The 2023 draft budget for Peterborough County begins with an eight per cent tax levy increase but with several options to drop it.
County council will meet on Feb. 2 to hear a presentation from staff on the draft budget. A tax levy increase of eight per cent would equate to approximately $80 per average single-family home, or approximately $30 per $100,000 of assessment.
Peterborough County includes the townships of Selwyn, Asphodel-Norwood, Douro-Dummer, Cavan-Monaghan, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen and North Kawartha, and the Municipality of Trent Lakes.
The extensive report cites a total budget of more than $100 million — comprised of $69.8 million for the operating budget (a 4.81 per cent increase over 2022) and $32.4 million for capital projects (a 3.21 per cent increase). The total tax levy required to support both the operating and capital budgets is $54.8 million — or approximately $4 million over 2022.
Big contributors to the operating budget boost are salaries and benefits ($36 million), hikes in contracted services (mainly due to fuel costs) and a reduction in provincial grants, the draft report notes.
The report says inflation and the “lasting impacts” of the COVID-19 pandemic are impacting the operations and the financial outlook for 2023.
“The high inflation has impacted the County,” the draft report states. “Recent purchasing awards are exceeding 2022 budget forecasts. Inflation, supply chain disruptions and labour shortages are all causing upward pressure on County operations, and the 2023 proposed budget has been adjusted to reflect current market conditions.”
Tax levy options
To reduce the initial eight per cent tax levy, staff have provided several options for council to consider that, when combined, would reduce the tax levy to 5.72 per cent.
One option is to use “Safe Restart” funding from the province which was allocated to assist municipalities during the pandemic. The draft budget says the county has $220,000 of uncommitted funding remaining.
Staff recommend the funding could be used again in 2023 to offset the tax levy impact of the Provincial Offences Act budget of $220,297. But staff caution that if Provincial Offences revenue does not return to pre-pandemic levels, the result will create pressure on the 2024 budget. The choice would reduce the tax levy increase by 0.43 percent points.
Another option is to use over $309,000 in uncommitted funds from the 2020 surplus to reduce the tax levy impact on the 2023 capital and projects budget for a number of projects. The result would trim the tax levy impact by 0.61 percent points, the report notes.
Another option to reduce the tax levy by 1.24 per cent is to use $7.1 million uncommitted from the county’s “Working Fund” to fund two remaining tax levy projects that are not road/structure related: a landfill land improvement project and a Peterborough County-City paramedics narcotics safe.
Staff say they do not recommend three other options which are further use of reserves, the use of debt, or a blanket operating reduction.
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