Budget deliberations begin with 10.6% increase

With a 10.6 per cent increase in Clearview Township’s annual budget, council members will be looking to make cuts before it is presented to the public in January.

This week, council members sat through two budget workshops where they heard from various departments about planned spending in 2025.

CAO John Ferguson noted staff has tried to keep the budget from going too high too quickly but with rising costs in supplies and services, including an additional $500,000 for policing, some increases are beyond staff’s control.

“It’s not necessarily where we wanted to be,” said treasurer Kelly McDonald.

The municipality also collects taxes on behalf of the County of Simcoe, which is looking at a 3.625 per cent increase, and education taxes, which are estimated to hold steady.

When factoring in all tax streams the municipality calculates a blended tax rate, which was sitting at 7.06 per cent at the start of budget deliberations.

On Dec. 4, council members will have a chance to make changes to the budget before asking for public comment.

Council members have been asked to mull over the staff-proposed budget, keeping in mind the township’s strategic priorities, and bring their proposed changes to the next meeting where they will be put to a vote. Council will need to cut $195,594 for every one per cent reduction.

The budget acts as a roadmap for projects and services that may be seen in communities down the road.

Some of the highlights include:

Parks and recreation

The proposed budget increases the capital funding requirement from taxation by $285,000 and increases the operating budget by $46,471.

Stayner Facilities and Parks

• Re-purpose baseball diamond infield, $40,000
• Replace and repair existing playground equipment, $50,000
• Replace bleachers, $10,000
• Add a community garden maintenance shed at the the Eco-Park, $10,000
• Repair to metal roof at the tourism building, $120,000

Creemore Facilities and Parks

• Replace and repair existing playground equipment, $10,000
• Three to five outdoor pickle ball courts behind the arena, $100,000 (a letter of intent was received from seven community members who will manage the courts)
• Replace bleachers at Gowan Park, $10,000
• Modernize arena hall, $50,000
• Staff is thinking about ordering a new electric ice re-surfacer for Creemore in 2026

Nottawa, New Lowell, Dunedin Facilities and Parks

• Replace and repair existing playground equipment, $40,000
• Repair New Lowell parking lot, $20,000 Carry over from last budget
• Replace existing skateboard park amenities in Stayner, $100,000
• Add a new fully accessible playground at Stayner arena, $200,000
• Creemore Curling Club ceiling repair, $15,000 • McKean Park development, $100,000
• $100,000 for tennis and pickle ball courts across from town hall in Stayner
• $30,000 trail construction (from taxation)

Fire

• Defibrillator replacement, $25,000
• Portable Radio Replacement (phase 1), $30,000
• PPE/Equipment/Hose, $90,000

Public works

• Stayner infrastructure projects totalling $ 98,319,000
• Creemore infrastructure projects totalling $28,292,000
• Large equipment needs for 2025, $1,350,000
• Increasing equipment transfer to reserve from $100,000 to $300,000 needed to ensure that funding is there for large equipment replacement.
• Centreline Road reconstruction – County Road 9 to Concession 7 Phase 1 ($4.2 million)
• Ongoing work on the Collingwood Street bridge replacement
• Brock Street culvert replacement ($600,000)
• Increase stormwater maintenance reserve by $300,000

Administration

• Increase transfer to the Affordable Seniors Housing Reserve by $100,000 to $200,000, bringing the reserve balance to $700,000.

Information Services

• $100,000 for annual computer equipment updates, servers, and networking equipment Clerks department
• Proposing $15,000 in the 2025 budget for agenda management software for council meetings as well as committee and board meetings with many new features available related to live-streaming and scheduling.

Policing