Following more than three hours of discussions at a special General Committee meeting on December 12, Huntsville Council managed to bring down the municipality’s draft 2024 consolidated budget from a tax increase of 15.23 per cent to 10.98 per cent.
The decrease coupled with the District and education portion of the property tax would bring the overall property tax increase to about 6.45 per cent from 8.55 per cent, according to Town Director of Financial Services/Treasurer Julia McKenzie. On a property assessed at $300,000, taxpayers would see their overall property tax increase by $140 instead of $196, if the changes are approved and no further cuts are made when council meets again for budget discussions on January 11, 2024.
The draft budget staff put together with a 15.23 per cent tax increase shocked many people in the community and much of council who had asked for a budget range with a tax increase of between 3.6 and 7.2 per cent.
“What the public needs to know is that the staff have already worked almost on a daily basis to try to make sure they were coming with numbers that are responsible yet not cutting services,” said Councillor Scott Morrison who chairs the Town’s finance committee. The benefit we have as council is that we know the staff, we see how they work. We know that they’re not trying to inflate taxes just to make their job easier. They’re not adding things that they don’t need. So I do know cutting more is going to be a challenge and even asking staff to cut more is virtually impossible because what they bring to the table is already with frugality in mind.”
Morrison did ask staff and members of council to bring any ideas for further reductions forward at the January meeting. Staff was also asked to bring a report to council in January regarding new positions recommended in the parks department.
Items brought forward by members of council in order to reduce the initial tax increase of 15.23 per cent included:
- Delaying a capital contribution of $50,000 for the Madhill public works facility
- The cost of a Roads Needs Study at $70,000 to come from a working funds reserve rather than the levy.
- Using $180,000 from the Municipal Accommodation Tax revenue to offset increases.
- Reduce the Environmental Reserve transfer and bring revenue from the Centre Street property lease into general revenues, in the amount of $444,096.
- Reduce capital contributions for roads in 2024 by $138,650.
- Spread the 2020 Asset Management Plan over 25 years rather than 20, which will result in a levy reduction of about $79,000
In a release issued by the Town of Huntsville following the meeting, staff indicated there were several factors putting upward pressure on the budget, including the following:
- The population of the Town of Huntsville has grown 11% from 2014-2021.
- The cost of materials has risen dramatically, for example, the cost of road building and line painting materials has risen 44-65% from 2021-2023.
- The inflation rate from 2021-2023 was 4.75%, as compared with a rate of only 1.66% from 2018-2020.
- Decrease in COVID relief funding – one-time funding from 2023 (COVID recovery and MAT funding) was removed from the budget, representing a change of 18%.
- Inflationary and increased use of programs and facilities impact on materials and contracted services, representing an increase of 38%.
- Increased funding for ongoing capital costs of 23%.
You can watch the discussions by going to the December 12 Special General Committee stream, HERE.
You can find the 2024 draft consolidated budget, HERE.
Related:
Councillors to tackle a draft budget increase of 15.26% on Dec. 12
Huntsville’s draft budget is currently sitting at a proposed 15.26% tax hike
Tough 2024 budget discussions ahead for Huntsville Council
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Rod jones says
10.98% is still way too much it should be around the cost of living stop spending money stupidity like painting sidewalks and studies on washrooms at the beach,it’s hard enough to live now with interest rates so high and food costs so high if you keep raising the taxes people will just have to move from Huntsville.
ed gruscyk says
To the folks in position of decision making!
Your residents cannot afford large increases.
Many are just hanging on financially at this time.
If u increase the taxes then consider your own salaries as the first area of a decrease.
Council and staff must do a better job of handling the citizens tax dollars.
Where will this stop? Perhaps to a better job at collecting fines and fees from all the folks that are renting out their homes for Air B and B as they are not paying their fair share compared to our local hotels and motels.
Scott Thomas says
10.98% seems like there is still work to be done. Cant keep putting these kinds of increase’s on rate payers.Maybe it’s time to look at other streams of revenue? Casino? Many other municipalities have done just that to increase funding. Now nobody likes to see such things happen, but sometimes you have to look outside the box!
Isabel Wagg says
I agree with rod. Plus Our roads are a disgrace, actually embarrassing Also Theses high rises are ridiculous. How about some tiny homes, affordable. . Road services has declined, like last year pulling hydro off and no hydro at Christmas. We love our town , don’t make it a city.
Allen Markle says
I had just watched on the late news; where Orillia had announced a 1.73 % tax increase. Notification buzzed on my phone telling me that our Huntsville council and staff had wrestled a proposed 16% increase down to an appalling 10.98%!! A 9% difference!
Same province. Same premier. Same inflationary cost of living. Same bank rates. Same sky overhead. But a 9% difference.
Guess as one councilor hinted, they closed their sports facilities and swore off buying aggregate.
Council: you can’t be serious! Can you?
Can you??
Bob Braan says
“A 2.99 percent tax hike has been approved to go along with Gravenhurst’s 2024 budget. ”
Yet Huntsville is 10.98%??? Seriously?
Must be all the pet projects baked in this time.
James ficzere says
This is an absolutely poor financial planning. Do not make yourselves feel good that the initial plan was a 16 percent increase and the team worked hard to get it to 11 percent. Leadership is guiding the town team to deliver a 5 percent or less tax increase ( still way too high but inflation is close to this) and yes you will have to reduce services possibly. Protect health care, schools, police and fire and cut the rest. If folks miss arts, culture, events then fund raise to pay for it. Do not expect the taxpayers to take massive tax increases (10 percent). You are giving your team credit for this? Failure – full stop.
Wendy brown says
I can suggest going to the sunshine list for huntsville and making redundant the top 5 or 10 jobs. And stop doing stupid feasibility studies, have people become so dumb they cant make decisions without spending money to be told what to do. And why are we buying sand and aggregates when we have sand pits or did?
Frank Ferrante says
I have several apts and I am limited to increasing my rents by 2.5%. I have no choice that is all in can increas my rents. Property taxes are a big component on my rental costs. If all i can get is 2.5% increase in rents and i have tolive with it, I think the town should limit there tax increase to 2.5% and live in the same world i live in. Think ab out it. frank
Chas Clark says
The Salary, Bonus and Wages amounts were shown as $15,133,751 for 2022 and forecast as $17,063,005 for 2024, an increase of $1,929,254 or 12.74%. The current rate of inflation in Ontario went from 2.69% in June to 3.6% in September 2023. Let us assume by the end of the year it will be 4%. We are all affected by today’s rising food and living costs and understand that the Town Council has these same increases. However, the proposed reduction from 15.23% to 10.98% is still outrageous and totally unjustifiable and will cause hardship for many of the town’s ratepayers. Alan Markle advised that Orillia had a rate rise of 1.73% and I have seen that Peterborough on Monday approved a 7% rate. If these larger cities and towns can keep the rates down, then so can Huntsville. I would suggest that the Salaries, Bonuses and Wages be revisited, and a 4% increase be applied for the 2024 budget. This would increase the bill by $605,350 to $15,739, 101 and generate a saving of $1,323904. The Town seems to have a substantial number of staff servicing such a small population of 18,000 and I would also instigate a staff review to ensure that only core and essential services were properly managed.
George Rethy says
Simply ridiculous. The staff and councilors should be rightfully wary of their future employment.
Thomas R Spivak says
The Town is only being preemptive in their decision to raise taxes as the individuals working at the higher levels in town hall will be giving themselves raises this year.
We are presumably paying storage on the Mill park washrooms and the inflated cost of their installation.
I’d like to see open books on the town’s finances and why is it that as services like road maintenance get cut we are paying more.
What is the attendance record of our councillors by the way?
Brandon C Peek says
This is a joke, right?
Leslie Garrett says
When I worked and was required to submit a budget, our practice was to start with a zero based budget rather than assume the previous years budget was the base. To me, not using this approach is a significant issue at all levels of government. The assumption that previous budgets are the base from which to build.
Bill Beatty says
Gravenhurst less than 3 ….An acceptable increase …..NEEDS Not WANTS !
David Wexler says
I think that the message from taxpayers in Huntsville is pretty clear…elected representatives…get back to work. You’re not yet done in terms of determining Huntsville’s budget for 2024. If other towns and cities can come in with a budget increase of between 1% and 7%, then Huntsville is out of line with anything over and above this amount.
Being a politician is a thankless job, but it is one that each elected representative sought out. Now it’s time to deserve the trust placed in you by the electorate.
Looking forward to a rethink of the 2024 budget.
Deborah Joselin says
I agree with everyone’s comments why such a high tax increase..by-law needs to crack down on issuing tickets that in its self would generate money..I never see them at all I think they are hiding..people without handicap stickers parking in handicap spaces and they will not move at all or they are parking and doing there shopping without regards to people who really need them..I’ve also seen crews out filling potholes and there are 10 of them all standing around talking with there coffee in hand..salaries are the problem with councillors and upper management..they need to listen to the people of Huntsville on what really needs to be done….
Dan Finch says
We can’t even vote them out without them being re-appointed back in again.
You talk about cutting services for commercial customers such as garbage disposal and then raise our taxes by 10.98%?
Then you Reduce capital contributions for roads in 2024 by $138,650.
You need to fix those roads or people are going to stop visiting here. Better budget for all the tires you’ll need to replace from the potholes you never fix.
Kathryn Henderson says
Tax hike way alway too high. We are just covering our mortgage and groceries. Start by cutting the council and town employee wages and feel the bite us second class citizens are feeling.