Provincial grants $1.3M higher than forecast: city

The job of finalizing the Greater Sudbury’s 2013 operating budget got a little easier Nov. 16 with the announcement provincial grants will be $1.3 million more than forecast.

The money comes from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund grants, which are issued by the Ministry of Finance.

The 2013 allocation is $34.3 million, more than anticipated, but still less than the $35.4 million that city received in 2012. More reductions are expected over the next several years. In its budget forecast, the city anticipated receiving $33 million next year.

The news comes a little more than a week after city staff said it found $6 million in savings since an early budget forecast it presented in May. That reduced the preliminary 2013 property tax increase to 2.8 per cent, down from early predictions of 4.4 per cent. With the money from the province, the preliminary tax increase could be closer to 2.2 per cent.

Things were much different last year, when city councillors took $1.5 million from reserve funds to get the tax increase below three per cent. And that was after a long budget process that lasted through the fall and early winter.

“While this is welcome news, it’s clear we still have a lot of work to do this year and in coming years to continue to keep taxes down,” Mayor Marianne Matichuk said in a press release issued late Friday. “As promised, I will continue to go line by line through the budget. I know council and staff are working hard to ensure Greater Sudbury remains a prosperous, vibrant and affordable community.”

In the same press release, finance committee chair Terry Kett said knowing for certain how much money they’re getting from the province will allow councillors to make key budget decisions.

“With the decline in levels of funding over the last several years, we will need to make difficult decisions in the weeks and months ahead to ensure residents are provided with quality services with minimal financial impact,” Kett said.

While good news for this year, the province is changing the way it administers the fund in 2014, a move that is expected to leave municipalities with less money.

However, the funds will allow councillors to take a harder look at options to boost spending on roads next year. Options provided by city staff would increase spending by as much as $2.14 million, which would add one per cent to the property tax increase. Cheaper options would boost capital spending on roads by $1.07M, raising taxes by 0.5 per cent. Other options would boost spending on a mix of operating and capital budgets, raising taxes by 0.2-0.3 per cent.

The impact the funds will have on the 2013 budget will be discussed during the finance committee meeting Nov. 21.