The big ticket item staff wants to add to the 2017 budget is four new paramedics for the Erin area.
That $352,000 item tops a list of 10 expansion packages recommended by staff to city council at a budget meeting Wednesday night.
Half of the $352,000 cost would be picked up by the province, but not until 2018.
The 2017 tax supported operating budget presentation was the latest in a series leading up to final budget deliberations on Dec. 7.
As it stands the recommended base tax increase for next year is 1.98 per cent.
But that 1.98 per cent does not include the 0.5 per cent special infrastructure levy being recommended by staff or any of the expansion packages that may end up being approved.
The average increase over the last five years has been 3.11 per cent.
Council heard Wednesday that ambulance response times in Erin Township is lagging because there is only service available 12 hours a day.
When not being staffed, ambulances from other part of the county must cover, along with ambulances from Dufferin and Peel.
Hiring four paramedics would allow the city, which administers ambulance services for all Wellington County, to staff the area 24/7.
“This is an effort to live up to our responsibility,” said Andy MacDonald, the city’s Manager of Emergency Services.
The 10 expansion packages being recommended by staff total $1.3 million dollars.
One addition to the budget that staff considered but decided was too expensive was restoring transit service to 2015 levels at a cost of $1.35 million.
Councilors questioned the move, with Councillor Mike Salisbury asking for some less costly possibilities of partial restoration of bus service to 2015 levels.
That prompted Mayor Cam Guthrie to ask staff to also provide the ridership numbers “and why, as a council, we made this decision in the first place.”
Councillor James Gordon said the city was losing revenue with reduced summer service, but Deputy CAO Colleen Clack said the cost of providing summer service exceeded the revenue.
“Transit is not revenue neutral,” Clack said.
The city will be providing the additional busses during peak summer service that it started doing this year.
Next budget meeting is Nov. 16 when the city’s various external boards – including Guelph Public Library, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Downtown Guelph Business Association, Guelph Police Services and The Elliott Community – present their budgets.
