By Stephen Vance, Editor
It’s the first week of December, and we’re already on the verge of having next year’s municipal budget finalized and approved by Meaford’s council.
What is unfortunate about this year’s budget season is that the fact that it has been the smoothest budget process in the last five years, and the proposed tax increase is miniscule when compared to the significant and painful increases over the last four years, and more money will be spent on roads and bridges in 2014 than we’ve seen in years, yet for some in the community this budget represents a huge failure on behalf of Meaford’s council and staff.
That is a shame because, while there is no denying that Meaford ratepayers have had to dig deeper into their pockets over the last four years than they should have had to in order to pay annual property tax increases that would have indeed been excessive if not for the fact that the reality was that Meaford – for whatever reason anyone wants to attribute – was in a deep financial hole with an accumulated deficit of more than $3 million that according to Ontario law had to be dealt with immediately as municipalities are not allowed to carry deficits.
Just about the only option Meaford had at the time was to drain the municipal reserves, which put Meaford in a financial pickle – that money had to be recovered somehow lest Meaford be faced with any sort of urgent need for funds – a major bridge repair for example – and with no money in the till be forced to take on additional debt – something the current council and municipal administration are trying to avoid at all costs.
The problem was real, the solution was painful, and some Meaford residents are suffering as a result. Nobody could deny that with a straight face.
So it has been interesting to see and hear vocal opponents to the proposed 2014 budget. Interesting because, nearly every reasoned criticism and complaint raised by residents at the three public input sessions are real and valid, meaning that no matter how council and staff approached this budget season, they were in a no win situation.
While this is a budget that in any other community, or without the past five painfully expensive years for Meaford ratepayers would have been deserving of applause – especially considering that not only did staff do exactly what council asked of them by producing a budget with a maximum increase of two percent – they managed to do so while also incorporating a whopping $300,000 increase in policing costs for 2014 – a cost that Meaford has virtually no control over, and no ability to negotiate – though Meaford has wisely sought a proposal from the Owen Sound Police Service, though it would seem incredible if Owen Sound could provide policing to Meaford with much in the way of financial savings given that policing costs are not just a Meaford problem – earlier this year the CBC reported that across Canada policing costs have doubled in the past 15 years.
Included in the budget documents are projections for coming years. Those projections, if correct, will see Meaford’s long-term debt slashed from nearly $10 million today to less than $6 million five years from now.
Given the public outcry in the 2010 municipal election campaign over Meaford’s debt level, this is an achievement that council and staff should be proudly highlighting.
For Meaford’s council though, the successes and achievements contained in the proposed budget for 2014 are meaningless to many in the community, especially for rural residents who no longer trust this council.
The lack of trust in this council has been well earned as in the first two years councillors seemed to shy away from voicing opinions, responding to angry residents, or to understanding that they are the bosses in Meaford, not the CAO.
As a result, the optics of the first two years of this council were not great, with many feeling that this council was not as transparent as they should be, nor as responsive as many would have liked them to be.
If we can all accept those things as fact, we need to also accept something else as fact.
This council, as flawed as it may be perceived to be, is a different council than we saw in 2010. This council has been bombarded with angry residents since taking office, but true to their promises in the 2010 campaign, they stayed the course with the five-year plan in order to right Meaford’s financial ship, and even managed to end that strategy a year early.
This is a good budget.
Many of the complaints from residents are valid.
Two truths that don’t quite mesh.
This budget represents progress.
Rural residents in this amalgamated municipality have gotten the short end of the stick time and time again and they are paying for urban services when they want a simple, rural life.
Two more truths that don’t quite mesh.
Yes, there are problems with this council, but this budget isn’t one of them. Complaints about this budget are a symptom of a much greater problem – an urban-rural friction that will no doubt factor greatly in next year’s municipal election.
