City Budget 2022: Council trims tax rate increase to 2.8%
Council wielded a surgical knife trimming the proposed tax rate increase from 3.8 percent to 2.8 percent in the 2022 municipal budget.
The increase represents an additional $86 next year on the average home assessed for tax purposes at $241,000 in 2019.
Among the budget changes backed by council:
- $3.7M in savings found by civic administration across many departments and programs to ‘right-size’ budgets
- Annual increase of $640,000 to cover inflationary costs at the Middlesex-London Health Unit
- Increasing fines for illegal parking in private lots patrolled by municipal by-law officers rise $15, generating $100,000 more revenue
- Accepted $2.8M in one-time savings because of pandemic impacts to Childcare and Ontario Works
- $580,000 one time support for RBC Place Convention Centre anticipating pandemic impacts in 2022
- $650,000 reduction in ongoing expenditures aimed at slowing the growth of the municipality’s infrastructure gap
- $100,000 reduction to city hall’s Athletic Travel Grants
- $258,000 reduction to annual proactive boulevard tree trimming and reduced grass trimming to naturalize more park space
Councillors clashed over the reduction of funds to slow the growing infrastructure gap, a decision that only shaves 0.1 percent off the tax rate increase.
“The proposal here is to make a permanent reduction,” said Councillor Stephen Turner who acknowledged the financial plight of many taxpayers. “But over 10 years, it’s $6 million taken out of our infrastructure maintenance funds.”
Ultimately, the reduction was approved 10 to 5.
“To me this is all about the choices we make when budgeting,” explained Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan. “There’s some flexibility to this one, but you got to be very conscious of the long-term impacts.”
The greatest single source of savings in 2022, $3.7 million, comes from an internal review of departmental budgets performed by civic administration.
Several councillors said those savings were a direct result of London’s multi-year budget process.
“Having staff free to examine the budget very deeply and looking for where cost savings can be found,” said Councillor Maureen Cassidy.
Budget reductions proposed by civic administration to a pair of popular programs were rejected by council.
- $10,000 will not be removed from the Neighbourhood Small Events Fund
- $250,000 will not be removed from the Neighbourhood Decision Making Program
There was unanimous support for a $25.9 million capital project to begin electrifying London Transit’s fleet of buses.
The electric bus proposal does not have an impact on the tax rate.
“Make the buses quieter, better for the environment, and save money in the long run,”said Councillor Jesse Helmer. “This is really the first step to moving forward on a really good overall idea.”
The financial impact of next year’s increase to minimum wage is still being evaluated, but the city treasurer believes the impact can be absorbed within existing departmental budgets in 2022.
This year’s budget update represents year three of city hall’s 2020-2024 multi-year budget.
A 2.8 percent tax rate increase lowers the average annual tax increase over the four-year budget to a still hefty 3.6 percent.
Council will finalize the 2022 Budget Update at a meeting on December 21.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.