Norfolk County’s 2023 operating budget remains a work in progress but councilors will get some clarity prior to the Christmas break, the county’s CAO said Tuesday.
“Councillors will remember that in the summer we were projecting about a nine percent tax increase,” Al Meneses said at Tuesday budget meeting. “Staff are continuing to work to bring that number down while identifying all of our current pressures.
“So the number (tax increase) is a work in progress.”
County staff were expected to meet and review the budget on Wednesday.
Plans call for councilors to receive a draft 2023 operating budget prior to the Christmas break. They will have the opportunity to review the draft budget over the holidays in preparation for budget deliberations in January.
In addition to financial pressures such as inflation, councilors will also have to consider funding requests from departments and organizations supported by the county. At Tuesday’s meeting, councilors heard from representatives of the Lynnwood Arts Center in Simcoe, the Downtown Simcoe Business Improvement Area (BIA), SCOR EDC (Economic Development Corporation and Norfolk County Public Library.
Lynnwood is asking the county for $60,000 in support in 2023 up from $50,000 in 2022. The request includes $10,000 for appraisal fees to have an art collection returned to Lynnwood.
The arts centre, which was known as the Norfolk Arts Center for 20 years, is now operated by a board of directors. It closed in February 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and re-opened its doors in 2022.
Jamie Gunn, treasurer of the Lynnwood board of directors, told councilors that the arts center has had a successful re-opening and is looking forward to building on that success in 2023.
“We recognize that there are challenges in supporting the plan for Lynnwood,” Gunn told councilors. “But we’re well on our way to meeting our goals of increased community engagement and financial stability.”
Lynnwood’s 2023 budget calls for spending of $296,593 against revenues of $236,593. Most of its funding comes from federal and provincial grants, fees and rental revenue, program revenue and fund-raising initiatives.
The Simcoe Downtown BIA’s 2023 budget includes $185,400 from the Norfolk County levy. The figure is the same as was received from the county in 2022, representing a net zero increase.
However, the Downtown BIA is requesting an increase in the grant it receives from the county for garbage collection in the downtown core to $14,000 in 2023 from $10,000 in 2022.
The BIA is also requesting $10,000 to provide part-time bylaw enforcement services in the downtown. The service would address parking issues as well as the illegal dumping of waste by downtown tenants.
Meanwhile, the Norfolk County Public Library is requesting a total budget increase of $174,300.
The increase includes an additional $82,200 to the library’s base budget to ensure it meets its contractual obligations. It also includes a $92,100 new budget initiative to help the library reduce and possibly eliminate disruptions to service.
The public library’s budget calls for spending of $3,205,500 in 2023 and includes projected revenues of $296,200. In total, the library is looking for $2,909,300 from the county for 2023.
South Central Ontario Regional Economic Development Corp. is a partnership that includes Norfolk and neighboring counties including Brant, Elgin, Middlesex and Oxford counties.
The counties pay a $25,000 membership fee, share resources and work together on various economic development issues including regional transportation.
The previous council decided to opt out of SCOR with 2022 being the last year for the county’s membership.
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