Approximately $10.5 million in proposed adjustments were made to the city’s base budget to meet council’s direction for annual tax levy increases of no greater than 4.7 per cent.
Included in the adjustments are user fee increases, such as a 25-cent jump in bus fare.
The City of Greater Sudbury’s 2024/25 base budget was tabled during the Nov. 15 finance and administration committee meeting of city council, signalling the start of municipal budget season.
No budgetary decisions were made on Nov. 15, with the meeting intended to provide a forum to ask questions and set the stage for next month’s budget deliberations.
In addition to staff tabling a 678-page 2024/25 budget document, the key takeaway from the Nov. 15 meeting was a rundown of how the $10.5 million in base budget adjustments were made.
The adjustments were required due to such things as inflation (the non-residential building construction price index reached 9.9 per cent as of the fourth quarter of 2022) driving up municipal costs to deliver status-quo service levels.
Various “minor adjustments” were made to find $10.5 million, city CAO Ed Archer told the city’s elected officials.
“I’m talking about adjustments to things like janitorial services, adjustments to the maintenance schedules we follow for some of our vehicles, and other things that within the context of reasonable risk tolerance we believe can represent a reasonable risk for the cost reduction opportunities that they represent.”
User fee changes have also been proposed, totalling a net benefit of approximately $1.13 million. They include a 25-cent increase in bus fare, which would bring single rides up to $3.75.
A 31-day adult bus pass would increase from $88 to $94.50.
The city is also maintaining a vacancy management program worth approximately $3 million in cost avoidance.
By keeping positions vacant for longer periods of time after staff leave, Archer explained, “roughly $3 million in unused salary and benefit dollars to help ensure we obtain the balanced budget you were looking for.”
By keeping positions vacant for longer periods of time, Archer cautioned the measure “has the potential to create service interruptions.”
Various other savings come down to adjusting financial estimates, which will ultimately leave the city with less wiggle room in the event of financial shortcomings throughout 2024-25.
Investment income estimates were increased, and the winter control budget was cut by $750,000.
This won’t mean less snow plowing will take place in Greater Sudbury, with the city’s established service levels unaffected, it just means the budgeted amount is potentially off.
“Winter control is a wildcard, as we all know,” Archer said.
The full breakdown of the almost $10.5 million in adjustments was as follows:
- Revenue adjustments: $5,171,000
- Operating efficiencies: $4,793,000
- User fee changes: $1,126,000
- Winter control budget adjustment: $750,000
- Increase vacancy management budget: $655,000
- Contract cost changes: $2,038,000
The Nov. 15 meeting also saw Greater Sudbury Public Library CEO and chief librarian Brian Harding table largely status-quo budgets which included a 4.3-per-cent increase in 2024 and a 4.1-per-cent increase in 2025.
Greater Sudbury Police Service Chief Paul Pedersen presented the service’s 8.09 per cent and 6.92 per cent increases for 2024 and 2025, respectively, which the police board unanimously approved earlier this month. These budgets include hiring 26 additional staff.
The city released its 2024-25 budget documents online, which are available by clicking here, and public engagement has been encouraged on their OvertoYou page, available here.
A virtual town hall meeting will be held Dec. 6, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m.
On Dec. 12, the city’s elected officials are expected to make decisions on the water/wastewater operational and capital budgets, police, library, Conservation Sudbury and airport budgets.
Subsequent budget meetings will be held Dec. 18-19, by which time city council should have approved a 2024-25 operational budget and 2024-27 capital budget.
Similar to what Sudbury.com did in the lead-up to the base budget’s Nov. 15 release, additional deep dives into the city’s 2024/25 operational budget and 2024-27 capital budget will be published in the coming weeks.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
