Friday, February 7th, 2025

An overflow crowd of at least 80 people filled the Clearview Township Council Chambers for last Thursday’s town hall meeting on the 2012 budget, and when it came time for feedback from the audience, the message was clear: a 4.5 per cent tax increase is too high given the current state of the economy, and the prospect of continued tax increases, year after year, is unacceptable.

“Are we not at the point where the staff should say ‘Ken, these people have nothing left to give?’” said one audience member, referring to Mayor Ken Ferguson. “In my opinion, the brakes need to be put on everything. Hold the line.”

In response, Ferguson maintained that every member of his Council shares the same frustration about the increase, and that a lot of work went into getting it down as low as 4.5 per cent.
The night began with a lengthy presentation from Township treasurer Edward Henley, who explained the months-long process that Council has gone through on this budget. In total, if the 2012 budget is passed as is, the Township will collect $20.5 million from its taxpayers. Of that, $5.7 million will go to Simcoe County (an amount that’s 3.55 per cent higher than what was requested last year) and $4.1 million will go to the School Boards (the same amount as last year). The remaining $10.7 million will go toward specific tax-supported capital and operating costs within the Township’s 2012 budget, which totals $63 million. The rest of the Township’s revenue comes from grants, user fees and reserves.

Henley pointed out that staff had already cut or deferred $4.2 million from the budget, and Council had cut or deferred a further $357,000. He also reminded the public of two large cost increases that the Township had no control over: the Huronia West OPP`s budget includes a $2,310,261 bill for the Township, which is $102,679 higher than last year, and the Simcoe County Waste Management Levy increased by $153,968 to $954,325 in 2012. When $92,000 represents a one per cent increase in the budget, these two raises acount for about half of the this year’s 4.5 per cent increase.

Henley also noted that Clearview has not received the growth that other area municipalities have received, so extra revenue from added taxpayers has been limited.
This explanation wasn`t good enough for those who spoke up at the meeting, however. A consistent theme was that the Township should be looking for ways to make service cuts or at least to deliver its services more efficiently.
“I run a business, and I know that if there’s no growth, the next thing you look at is attrition,” said Creemore resident Murray Lackie. “It’s about efficiency.”

Councillor Shawn Davidson, in response, said the comparison to business is not quite correct, as municipalities are not profit-and-loss organizations. “We are mandated to provide services that we are not allowed to charge for,” he said.

Service cuts are an option, said Davidson, as long as people realize that they will cut into the quality of life of Clearview residents. And they do so differently across demographics. “Young people, who are not represented well here tonight, enjoy our parks and libraries,” he said. “So while some of you might see an opportunity to cut costs in those areas, there are many others who would disagree.”

Throughout the night, members of Council asked those in attendance for ideas about specific line items that could be cut. But the public lobbied for a more comprehensive look at the Township’s operations.

“The principle has been made absolutely clear,” said Creemore resident Ernie Purkis. “You need to adjust your spending to your income, just like all of us here have had to do.”

Councillor Brent Preston agreed that such an exercise may be worthwhile, though he noted that the Township’s staff is already paid less than most of its comparitors in the region. He also warned that the problem is a more systemic one, of rising costs for fuel, hydro and insurance and increased regulations from the Province.

“We might be able to find some efficiencies,” he said, “but we’re not going to find the kinds of savings that will solve the longterm problems that we are seeing.”

Council has one more budget working session planned for Monday, April 16, at which it plans to take comments from the public into consideration. The 2012 budget is then scheduled to be passed at Council’s regular meeting on Monday, April 30.

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