The city is receiving $2.7 million less grant money from the province this year than it did in 2015, as part of the Liberal government's plan to cut $25 million a year from its budget for all municipalities.
But members of the city's finance and administration committee were told Wednesday that the good news is this is the last year the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund will be slashed. The cuts were phased in over four years, beginning in 2012.
Councillors heard from several departments Wednesday, as they work through the process of approving the $518 million city budget for 2016. Four departments presented their budgets, with budget chief Ed Stankiewicz saying this is a particularly challenging year.
Along with the $2.7 million cut from the province and other pressures, the city is forecasting a 3.67 per cent tax increase this year. There was a mix of good and bad news Wednesday as departments gave details of their budgets.
On the plus side, overall capital reserve funds were about the same as last year, despite the draw on the funds to help pay for the tax freeze.
Stankiewicz said that's because of higher-than-expected capital gains from bond sales, and added revenue from development charges.
And Ian Wood, head of the Greater Sudbury Development Corp., said the long-awaited casino process is picking up steam again.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission has issued the request for proposals to build casinos in the Northern Gaming Bundle, which includes Sudbury.
“We will be working with them in the coming months,” Wood said, adding some potential bidders are already contacting them for information.
The OLG is expected to attend a meeting next month to update councillors on the process. In 2012, the previous city council passed a motion supporting a casino for Sudbury, and said it would like it to include a new arena and convention centre.
Four sites were designated as the preferred areas to build: downtown, the South End, The Kingsway and at at Sudbury Downs, where the current slots facility is located.
After the meeting Wednesday, Mayor Brian Bigger said there were no immediate plans for this council to debate the casino issue again. But he said it will be a long time before the OLG completes the RFP process.
“We're talking at least 12 months,” Bigger said.
Other highlights from Wednesday's meeting:
Guido Mazza, the city's top building official, said a slowdown in the construction industry meant the city gained less money than forecast from building permits. Many projects were delayed, he said, including a Hilton Hotel that's planned for The Kingsway.
Previous commitments to the city's cancer treatment centre and HSN is costing the city $1 million a year, until 2023;
Commitments to LU's school of architecture will cost another $1 million a year until 2019, although the payment in the final year will be $500,000.
Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre asked for a report on what staff have city cellphones, how many are union and non-union, why they need one and how much it all costs.
Ward 4 Coun. Evelyn Dutrisac asked for a status report on building a therapeutic and leisure pool at the Lionel Lalonde centre, a project she has been backing for several years.
And Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh asked for a report on area rating – what it is, how it's working. Area rating is the term for charging residents in different parts of the city different tax rates, depending on the services they receive.
The next city budget meeting is scheduled for Jan. 19 at Tom Davies Square. The 2016 budget is expected to be finalized in late February or early March.
