2016 Budget work is well underway. In addition to dates I provided in an earlier post two forums have been scheduled for the public to ask questions, make comments:  Tuesday, December 8 7-9PM in Council Chambers in King City and Saturday, December 12 10AM-noon in Dr. William Laceby Arena & Community Centre in Nobleton.  People can go to either or both if interested.

To put perspective on the budget work:  2015 budget was for $30 million.  Impact of a $200,000 decision is 1 property tax point.

At the November 2nd Council working session our Finance Director provided Council with some valuable background information about capital requirements and reserves. Since 2012 we have been allocating tax dollars to our capital programs (in 2015 we  allocated $1.8 million) to enable us to do much needed maintenance across the township.  As we continue to have a very big backlog of work I anticipate that we will continue to do so.

He also provided summary of the input Council members had provided on priorities–see below. As we work through the budget, decisions about these changes to current work plans will be made.

• relocation of Municipal Offices
• reinvestment in municipal infrastructure…namely roads (deferred maintenance and safety concerns);
• parks, playing fields and recreational equipment;
• sidewalks within the village core areas;
• signalized intersections & streetlights
• energy efficiency upgrades at facilities
• extended hours of operation , specifically by-law enforcement.

As I indicated earlier the 1st draft budget will be presented at Council on December 14; and there is a target date for approval on January 25.  Information as to what will be presented at each of these meetings will be available on Township web a few days before each of those days, specifically December 10 and January 21.