Orillia residents are heading into the holidays knowing exactly how much their taxes will rise in 2024.
On Monday, Orillia councillors approved the city's $72.5 million operating and $68.6 million capital budgets for next year. Councillors have recently focussed deliberations on minimizing any impact on taxpayers, as cost of living concerns are high in Orillia, like elsewhere in the province.
Residents will see a 1.73 per cent increase on the tax levy in 2024, with no service cuts and all service levels maintained or improved, says the mayor. That equates to an extra $23 per year for every $100,000 of assessed property value.
"Council set out priorities that were set at the first of the year, and then we passed those on to staff," Mayor Don McIsaac said to CTV News. "Staff have done a Herculean job moving huge amounts of data. We were stuck with some unfortunate circumstances."
The mayor says councillors worked to craft a budget that addressed many of the city's core concerns, including infrastructure improvements and investments in the city's housing supply.
"We set out to work with people on the things that matter: physician recruitment, there's 12,000 people in Orillia who don't have physicians, housing, road construction is important, protecting those that are most vulnerable," McIsaac said. "Those are the things that we set out as priorities; we've stuck with those, and we're able to meet those needs."
Councillors had to contend with an 11 per cent increase in services provided by the County of Simcoe, such as affordable housing and paramedics, and a 6 per cent increase for policing from the OPP. Together, those two account for approximately 25 per cent of the city's operating budget. The 2024 budget also changes the city's water/wastewater and stormwater rates. That will see an additional $80 cost for the average resident.
There will be some changes to the city's transit system. As part of the 2024 budget, a transit pass pilot program will provide free rides for teenagers aged 13 to 19 and a flat rate of $2 for seniors. The changes are part of council's efforts to encourage use of the city's transit system.
Other priorities highlighted as part of the 2024 operating budget include:
- An increase of $225,000 to the Affordable Housing Reserve annual contribution.
- Funding for a poverty reduction strategy.
- Increase of $15,000 for traffic calming and an additional $100,000 for road spot repairs.
On Monday, councillors approved the city's $68.6 million capital budget. Two of the most significant investments include $9.9 million for the second phase of the Laclie Street Reconstruction Project and $12.4 million for the reconstruction of Brian Orser Arena, with the mayor saying ice is at a premium in the Sunshine City.
The mayor says a decision was made not to use the city's reserves to offset the tax increase to better position the city for the future.
"I think our reserves are a little more than adequate right now, but we're in pretty good shape," said McIsaac. "Some are a little short, but most of them are over, so we've got things covered."
