On January 1, 2013, Oakville property owners are going to be paying an extra 1.4% on their blended properties taxes. “Blended” means that those taxes are a combination of Regional, Educational and Municipal Taxes. However, the real increase of the municipal budget is 3.01% which is to be approved on Monday, December 17th; regional taxes will be going up 0.8% and there is no increase for education. Though the blended rate looks in line with the inflation rate of 1.2%, 2013 municipal revenue requires an additional 1.9% . The original municipal budget increase for 2013 was 3.47%.
On January 1, 2013, Oakville property owners are going to be paying an extra 1.4% on their blended properties taxes. “Blended” means that those taxes are a combination of Regional, Educational and Municipal Taxes. However, the real increase of the municipal budget is 3.01% which is to be approved on Monday, December 17th; regional taxes will be going up 0.8% and there is no increase for education. Though the blended rate looks in line with the inflation rate of 1.2%, 2013 municipal revenue requires an additional 1.9% . The original municipal budget increase for 2013 was 3.47%.
In the town budget’s executive summary which is found in the 2013 Budget Book, the real cost of inflation the town faces is 4.46%, which is primarily explained by the 4.7% increase for construction costs, along with an increase of 0.9% in the Municipal Employees Retirement System. So the increase of 3.01% in municipal taxes appears to be a positive step.
So how is the town generating additional revenue? The majority of increases for revenue are achieved by a set of service fees hikes, which range from 0 to 115%. Some of the most significant changes in fees relate to development charges for such things as site plans which are increasing by 51.8%. A 33% increase in parking fees for downtown Oakville will take effect on January 1, and a burial permit is increasing by 43%.
The total debt load carried by the town of Oakville is $60,900,000 of which $14,600,000 is serviced by tax payers and will be reduced by $300,000 by the end of the 2013. Tom Adams, councillor for Ward Six and Chair of the Budget Committee, indicated that the town has healthy reserve funds total $150,000,000, and is one of the few Canadian municipalities where infrastructure is adequately funded. The reserve funds are managed by the town.
Though MPAC valuations for housing have greatly increased this was taken into account, and the mill rate that currently stands at 0.938318% will decrease to make sure that property owners only pay the budget amount approved by council.
The other element that Councillor Adams mentioned was the use of the Town’s on-line Idea Forum for the 2013 Budget process which resulted in several strong ideas and constructive discussions for the Budget. He is hoping that the on-line forum will be used even more over the next year.
If you have a perspective you would like to share please contact:
Councillor Tom Adams: [email protected]
Mayor Burton: [email protected]