With a difficult 2023 budget presenting a hurdle for the newly elected city council right out of the gate, the city is seeking the public’s input on how they should handle things.
An Over To You page has been set up on the city’s website, and can be accessed by clicking here. In it, the city is seeking the public’s feedback on services, programs and projects.
“We have some very significant challenges ahead of us,” Mayor-elect Paul Lefebvre told Sudbury.com.
“There are certainly a lot of requests from the community and a lot of great ideas out there and a lot of people with needs. At the same time, the way municipalities work, you can only increase taxes or cut expenses.”
As it stands, maintaining service levels using existing revenue streams and operating methods would require a 9.3 per cent property tax increase in 2023.
City council has dictated the tax increase should be no greater than 3.7 per cent, necessitating the city reduce expenses by at least $17.7 million from 2022 levels. Potentially working against this goal are 36 business cases proposing service level increases, which the new city council will ultimately decide on next year. The business cases for service level increases carry a total net property tax impact of $7.78 million in 2023.
On the flipside, various service level reductions and changes have been proposed in business cases to lessen the tax burden, including a handful of reductions to GOVA Transit service.
Despite a wealth of demands and the likelihood a new city council will bring additional fresh requests forward, Lefebvre, who has been connecting with the newly elected city council since the Oct. 24 election, said he’s confident they’ll find agreement this upcoming budget season.
“Everybody’s on the same page, we all need to make these decisions, and anybody else who wants to respond to the needs of their wards and the city in general,” he said.
“Whatever doesn’t work this year, we will certainly have a plan to see what we can do in future years.”
Also working against city council’s tax increase goal of 3.7 per cent this upcoming budget season is the city’s “very significant” infrastructure deficit, which Lefebvre cited as a priority “to get to a place where we’re comfortable.”
In a media release issued by the city, it’s noted a few “significant items” influencing the 2023 budget include:
- Increased costs to build or maintain the city’s assets, such as roads and buildings.
- Funds that support the city’s asset renewal and replacement projects and help smooth out funding requirements in future periods.
- Rising inflation and contractual obligations that affect a variety of costs, including salaries and benefits, fuel, utilities and insurance.
- Service partner budgets where the City of Greater Sudbury funds some of their cost through property taxes, such as Greater Sudbury Police Services, Public Health Sudbury and Districts and Conservation Sudbury.
- Obligations to fund asset renewal decisions made in previous years, where debt financing was used.
- New service obligations for community health care that include a supervised consumption site and transitional housing complex, which have yet to receive operational dollars from the province.
- New legislated requirements, such as additional firefighter training and certification.
“There are several options to balance the 2023 budget,” a city spokesperson notes in their media release.
“Instead of changing tax levels, council could choose to adjust service levels, change user fees or redesign how services are delivered. Community feedback on your priorities for municipal programs, services and projects is an important part of the information council will use to decide the 2023 budget.”
The city is expected to table 2023 budget documents on Jan. 17, which will be followed by city council budget meetings from Feb. 15-16, and Feb. 27 to March 2.
City council approval of the 2023 operating and capital budget is expected on March 7, and approval of the 2023 property tax policy is expected on May 16.
A second round of public engagement about the proposed budget, including a virtual town hall session, will be held after the proposed budget is tabled in January. Public consultation will conclude prior to budget deliberations beginning in mid-February.
In addition to online consultation, the city has prepared forms people can obtain at and return to any public library, Citizen Service Centre, the One Stop Services at Tom Davies Square or by calling 311.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
