Council passes 2014 budget

Council approved a 2014 operating budget of $46.4 million, representing a 1.62 per cent tax increase for residents, at tonight’s special meeting of Council.

“I am very pleased that we were able to keep the 2014 tax increase below 2 per cent,” said Mayor Angelo Orsi. “Faced with budget expenditures beyond our control, City staff and Council worked diligently to find significant savings without compromising our level of service to residents.”

Residents with an average house assessment of $225,000 will see an increase in municipal taxes of approximately $41.52 in 2014. An anticipated reduction in provincial education taxes may result in a further reduction to the net tax increase for Orillia.

In July, the City’s tax increase was estimated at 4.1 per cent in light of the increased cost of policing. Aggressive targets met by City staff reduced that initial estimate to 2.8 per cent by the time Council saw the budget in November. After budget deliberations in December, Council reduced the 2014 budget even further, resulting in the approved 1.62 per cent increase.

City departments conducted an extensive review of budgets to find savings through efficiencies and better use of resources. This process contributed significantly to absorbing inflationary increases to operating costs.

Expenditures beyond the City’s control include the Ontario Provincial Police at $8.8 million in 2014 – a $750,000 increase over last year.

The 2014 budget will also see an increase of $700,000 to reserves for future projects.  Included in the reserve funding is an ongoing contribution to the Industrial Development Charge moratorium.  This program will continue to allow industrial development to occur without the cost of development charges.

The 2014 capital budget is $10.7 million, which will keep the City’s assets in a state of good repair and accommodate Orillia’s growing population with necessary capital expenditures. Capital project highlights include the Coldwater Road reconstruction from West Street to 100 metres west of Patrick Street at $3.75 million and the annual road resurfacing program at $690,000.

The City of Orillia is a city of 30,586 people in the heart of Central Ontario on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website at orillia.ca.

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Roman Martiuk
Chief Administrative Officer
705-329-7240
rmartiuk@orillia.ca

Jennifer Ruff
Manager of Communications
705-325-8929
705-238-9209 (cell)
jruff@orillia.ca