Five per cent tax increase proposed in draft budget

November 7, 2024 · 0 Comments

Shelburne council presented with $10.8 million shortfall to be covered by taxation

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Shelburne Town Council is looking at a five per cent increase in the tax rate for its 2025 draft budget.

Carey Holmes, director of financial services and treasurer for the Town of Shelburne, presented a detailed report on the 2025 draft budget for the public during council’s regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 4.

The estimated amount to be raised by taxation in 2025 is just over $10.8 million, calculated by taking the total operating expenses of $13.6 million for 2024 and subtracting the revenues of around $2.7 million.

The total estimate for the 2025 general operating expenses of $13,655,223 is split up amongst 10 expenditures: general government and town hall ($3,050,951); council and committees ($185,303); planning and development ($1,410,142); police protection ($1,129,409); fire protection ($880,622); other protective services ($679,515); operations, waste management and storm ($2,690,316); cemetery ($167,134); recreation and culture ($1,596,317); and a one-time transfer to reserves ($1,865,513).

Some of the increase in expenses is the result of three additional staff positions in the town, which include a part-time bylaw officer position moving to full-time, a bylaw administrative assistant and a part-time landscaper. The town has also budgeted to include Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) based on a revenue-neutral structure.

One general expense the Town of Shelburne is expected to see a decrease in for the 2025 budget is police services. In 2024, the total billing cost for OPP services was just over $3.1 million and in 2025, the cost has come in at $1.6 million for a total savings of roughly $1.5 million.

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“During the costing that the consultant did in 2021, it was estimated that we would experience a significant saving, and this is the first year that we have now transitioned to the cost recovery methodology,” said Holmes. “At the time we did the costing, the consultant projection was $1.5 million, so our savings is what we have projected.”

The Town of Shelburne also received a reconciliation credit of $666,072 from the OPP from 2023, making to total savings of $2.2 million.

It was recommended to take $359,000 from the saving in order to keep the tax rate increase under five per cent.

The remaining $1.8 million in savings was transferred to an unrestricted reserve.

“Staff have not yet prepared a report on any type of recommendation to council on how to utilize that savings,” said Holmes. “It won’t be just a one-year savings, we will see that every year form now on, unless the OPP significantly increase their billing cost.”

The homeowner tax impact of a five per cent increase for the 2025 budget, based on an average single-family home assessment of $335,366, amounts to an additional $138 annually or $11.54 per month on the town portion.

The presentation from Holmes showed residents a detailed breakdown of where $1 of a taxpayer’s money goes: $0.09 to Police Protection, $0.17 for the one-time transfer to reserves, $0.25 to Operations, $0.14 to Recreation and Culture, $0.09 to Planning and Development, $0.08 to Fire Protection, $0.11 to General Government and Town Hall, $0.05 to Other Protective Services, and $0.02 to Council and Committees.

The 2025 budget addresses a number of capital projects, including $101,311 for upgrades to the lighting and HVAC as well as an additional vehicle for the bylaw department; $782,412 for paving, roads’ needs, drainage cleanout and the cemetery needs; $2,398,072 to spend on new equipment, replacements, a workshop expansion and cold storage; and $4,880,726 to go towards projects identified in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

The entire budget for phase one of the Fiddle Park redevelopment is based on a project cost of $3.69 million, which included in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan section of Shelburne’s 2025 draft budget.

The 2024 budget totals $8,186,211 for the listed capital projects.

Water and Sewer capital projects total just over $2.5 million for 2024. The projects associated with water include continued changes to Well #1 and Well #9, replacing a 2008 water truck and repainting the exterior of the old water tower. Sewer capital projects consist of the continued engineering design for the waste pollution control plant and the replacement of sewer camera equipment.

Shelburne Town Council is expected to adopt a motion for the 2025 Budget at the Nov. 25 meeting and adopt a by-law as of Dec. 9.