WELLINGTON ‒ Changes are coming to the county's preliminary 10-year roads plan in the form of project cuts in an attempt to maintain the current tax levy.
Representing 66 per cent of total capital spending across the county, a new report on the roads committee's preliminary 10-year plan said a six per cent tax levy increase proposed in 2024 will support the "significant capital investment in infrastructure and operations facilities" anticipated.
Totalling $373 million over 10 years, the plan currently presents capital budgets as inflated by 10 per cent in 2024, followed by 5 and 3.5 per cent increases in 2025 and 2026-2033.
"Along with cost increases, capital needs in growth-related infrastructure, bridges, culverts, and the rebuilding of county garages will continue to put significant pressure on the overall county budget and ten-year plan," said staff in the report. "A tight labour market and inflationary impacts are being felt in the operating budget...reflecting the need to address higher costs."
But County Coun. Campbell Cork said project cuts are necessary, suggesting staff come back with a report on what cuts would have a "serious effect on the bottom line...short of endangering our driving public."
"This is going to be painful. We're in a world where everyone isn't getting what they need or want and I think we're at the point where we need to be shown the areas where we can possibly make a cut," said Cork. "Now we've heard cutting any of these (projects) will affect safety and if that's the case, well then job done. Leave the budget where it is. I just don't think that's the case."
According to the report, of the eight county-owned garages, two have been constructed to "meet current needs for equipment and material storage along with providing adequate staff facilities," with plans to upgrade the remainder starting with the Arthur Garage to cost approximately $68.1 million due to construction costs "increasing significantly" and "applying pressures on the original timing and costing estimates presented in previous budgets."
Road resurfacing and construction will cost an estimated $122,800,000 over the 10-year forecast with equipment replacements totalling an additional $41.8 million.
However, Warden Andy Lennox said staff have already presented their opinion in the report and county council needs to "dig deep" and evaluate what's important.
CAO Scott Wilson also defended the report, arguing the proposed increases aren't aggressive enough.
"To arbitrarily cut anything that's part of the working apparatus around here is going to hurt and it's going to setback a service, reduce safety, and widen the infrastructure gap," said Wilson. "So I'm sympathetic and certainly we will do what councillors will tell us to do but we've worked to put you in a position where you don't ask us...to come back with a snippet of a project here and delay something for six months there...because this is what we need."
Three voted in favour of a motion from Cork for staff to come back with a list of projects that can be moved or removed.
The detailed 2024 operating budget and revised ten-year plan will be presented to the committee in January 2024.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program
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