City council managed to add a few more items to its 2020 budget basket Monday, while staying below the 3.5-per-cent property tax increase they have set as their target.
Councillors were able to free up a considerable amount of money last week — more than $1.6 million — by changing the way they finance new snowplows and delaying redeveloping the parking lot at Bell Park. They are also tapping into a two-year, $40-million fund the province has set aside to help cities adjust to cannabis legalization.
Tuesday's meeting began with news the snowplow budget has gone $1 million further into the red because of severe weather so far this winter. It now totals $5.3 million, which means the 2019 budget has a $7.5-million deficit. It will be made up using $3.7 million from delayed debt repayments and money harvested from cancelled capital projects.
Reserve funds will be used to make up the remainder. The snowplow budget has been increased by $2 million in 2020, after successive years of red ink.
Cannabis funding is being used to pay for a $371,000 community paramedicine program that sees paramedics make home visits to people who frequently call 911 for health emergencies and are taken to Health Sciences North's emergency department. By visiting them at home before a crisis, paramedics work with them to find ways to prevent a health crisis, improving their health and easing the strain on paramedic services and HSN.
Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre said the program is key to cutting call volumes to EMS, and said similar pilot programs in other cities have seen a reduction as much as 50 per cent.
“I think it’s a great idea.”
Three paramedics would be moved into the program, and their work would be taken up by part-timers until a decision is made whether to make it permanent.
A total of $257,000 would be drawn from cannabis funding, with the province providing a grant of $104,000. The remainder is largely fuel costs, and would be taken from the existing budget.
Other items approved Monday:
- $128,000 to fund the Downtown Community Improvement Program, which offers businesses incentives to renovate or build.
- $106,000 more in annual operating funds for the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre in Capreol.
- $35,000 in one-time emergency funding for the Human League Association of Sudbury, a volunteer social services organization.
- $40,000 in annual funds for for Junction Creek Stewardship Committee, which plays an instrumental role in cleaning and maintaining the creek that runs through much of the city.
- $227,000, a one-time allocation, to advance planning for a twin pad recreation centre in Valley East. While not committing to the $26-million project, the money will allow planning for the project to move ahead.
- $152,490 for a cybersecurity officer to be added to the city's IT ranks. There have been nine ransomeware attacks on municipalities, councillors were told, and the tactics of cybercriminals are changing all the time. One attack cost the U.S. city of Baltimore $18.2 million, or scaled for Sudbury, $3.6 million.
With the decisions made Monday, there's just $42,000 left in the cannabis funding from the province, prompting Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc to quip that it had all gone “up in smoke.”
“I’m surprised it took that long,” replied finance committee chair Mike Jakubo of Leduc's pun.
If the police services board agrees to delay setting aside $500,000 for debt repayments for its new headquarters, the 2020 property tax hike would be 3.22 per cent. The board meets Wednesday, when they are expected to decide on the request.
Budget talks resume Tuesday as part of the city council meeting, but final approval of the $615 million city budget won't come until Dec. 16, after the police decide on the request.
