With so many unknowns in these uncertain times, preparing the 2021 budget has been a "mountain to climb", says director of finance Natalie Moore.
Timmins council had its first look at the 2021 budget this week.
It proposes a net increase of 1.5 per cent ($647,544), which includes a $506,356 increase in the operating budget and a $141,188 increase in the capital budget. It does not include budgets from boards such as Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board, conservation authority, health unit, and others that will also potentially impact the tax levy.
To reduce the budget increase, there is a $250,000 transfer from reserves.
This week's presentation did not include the water and wastewater rate hikes. A meeting to talk about that is tentatively set for early in 2021.
“Preparing a budget with so many unknowns during uncertain times has definitely been our mountain to climb,” said Moore
Estimating the impact of the second wave of the pandemic will have on revenue and expenses has been "very difficult".
“We know we’re not alone in this, this is a global issue so everybody’s facing the same issues and challenges,” she said.
Revenue decreases have been budgeted for facilities and transit.
Timmins Transit is currently running an enhanced Saturday service level.
“For transit the assumption there is that we are going to maintain the current level service that we’re providing right now all throughout 2021,” she said.
The decrease in gross income for transit in the budget is $635,000 (31 per cent).
The drop in income for facilities is $525,000 (30 per cent).
Moore said the assumption there is that only three arenas will be open through 2021.
She also noted some of the positive highlights of this year's budget.
The city received an additional $182,000 from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF). A $30,000 increase in revenue is also expected for mausoleum sales, $600,000 is included for landfill user fee revenue, and the recently-approved biohazard fee could bring in $5,000.
The city has also applied for the second round of provincial COVID-19 relief cash from the province, which is not included in the budget.
In the Administrative Services budget, there is an $82,283 (49.69 per cent) increase in the communication department for a communication manager position. The city currently has a corporate communications coordinator.
This manager position was originally approved in 2019 and the job was posted. CAO Dave Landers said the city was "unable to fill it". Instead, $50,000 was included in last year's budget for a communication strategy.
Landers said the strategic communications plan was delivered just before the pandemic.
“In terms of managing the communications, that became pretty well my full-time job for the next number of months,” he said.
Coun. John Curley asked about the potential for cost-sharing, using Timmins Police as an example.
There are also other organizations with budgets that affect the city with communications staff, such as the Timmins Economic Development Corporation and Porcupine Health Unit.
“Certainly there is a possibility to cost-share on any sort of position such as that. From my point of view, a lot of the questions we get are about transparency and openness. Certainly we’ve been trailing terribly on the communications front in terms of getting the message out on what the city’s doing, how it’s responding to crisis in the community and what’s happening,” he said.
Some of the department highlights for the operating budget are:
- $10,710 decrease in the CAO's budget. The presentation notes this is due to a reduction in consulting fees related to continuous improvement.
- $48,914 (17.62 per cent) increase in enforcement services. According to the presentation, it is for an increase in enforcement services salary levels.
- $81,583 (3.84 per cent) increase in the Information Technology department for extra costs for site refresh and adding remote monitoring management.
- $245,438 (1.52 per cent) increase in public works and engineering for an "increase in bridge maintenance offset by savings in pothole repair due to purchase of Python patcher".
- $238,309 (6.4 per cent) increase for transit because of decreased revenue from COVID-19.
- $654,688 (14.17 per cent ) increase in parks and recreation for decreased revenue because of the pandemic.
- $52.588 (10.47 per cent) decrease in tourism for not rehiring the manager position.
- $211,279 (7.01 per cent) increase at the Golden Manor for wages and benefits increases, new positions, and software cost "with no offsetting increase in funding or resident accommodation rates.
For new staff requests, Public Works is asking to reinstate two roads sub-foremen — one in Timmins and one in South Porcupine, and the museum is asking for an assistant curator, which would be offset by the elimination of the tourism manager position. The Golden Manor is asking for additional staffing for adjuvant, to turn two part-time positions into a full-time position in housekeeping and laundry, and to turn two part-time positions into a full-time dietary aide position.
Some of the major capital purchases with a cost of more than $100,000 included in the proposed 2021 budget are:
- $200,000 for the replacement of flashing at the engineering and human resources building
- $350,000 for IT storage environment
- $200,000 for boiler redesign and replacement at city hall
- $100,000 for storm sewer camera inspections
- $100,000 for landfill improvements
- $200,000 for bus wash refurbishment, which is offset by funding
- $635,000 for a conventional bus, which is offset by funding
- $500,000 upgrade to the transit farebox system, which is offset by funding
- $650,000 for transit terminal design and construction, which is offset by funding
- $400,000 for the Whitewater park splashpad in South Porcupine
- $250,000 for an outdoor multi-use pad at Roy Nicholson Park
- $110,000 for multicourt resurface at the park on Spillenaar
- $250,000 for multicourt resurface at the park on Bannerman
- $160,000 for Gillies Lake bathroom
- $137,000 for accessible playground equipment at the Lonergan park
- $1.3 million for McIntyre headframe repairs, which is partially offset with funding
- $100,000 for asbestos remediation
- $210,000 for siding, ceiling review and repair at the HR Bielek building
- $120,000 for siding at the McIntyre
- $100,000 for a pool building structure study. This to look at mechanical things in the pool area, and a dehumidifier system, explained deputy director of finance Greg Paquette. The city also wants to get a consultant to look at how to redesign spaces to better purpose the changerooms, including family changeroom.
- $100,000 for shower renovations at the McIntyre
- $4.6 million for the Connecting Link, with a funding budget of $3 million
- $200,000 for roads surface treatment
- $900,00 for roads grind and pave
- 100,000 for street lights
- $170,000 for roads vehicle replacement
- $500,000 for Langmuir culvert
- $200,000 for Moose Creek bridge design
- $250,000 for Bruce Avenue bridge design
- $275,000 transfer to future infrastructure
- $250,000 transfer to fire reserve
Before the start of the budget presentation, Mayor George Pirie commented that 2020 has been a tough year and the budget "has been very difficult."
He noted the fundamental tax structure in the city is changing.
“We won’t have the big mines discovered right here within the boundaries of the City of Timmins. We know we will have to be more of a service-focused economy,” he said.
To grow and diversify the economy, he said the difference can't be made up only by cutting.
"We’ve got to get better at what we do within the city, we simply have to get better. It’s the drive behind the competitive improvement initiative that the administration has been leading,” he said.
The four pillars of the economy, he said, are the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan, fiscal and financial stability of the city, economic diversification, and Indigenous platform.
“Everything we look at — ever expenditure we make, every decision we make — has to be seen through these lenses that we’re talking about. So we have a challenge in front of us, but that’s why we sit here in these chairs, that’s why we want to be elected. We embrace that challenge,” he said.
The next budget meeting is slated for Jan. 5.
