A few councillors also expressed their belief that the rate of inflation can no longer apply as the tax increase standard for a municipality facing growth like Milton.

Budget cuts made

Through hours of debate, councillors looked for ways to bring the proposed tax increase down from seven per cent, meticulously going over what staff refers to as a decision package, which contains items that could be removed from the budget if council saw fit.

But before the debate even got going, Ward 4 Councillor Rick Malboeuf took exception to the items contained in the decision package, such as summer camps, the hiring of three new firefighters and Town weed control.

He suggested that instead things like new transit routes, Saturday bus service and potential savings at facilities like the arts centre and velodrome should instead be on the chopping block.

He proceeded to pick several items out of the decision package and made motions to remove them from the budget, with some passing, like a $100,000 reduction in the transfer to library reserves.

But other motions Malboeuf made failed, including ones to do away with the creation of two kilometres of bike lanes in the older parts of Milton at a cost of $81,648 and the expansion of evening transit service to 11 p.m., which would’ve saved $103,783.

The budget proposed the hiring of 20 new Town staff, including three firefighters – an overall number that raised concerns for Krantz and Local and Regional Councillor Colin Best. Through various motions, the committee reduced this number to 17 new employees, eliminating one proposed IT position and two in facility maintenance.

By the end of Monday evening, the proposed tax increase was down to 5.94 per cent — a figure that still wasn’t low enough for most councillors, who voted down the budget at that point 9-2.

Councillors sharpened their pencils and looked for more cuts to make during night two of the debate.

Best put the bike lane cut back on the table, but suggested only reducing the cost by $40,000 so that one kilometre of lanes in established neighbourhoods could still be built next year.

“I am in favour of bike lanes, but I’m trying to find a way of getting the tax rate down,” he said.

But Ward 1 Councillor Robert Duvall suggested amending the motion to remove the full amount, which was ultimately supported by the majority of council.

Best’s other budget cut suggestions failed in a series of tied votes, including motions to reduce the budget for roadside brush clearing and transit, and delay the hiring of a new communications advisor.

A final motion from Local and Regional Councillor Mike Cluett to reduce Town facility preventative maintenance by $100,000 brought the proposed tax increase down to 5.3 per cent.

In a last-ditch effort to reduce that figure even further, Krantz suggested selling off surplus Town property on Dublin Line to offset the tax increase. But the suggestion wasn’t warmly welcomed.

“Using Town assets to subsidize the operating budget of the Town — that’s as fiscally irresponsible as you can get,” said Ward 7 Councillor Rick Di Lorenzo, noting that profits from surplus land sales are supposed to be into the Town’s property reserve fund.

“We’re selling the furniture to pay the hydro bill,” remarked Malboeuf.

While the councillors around the table agreed the land should be declared surplus, a motion to use the profits to offset the operating budget failed.

Rural transit pilot added

A few items were also added to the budget during the meeting, like Ward 5 Councillor Arnold Huffman’s proposal for a one-year pilot of a quarterly information insert that would be distributed with Milton Hydro bills to deliver Town-related news, bolstering the municipality’s communications with residents at a cost of $20,500.

Ward 8 Councillor Zeeshan Hamid also made a motion that passed to investigate a four-month rural transit pilot program, with an associated price tag of $150,000 that would be funded through the Town’s slots reserve fund.

“We’ve heard a lot from rural residents about transit. They pay for it, they want to see it,” said Hamid.

Ward 3 Councillor Cindy Lunau voiced her support for the concept, noting it’s a service request that’s come up again and again from rural residents in budget survey responses and consultations.

Cluett said he would support the pilot as long as it doesn’t impact taxes, noting that Campbellville business owners will be “doing cartwheels.”

But the idea wasn’t welcomed by all, like Krantz, who said he predicts the rural transit route won’t be successful if it continues after the trial period.

And Malboeuf — always vocal in his opposition to transit — said he would support the initiative, but expressed concern about the program ultimately landing on the tax base if it becomes a permanent route.

When it came time to vote on the overall budget, Malboeuf and Lunau both said they would be “holding their noses” while voting in favour.

“I’m so profoundly disappointed that we failed to reverse the removal of the urban tax levy,” said Lunau. “I will support the budget, but not without concern and recognition of the impact on our rural residents that is disproportionate to the services they will receive.”

Hamid pointed to the funds allocated in the budget for rural projects, like investments in Campbellville Park and roadside brush clearing.

“It’s not that council isn’t thinking of the rural area, but now we’re looking at Milton as a whole,” he said. “Overall, I understand the pain, but that decision was in the past. Next year, we’re all going to feel the exact same pain.”

While a couple councillors asked if the urban tax levy phase out issue could be looked at again, Town Clerk Troy McHarg explained that an item can only be reconsidered once per term, and that already happened earlier this year.

When the municipal tax bill is combined with Region and education taxes, urban Miltonians will be paying an additional $17.05 per $100,000 of assessment next year and rural residents will be dishing out $31.48 more per $100,000 of assessment.

The 2017 budget will go before Town Council for final approval Monday.



