All 12 city councillors were asked to weigh in on three things regarding the upcoming 2017 budget deliberations:
Is this year's budget more difficult than in other years?
Can a special tax levy be avoided?
Is it hard to make unpopular decisions?
Every councillor responded. Here are those responses. Some were edited for length.
WARD 1
Dan Gibson:
- "The growth discrepancy between Guelph's operating and capital budget over the past decade, along with the financial impacts of the Urbacon lawsuit have created very real stressors on our city reserves and capital budget."
- "With Federal and provincial governments committed to new funding in this regard we (as a council) should pause to see what is generated from these commitments. Further, we need to work together to 'right size' our respective capital and operating budgets."
- "Unpopular decisions are part of this role. My focus is ensuring residents and businesses are supported through the budget process. I will not support attempts to erase previous council mistakes through a tax levy. Residents need to see council working to resolve our capital issues with the finances already entrusted to us. They need to witness this council being better stewards of city finances than previous terms and I don't believe a levy in 2017 sends that message."
Bob Bell:
- "The lower reserve levels are an immediate problem, we can not keeping spending the reserves and not replenishing them like the past years."
- "Yes, (a tax levy) can and should be avoided to the extent possible. Previous years budget recommendations from staff de-funded the capital budget while recommending new staff positions and increased operating costs. Now operating costs need to be rolled back as it is now evident that we have adopted an unsustainable model."
- It is not difficult for me [to make tough decisions]. I have been trying to raise infrastructure spending/reducing operating for years had not had support from staff or the majority of council."
WARD 2
Andy Van Hellemond:
Van Hellemond believes this budget is no more challenging than others and believes a tax levy can be avoided.
- "What is best for whole City and for future generation's. Popularity is not something you base your decision on. A little like being a sports official."
James Gordon:
- "I think this year will be an extra challenge for two reasons: one, we know now that we would be irresponsible if we did not address our infrastructure gap and our affordable housing crisis. We must do it, but there will be tension around how much this will affect our tax rate.
There will be a large education component with this year's budget. We have to let taxpayers understand the necessity for keeping our city sustainable for future generations, which is a shared economic responsibility for all of us.
At the same time, I expect that we will see budget initiatives designed to reduce our budgets across every department. Can we address those future challenges and accomplish those cutbacks? Can we have it both ways? That's the challenge."
- "We can avoid the levy if the added investment costs are just added to our property tax bills as a direct tax hike, or if we totally avoid our responsibilities and pass along the job of reducing our 'infrastructure gap' to a future council. Personally I think the levy is the most painless way to address this shortfall. We'll see it directly on our hydro bills and we'll understand the importance of conservation and we'll appreciate the local impact of climate change."
- "I have become comfortable as a councillor in not basing every decision on how that might affect me at election time. Each choice we make around the horseshoe must, in my view, be based on what is the best decision for our city's welfare and long-term sustainability.
WARD 3
Phil Allt:
- "I'm not sure it's more challenging than any of the others, actually. The real issue is trying to get the whole of council behind the budget once we have deliberated all of the line items."
- "We have to be mindful to make sure what we're not doing is only looking at saving money for the city, because that's irresponsible. We have to build a city for the future and building that city means building it now, not for tomorrow."
- "You get what you pay for. At some point we have to address that and whether you do that as a tax or as a levy, to my mind, is really immaterial. We need to make sure we have the best possible Guelph we can for now and for future generations."
June Hofland:
- "The 2017 budget will be my 10th budget and the budget process is always challenging. It is difficult to balance the needs of our community while being mindful of affordability for our taxpayers."
- "Options to fund capital infrastructure are being discussed and I believe staff will bring a recommendation to council this fall for consideration . . . There are a variety of options for addressing the infrastructure funding. I don’t believe the infrastructure gap can be avoided and I look forward to learning more when staff bring forward their recommendation."
- "Council makes difficult decisions every month that are unpopular in the public eye. It is not about making popular or unpopular decisions it is about making well-informed decisions. It is weighing the risks, considering the legal implications, available resources and having opportunities available for our community to participate in the consultation. All of these are important considerations before pushing the yes or no button."
WARD 4
Christine Billings:
- "Every budget deliberation is challenging, however given the current financial legacy the city is facing, council needs to focus on the basics to ensure that citizens are receiving value for their tax dollars."
- "Yes, a special infrastructure tax levy can be avoided by continuing to fund the infrastructure shortfall through the capital budget. Moving the shortfall to a special levy is just a shell game. A special levy should only be used for a finite line item such as the Urbacon lawsuit settlement, in order to replenish the raided reserves. When the repayment is complete, the tax levy must be disbanded. Investing in the city's infrastructure is ongoing and needs to be sustainability funded within the capital budget with specific projects identified."
- "I believe that councillors are elected to make the best possible decisions for the City while weighing all of the information available . . . What can make it more difficult is when so many millions have been wasted and then having a council approve a separate tax levy for infrastructure because they need more money. Prioritize!"
Mike Salisbury:
- "The only councillors who find it difficult to make unpopular or controversial decisions are those more concerned with getting re-elected than doing the right thing for the city."
- "The challenge is addressing complex multifaceted issues responsibly rather than opting for solutions which make you look financially prudent but ultimately overly simplistic (such as holding tax increases to the rate of inflation). Many people want to achieve this goal but when faced with the service reductions necessary to achieve it often become willing to accept higher increases if they also believe we are getting good value for the money spent."
- "The most important thing is to ensure we are getting value for the taxes we pay. Most people I speak with choose to live in Guelph for the quality of life we enjoy here, this can be directly related to the services and facilities we provide the community and unfortunately these services and facilities cost money."
WARD 5
Leanne Piper:
- "The upcoming budget is no more challenging than any previous budget. Municipal budgets are challenging every year. Balancing affordability, efficiency, infrastructure renewal, growth and new strategic investment is a constant."
- "That being said, the biggest challenge I see with the upcoming budget is political. Everyone has an opinion that deserves to be heard and valued. But at the end of the day, it's not about taxes for me. Taxes are the dues we pay to live in a great community. It's not a hard number — it's a reflection of what we value. Those who only value hard services want their taxes to reflect that. Those who value the environment, community, arts, parks, social supports, livability, etc. feel differently. Pleasing everyone is impossible. Efficiency is a given."
- "A special levy can only be avoided if (a) other levels of government pay 100% of municipal infrastructure backlogs (not going to happen), or (b) we add the cost of infrastructure projects to the capital budget rather than a special levy. The second option will have the same result as a special levy."
- "I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't affect me to make unpopular decisions. But it was the job I was elected to do — to look after our city, our citizens, our environment — not just for today but the next generation. I take this role seriously, which means making decisions that might be unpopular in 2016, but turn out to be wise many years from now when I am no longer in office. I can live with that."
Cathy Downer:
- "I can't recall a year where we haven't said that we are facing a challenging budget. I think the challenge this year will be to start to get our reserves back in shape. Also, there will be a discussion around service rationalization/reviews. As always, we need to tackle the challenges and not each other."
- "Unless there are other solutions to funding the infrastructure gap, I think (the tax levy) will be difficult to avoid. Many other municipalities are already using a tax levy. We would need to develop specific criteria for the use of this fund to ensure it is used to renew aging infrastructure rather than funding the development charges shortfall associated with growth."
- "It is difficult to make unpopular decisions. I find that most people respect an unpopular decision — even if they disagree —when you take to time to engage and discuss why the decision was made. Norm Jary's advice to me when I was first elected was 'Cathy, you will only please 50 per cent of the people 50 per cent of the time. Make a decision that you believe is in the city's best interest after considering all sides of an issue.'"
WARD 6
Mark MacKinnon:
- "The 2017 budget, like it's predecessors, has its own unique challenges, but I would say that yes, there are greater financial pressures for 2017. This doesn't necessarily stem from a large increase in money needed in 2017 versus 2016 or 2015, but rather that council and the public are now more aware of our precarious financial state regarding infrastructure funding and reserve balances."
- "I see only two ways to avoid an infrastructure levy. The first is to not call it a levy and just fund infrastructure through the general tax base more aggressively — which will give us exactly the same result but isn't as transparent or open with council's intentions. The second is to do what municipal governments across Canada have been doing for years (including previous Guelph councils): systematically kick the infrastructure problems down the road, past the next election, and further jeopardise the safety and security of Guelph residents.
There is no magical answer to the city's $23 million-plus annual infrastructure deficit and $160 million-plus infrastructure backlog — the city needs money to sustainably fund infrastructure."
- "Making difficult decisions is a critical part of being a municipal councillor, especially when the decision is the correct one, yet unpopular with residents. When elected, I pledged to serve Guelph and its residents to the best of my ability and I am more committed to doing the right thing than doing the thing that may earn more votes in 2018."
Karl Wettstein:
- "Our annual budgeting is always challenging and, other then our particular focus on our infrastructure gap, I expect it to be the usual struggle of trying to get as close to CPI as possible without significant service cuts. No small task."
- "Sure [a levy can be avoided], but we would need significant upper level Federal and provincial funding support, perhaps more debt, and likely some significant service cuts."
- "We were elected to make decisions in the best interest of the city as a whole . . . I take this responsibility very seriously. However, once we have all taken our best shot at fine tuning the budget and it is clear no one has any additional suggestions, especially myself, that are likely to be supported by Council, I vote for the budget."
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