{"id":25543,"date":"2017-01-09T18:01:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T23:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=25543"},"modified":"2017-01-09T18:21:52","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T23:21:52","slug":"whats-in-and-whats-out-highlights-from-the-proposed-2017-draft-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/whats-in-and-whats-out-highlights-from-the-proposed-2017-draft-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s in and what’s out: highlights from the proposed 2017 draft budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

Huntsville’s councillors continued their 2017 budget discussions at today’s General Committee meeting, ending with a proposed $13,510,113 tax levy – a 6.92 per cent increase over 2016. The 2017 draft budget still needs to go before Council at its regular meeting at the end of January and may see some further changes, but as of today here are the highlights of what’s in and what’s out.<\/p>\n

New initiatives<\/strong><\/h4>\n

An increase of $334,854 (up from a proposed $318,389) in operating funding accounts for 2.65 per cent of the overall 6.92 per cent increase. Of that, $165,720 is for new initiatives (up from a proposed $149,255) including:<\/p>\n

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Jeff Suddaby (left) and Kelly Haywood make a deputation to General Committee about the Chamber’s marketing initiative<\/p><\/div>\n

Chamber of Commerce marketing initiative<\/strong> ($50,000, up from budget subcommittee’s recommendation of $0)
\nAlthough the budget subcommittee cut the Chamber’s requested fee for marketing services from the draft budget, several councillors felt that it was a worthwhile expense. Mayor Scott Aitchison in particular spoke passionately about the need for the group’s marketing services while emphatically defending it against a suggestion that perhaps those services should go out for RFP. (Watch for a more in-depth story on Doppler soon.)<\/p>\n

Fund for Council chambers<\/strong> ($20,000, down from budget subcommittee’s recommendation of $30,000)
\nCouncil has, in the past, discussed the need for expanding or moving its chambers<\/a><\/span>. Although a solution isn’t likely until 2019, said Deputy Mayor Karin Terziano, it’s wise to start putting money aside now. After initially voting to leave the funding at $30,000, councillors later voted to remove that amount from the budget and replaced it with $20,000 instead.<\/p>\n

Sports memorabilia display fund<\/strong> ($3,250, up from budget subcommittee’s recommendation of $0)
\nIn support of this funding, Councillor Jonathan Wiebe said, “I think this community continues to produce great performances by great athletes. A small, ongoing amount that can build up over time may be the way to go so that we can show off and be proud of some of our athletes.” He used judoka Jeff Allen, who recently brought home a bronze medal<\/a><\/span> from the World Judo Championships, as an example.<\/p>\n

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Canada Day 150 Celebration <\/strong>($10,000, one-time)
\nIt’s Canada’s sesquicentennial and that calls for a bigger Canada Day celebration than usual. The town’s grant for fireworks ended in 2016 so it has earmarked $10,000 for this year’s celebration with a minimum of $8,000 of that to be spent on fireworks. Any other celebrations will be paid for with grants.<\/p>\n

Staff well-being fund<\/strong> ($3,500)
\nMany municipalities and the District of Muskoka have a fund for staff appreciation, noted the Town’s CAO Denise Corry, and this ongoing fund could be used for annual events like a staff barbecue or Christmas party. Councillor Bob Stone, for one, was in favour of the expense saying, “I think this is a small amount for great reward. Our people work hard. This is a pat on the back and I think that\u2019s hugely important.”<\/p>\n

Increase to Parks operating budget for miscellaneous repairs and maintenance projects<\/strong> ($20,000)
\nRather than have a number of requests brought forward to council, this increase is intended to apply to ongoing small fixes throughout the year that aren\u2019t foreseen.<\/p>\n

Heraldic Arms design<\/strong> ($5,000, one-time)
\nThe Town of Huntsville doesn’t have a heraldic arms (or coat of arms) but it wants one.<\/p>\n

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New initiatives with no tax implications<\/h4>\n

New initiatives that will be funded from other sources like grants, the gas tax, and reserves, and therefore have no impact on this year’s tax levy, include:<\/p>\n