The 2015 Budget and Business Plan is on the agenda for our January 26th Council meeting. I encourage you to review it and let me know if you are satisfied with the work plan and what is being proposed for a property tax increase.  King is going through a significant change; with the increased population and the expectations of the population, as a whole, for better services we cannot continue to operate the same way.  We have the benefit of our assessment growth (i.e. more people) which will pay for 70% of the proposed increased budget; the remainder is to be paid by an increase in property tax.  For an average property with an assessed value of $614,000, the increase is about $72.00/year.

I believe that the proposed budget is a reasonable, measured one. It is consistent with the various strategies developed and approved  in the last term of Council. It does not propose to address all identified gaps in service in one strike; but it is a good beginning.   The plan shows a total increase in budget of 13.6%; the portion to be funded by a tax increase is 3.9%.

You can review the budget and business plan here.  (Note:  If your focus is only on the changes (new services) being proposed you can limit your reading to the “program changes” section in the budget and business plan.)

Before commenting on the plans for 2015 I want to point out that Township Staff have proposed a budget which shows that if we maintain status quo (i.e. no changes in service), this could be done with virtually no tax increase (<1%).  I am proud to be working with this caliber of Staff.

And I am proud that Staff understands what needs to be done to ensure that King continues to be a place people want to live and work in and that we have an infrastructure to support this.  And when I say “infrastructure” I don’t just mean roads and pipes.  We need qualified, knowledgeable Staff too; hence the proposed increase of 8 in Staff complement.  In 2015 it is proposed to replace 4 contract jobs with permanent positions; the lack of continuity in these roles creates inefficiencies and reduces success in revenue generation.   (Because there have been contractors, the impact on budget for these 4 new staff members is small.)  3 of the 8 are new positions required to respond to increased work created by our growing population, and new demands such as One Call.

And there is  a recommendation to hire a communications specialist.  I know that this proposal has raised some concerns.  First, to clarify:  there is no intention for this person to be the spokesperson for me or any other Council member.  This person is to be the “voice ” of the municipality, so to speak.  As a municipality our presence on social media is inconsistent and accordingly is poor.  We have an increasing number of new residents with whom we need to get engaged; effective social media would help significantly.  (But its not just for the new residents; I have received complaints about our low Twitter exposure from long time King City residents.)  Too often important notices are not on our website, or in the right place.  We lack expertise in using the right communication tools.  It could be argued that we can put this off until next year; I don’t agree.

$91,000 is proposed to be added to the budget to further the beautification of the cores of our 3 villages.   With this new funding we will be able to plan for replacement/installation of street furniture, restoration of gateway signs as required, way-finding signage, increase in seasonal decoration initiatives.

As I have written about before, we are vulnerable in terms of our ability to respond to emergencies because our reserves are inadequate. And, we are not contributing adequately to reserves for replacing our infrastructure (water and waste water pipes and pumps) in the future; this future need is significant as our investment in infrastructure is $450 million.   The 2015 Finance work plan includes creating a reserve fund strategy; in the interim it is proposed to contribute about $722,000 in 2015.

Demands for capital are huge for King.   For 2015 the budget includes projects totaling $7.18 million with $1.84 million coming from taxes.  In 2014 we started adding $1.5million for capital from taxes; for 2015  it is proposed to add another $300,000 to the capital program.  Delaying some of the projects is not a responsible decision as we have already a huge backlog of projects.  (We are in this situation as property tax dollars were not allocated to capital for several years; there was sole reliance on development charges, grants, gas tax.  Although these sources continue to be extremely critical they are not adequate.)  The 10 year forecasted capital requirements total $179 million;  and at this stage there is no assurance of the magnitude of  funding sources other than property taxes.

To see what capital projects will be done in 2015 please refer to the 10 year capital plan in the  2015 budget and business plan.  As I said earlier we are not fixing everything in 2015.  And indeed, once again we are not repairing the roads in King Station which were not properly finished when the sewers were put in.  When I review the proposed 2015 projects I cannot argue that King Station roads are a greater priority. (Estimated cost for Burns and Findlay is about $1 million.)  They are on the 2016 plan but to confirm, it is only the 2015 projects which are to be approved at this stage.

• To close:  I know the headlines in the papers will be all about a 3.9% increase in property tax.  Before you say it is not acceptable I would ask that you consider what projects, what services will be delivered to the citizens & businesses of King with this increase.  And, I would ask you to consider what the magnitude of the increase really means; for a property with an assessed value of $614,000, the increase is about $72/year. 

I hope to hear from you; and for sure you are very welcome to come to Council on 1/26 to express your point of view.