The City of Barrie is putting more money into roads and infrastructure and is freezing its operating budget while finalizing the proposed 2023 business plan and budget.
Council has approved the city’s portion of the 2023 budget, which will also increase residents’ annual water bills.
Council approved increasing the contribution to the Dedicated Infrastructure Renewal Fund by one per cent, bringing the total contribution to two per cent for the next three years.
The fund is used to replace and renew roads, infrastructure and buildings.
“I’m proud to say that we’ve delivered a budget for city services that matches the priorities we heard when knocking on doors around Barrie,” says Mayor Alex Nuttall.
The move comes as council also decided to freeze spending on the city’s operating budget for 2023.
“We are focusing only on the essentials, allowing the city to continue to support the services our community needs yet at the same time keeping the tax increase as low as possible,” Nuttall said.
The total increase to the city’s portion of the budget for 2023 for infrastructure renewal translates to an additional $43.61 annually for an average Barrie home.
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Council cancelled the proposed Stormwater Climate Action Fund, and the one per cent added to the infrastructure renewal fund will instead go to maintaining the city’s stormwater infrastructure.
The city said the change would help to mitigate flooding and protect Lake Simcoe.
“Everyone is feeling the pinch right now,” Nuttall said.
“Inflation continues to be high, interest rates are rising, and prices for just about everything have gone up. The city has to keep up with these rising costs to pay for the services people care about, and we’ve managed to do this while minimizing the financial impact on our residents.”
The council also approved a 3.7 per cent increase in water rates and a 5.0 per cent increase in wastewater rates.
City staff say this means the annual water bill will increase by $13.75, and the wastewater bill will increase by $26.54 for a home consuming 180 cubic metres of water annually.
Other budget highlights include additional recreation at several community centres, funding for more snow plows and drivers, more traffic calming measures, and resurfacing 12.4 kilometres of roads.
The residential property tax bill comprises city services, making up 56 per cent of the 2023 budget; service partners, like the library, police and County of Simcoe, making up 32 per cent; and education, accounting for 12 per cent.
Council has direct control over the city services portion of the budget, while it has limited control over service partners and no control over education.
The service partner portion of the budget is expected to be approved on March 8.
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