New construction nets city extra $5M in taxes

The City of Greater Sudbury collected an additional $5 million in 2010, due to new construction and service improvements by MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation).

Work to finalize the 2011 budget is on-going as city council will meet three times this week to discuss budget deliberations.

The first meeting will be held Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. and will include a review of the 2011 operating budget, an update of the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, a review of the community development services budget and the city's plan regarding fiscal sustainability.

A report prepared by city staff indicates the city received more money than expected in 2010 due to “supplementary taxation revenue that resulted from the increased taxable assessment being captured on the assessment roles.”

Staff indicated in September 2010 that supplementary tax revenues would exceed budget by about $4.5 million. That figure was updated at the end of 2010 to over $5 million.

The report cites three different reasons for the excess in revenue, including new construction. The report states that residential construction has remained strong, and “new major commercial projects such as Wal-Mart and Lowes have lead their sector in continued growth. As well, the industrial expansion which includes Xstrata's Nickel Rim project, Podolski and Totten mine sites, has generated growth in this tax class.”

Other reasons include faster turnaround time from MPAC to “ensure completed projects are added to the supplementary tax roll in a timely basis.” Also, “MPAC's ability to address the backlog of properties has resulted in the larger than normal supplementary taxation runs.”

The report also states the 2.4 per cent of assessment growth “will assist in lessening the impact of the 2011 operating budget on property owners.”

On Feb. 16, city staff presented the base budget to city council that included at 3.9 per cent property tax increase. The base budget increase was originally 6.4 per cent, but due to the large assessment growth that figure dropped to 3.9 per cent.

The finance committee will also meet on March 2 at 4 p.m. During that meeting, city council will review budgets for a number of departments including infrastructure services, financial services andfire services.

Another meeting will be held on March 3 at 4 p.m. to review water and wastewater rates and charges and the 10 year financial plan for that department.

The final 2011 budget is expected to be finalized and approved by city council by the end of March.