requirements such as accessibility. The additional $23 increase addresses the Town s community safety needs by providing for the capital costs required to support an additional fire suppression crew and training officer to be hired in How much of my property tax payments go towards the Town of Whitby? Municipal taxes make up approximately 9% of the total taxes paid by an average household. The Town of Whitby is responsible for billing and collecting municipal property taxes for all properties located within the municipality. Taxes are levied and collected on behalf of the Town of Whitby, Region of Durham and for school boards The Town and Region set tax rates for their purposes and the Province is responsible for setting the education rates. In 2016, the taxes to be levied on a property with an

3 average assessment of $351,000 are approximately $4,682. The Town of Whitby will receive 32% of this amount while the Region of Durham will receive 53% and the remaining 15% will go towards education. Government Tax Dollars spent by average household Source: AMO: What s Next Ontario? Ontario Sustainability Project Town of Whitby Taxes $4,682 on a Property Assessed at $351,000 Ontario, 44% Federal, 47% Municipal Property Taxes, 9% Region of Durham, $2,469, 5% (53% of $4,682) Town of Whitby, $1,529, 3% (32% of $4,682) School Board, $684, 1% (15% of $4,682) What is the difference between the Town of Whitby and the Region of Durham? The Town of Whitby is a two-tiered municipality. The Town provides local services and the Region provides broader-based services to several Municipalities. This chart provides a high-level overview of the services each level provides. Town of Whitby Fire Services Waste and Green Bin organics collection Local subdivision and minor aterial roadway maintenance (i.e. Garden, Dryden, Columbus), repair, snow clearing Recreation programs, facilities and parks Trails, multi-use pathways, on-road cycling Library and Art Gallery Bylaw compliance and licensing Builiding inspections and permits Region of Durham Police Services Blue Box recycling collection Major arterial roadway maintenance, repair, snow clearing (i.e Taunton, Manning, Thickson, Lakeridge) Health and Social Services (housing assistance, public health, long-term care, family and children services) Transit (DRT, Pulse bus rapid transit) Emergency Medical Services

4 How does the Town spend its portion of the property taxes? The chart below shows how the Town utilizes the $1,529 portion of the property taxes based on a house assessed at $351,000. Station Gallery: $10 Special Events and Community Grants : $12 Building, Planning & Development Services: $25 By-Law and Animal Services: $28 Sustainability, Heritage, Downtowns and Community Development and Economic Development: $29 Community Programs : $34 Winter Control: $67 Waste Management: $78 Corporate Governance and Administration: $79 Public Library Services: $110 $9 $1 $12 $- $22 $3 $28 $- $29 $- $33 $1 $54 $54 $62 $94 The capital budget allocated to various services fluctuates year-toyear based on current capital program requirements (ie. life of equipment, age of fleet, building maintenance schedule, etc.) $13 $24 Operating: $1189K Capital: $340K $17 $16 Facilities, Parks and Trails: $273 $194 $79 Fire and Emergency Services: $385 $376 $9 Roads, Bridges, Sidewalks: $399 $222 $177 * based on a house assessed at $351,000 What is the Town s rate of inflation and why is it different from the CPI? Inflation on Operating Budget: $- $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400 $450 The Town's internal operating rate of inflation (commonly referred to as the Town s Municipal Price Index or MPI) for 2016 is 2.3%. The Town s MPI is based on the goods and services the Town must purchase to provide community services (i.e. labour, utilities, asphalt, salt, fuel, insurance, etc.) as opposed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of inflation on goods and services a typical household would purchase (i.e., food, clothing, etc.). It should be noted that the Town's cost of inflation typically runs at a higher level than that of the published Consumer Price Index due to the relatively heavy weighting of labour and utilities compared to households. CPI is forecasted for 2016 to be at 2.0%.

5 6.0% 2016 Actual Municipal Price Index Inflation impact $1,940K 4.0% 2.6% 4.2% 2.6% 2.4% 2.3% Percentage increase 2.0% 0.0% (2.0%) (4.0%) 1.3% 1.4% 2.0% (6.0%) -5.8% (8.0%) Salaries, Wages & Benefits $1547K Utilities and Other Building Costs $230K Fuel, Parts & Repairs $-154K Purchased Services and Operating Supplies $87K Administrative Costs $69K Grants $141K Transfers to Reserves $20K Inflation on expense groupings 2016 Actual MPI 2016 CPI Forecast Inflation on Capital Budget: The inflation on capital projects is also different from CPI. For 2016 an overall inflationary rate of 3.32% was applied to the Capital Maintenance Funding Envelope. This is a result of the Town adjusting each asset s envelope by its associated inflation index, (for instance Statistics Canada price index for Machinery and Equipment and Non-Residential Construction Price Index). What is the Town doing to control costs and reduce cost pressures? In order to minimize the impact of these pressures, Mayor, Council and staff are continually looking for ways to maintain or improve both the levels and efficiency of the services the Town provides. Types of measures include: Strategic Spending on Assets; Planned Capital Maintenance Funding; Grant Application Submissions; Partnership and Sponsorship Options; Community Involvement through Committees & Volunteer Opportunities; Technology & Customer Services Initiatives; and Long Term Planning. The Town also reviews revenues and user fees to help offset the inflationary pressures, however, not all revenues are subject to inflationary increases or are automatically

6 increased by municipal inflation due to a number of reasons including affordability, and competitive position. In 2016 the budget included $1.3 million in efficiencies. Efficiencies and Cost Savings to $2.2M $2.5 Millions $ $2.0 $1.5 $1.0 $600K LED Street lighting conversion $152K Winter Control Contracts $131K Technology and Facility related $143K Vacant position removed $284K Other efficiencies $1.3M $0.5 $ Will next year's tax increase be zero? There are many pressures which will affect the Town of Whitby in future years, including growth, maintaining our existing assets and inflationary components. Inflationary costs for labour, insurance, utilities and fuel affect the Town significantly and place additional pressure on the budget. Every time we add a new park, new road or facility, it has an impact on the Operating budget. Other items identified as having potential future impacts on the budget include: Accessibility, Corporate Asset Management Plan, Integrated Community Sustainability Plan, Waterfront Master Plans, Brooklin Secondary Plan and Transportation Master Plan, timing of growth due to ROPA 128 and the Emerald Ash Borer epidemic. While tax increases are expected for the future, the Mayor and Council of the Town of Whitby are committed to keeping tax rates at a reasonable level while maintaining the balance between current budget demands, growth and addressing the future capital issues. How does the Town support the Whitby Public Library? This year the Town will provide an operating grant of $4,819,335 and $834,700 in capital funding to the Whitby Public Library. The operating grant funds an increase of

7 2.66% over 2015 expenses made up of inflation and external pressures. The capital funding will be used primarily to replace Library collection materials at the end of their useful life. With all the growth in Whitby, why do we need a tax increase? Although new growth does bring in additional assessment, it requires additional resources to be provided by the Town of Whitby for such items as garbage pickup, snow plowing and maintenance of additional roads, community services for new residents and the payment of capital infrastructure for new development. (Back to list of FAQ s) Don't development charges pay for the capital cost for new development? Capital costs are eligible for development charges if they are needed to service new growth within the Town. However, changes to the Development Charges legislation in 1997 introduced a number of new limitations, restrictions, and exemptions that as a result do not permit growth related capital costs to be paid 100% by development charges. As a result there is always some portion of growth that is payable by the existing taxpayers. Based on the Town s 2012 Development Charge Study, it is estimated that 36% of the capital costs related to growth must be paid by the taxpayer. How is the Town addressing the capital program? Council has adopted a strategy of focusing the capital budget program on: taking care of the existing $2 billion dollars worth of assets (estimated replacement cost value), and addressing the capital requirements of growth In order to take care of the existing infrastructure, Council has committed $18.1 million in 2016, for the timely maintenance and replacement of the Town s roads, facilities, machinery and equipment and other capital in order to optimize capital funding and avoid service interruptions and incur additional operating costs. In order to address the tax based capital costs of growth Council is contributing $3.1M annually to the Growth Reserve Fund plus a one-time contribution in 2016 of $1.2M to pay for capital projects related to an additional fire suppression crew and training officer expected to be hired in This reserve is used to fund the Town s portion of the growth related capital costs over a 10 year period identified in the 2012 Development Charge study. What capital projects are scheduled for 2016? The budget supports numerous projects, studies and master plans to address Council s priorities. Significant projects in the 2016 capital program include: Construction of an indoor soccer dome, in partnership with the Whitby Iroquois Soccer Club

8 Emerald Ash Borer Action Plan Year 3 funding of the of the 4 year Economic Development Strategy Ongoing funding to preserve and promote our Downtowns and continue to build on initial steps to address the legislative requirements regarding Accessibility Continued focus on infrastructure improvements including a variety of road, sidewalk, cycling/multi-use pathways, storm water management facilities, and signalization Ongoing lifecycle capital maintenance of Town facilities and parks including the pediment restoration and preservation of the Centennial Building Ongoing replacement of vehicle fleet and equipment. In 2016 it includes the replacement of five ice re-surfacers and four garbage trucks (Back to list of FAQ s) What capital projects are financed from Federal Gas Tax in 2016? The 2016 Capital budget includes approximately $4.1 million of projects that will be financed from Federal Gas Tax including: Urban Road Resurfacing: Chipperfield Fallingbrook to Fallingbrook Fallingbrook Bassett to Dryden Lowder Bellwood to Lowder Teresa Reynolds to Colette Wentworth Thickson to end Rural Road Resurfacing: Harbour Watson to End Minor Road Reconstruction: Byron Arthur to St. John Centre Miller to Dunlop Keith Centre to Brock Watson Brock to Dufferin Asset Management Program: Asset Management Capacity Building for Federal Gas Tax Requirements How does Whitby s tax increase compare to other municipalities? While it is not easy to compare one municipality to another due to such factors as the level of service and the sources of revenue are not always the same, Whitby is competitive compared to the other Durham lakeshore and other GTA municipalities. Municipality 2016 Lower Tier Tax Increase * 2016 Combined Tax Increase Oakville 2.40% 1.66% Markham 2.44% 2.04% Ajax 2.52% 1.66%

9 Municipality 2016 Lower Tier Tax Increase * 2016 Combined Tax Increase Oshawa 2.52% 1.82% Burlington 3.14% 2.00% Whitby 4.59% 2.84% Brampton 4.90% 2.90% Mississauga 5.00% 2.60% Milton 7.00% 2.79% Clarington N/A Pickering N/A *Please note some of the numbers are the most recent published numbers and may not be final. It is always difficult to balance reasonable tax increases against the services requested by the community. Council always considers the budget with the idea to balance the competing pressures as best as possible. The 2016 budget increase allows Council to maintain the base of services provided to the taxpayers in Whitby. (Back to list of FAQ s) How do Whitby s portion of total property taxes compare within Durham Region? Based on comparisons to each of the five lakeshore municipalities in Durham Region, the Town of Whitby s taxes are in the mid-range and are competitive with other area municipalities in Durham. The chart below compares the total property taxes on a home assessed at $351,000 for the five lakeshore municipalities in $7,000 Area Municipalities - Total 2015 Taxes On a House Assessed at $351, % $6,000 $5,000 $4,000 $4,493 $4,512 $4, % 3.8% 3.8% $5,519 $4, % $3,000 $2,000 $1,000 $- Pickering Ajax Whitby Oshawa Clarington Total 2015 taxes as a % of 2014 Avg. Household Income

10 How am I affected by property tax reassessment? Refer to Taxes and Property Assessment at following link: Link to the Town of Whitby's Property Tax Assessment Information webpage What is the Town doing to assist low income seniors? Refer to Taxes and Property Assessment at following link for further details: Link to the Town of Whitby's Low Income Seniors webpage What is the Town doing to assist low income disabled homeowners? Refer to Taxes and Property Assessment at following link for further details: Link to the Town of Whitby's Low Income Disabled Homeowners webpage