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TO: |
Mayor and Members of Council |
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FROM: |
Andy Taylor, Commissioner of Corporate
Services Barb Cribbett, Treasurer |
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PREPARED BY: |
Joel
Lustig, Director of Financial and Client Services |
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DATE OF MEETING: |
2004-May-11 |
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SUBJECT: |
2004 Operating,
Capital, and Waterworks Budgets |
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RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the report dated May 11, 2004 entitled “2004 Operating, Capital, and Waterworks Budgets” be received;
AND THAT Council approve the 2004 Operating Budget for Town services which totals $126,613,049, the principle components of which are detailed on Appendix 1 attached hereto;
AND THAT gross operating expenditures of $126,613,049, be funded from the following sources:
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$ |
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Taxation
Revenues |
79,179,848 |
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Grant
& Subsidy Revenues |
524,677 |
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General
Revenues (Interest, Fines, Permits) |
24,640,412 |
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User
Fees & Service Charges (User Fees, Rentals, Sales) |
16,236,469 |
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Other
Income/Recoveries |
4,130,869 |
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Prior
Year Surplus Transfer to Reserve |
1,900,774 |
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Total |
126,613,049 |
AND THAT Council approve the 2004 Capital Budget that totals $79,502,885, the funding details of which are listed in Appendix 2 attached hereto;
AND
THAT Council approve the Water and Wastewater Budget that totals $39,827,007,
the principle components of which are detailed on Appendix 3 attached
hereto;
AND
THAT the 2003 Operating Surplus of $1,900,774, be transferred to the Corporate
Rate Stabilization Reserve;
AND
FURTHER THAT a copy of the budgets be made available to the public through the
Clerk’s Department and each of the Markham Public Libraries.
BACKGROUND:
A
total of six Budget Sub-Committee meetings were held between January and April
2004 to discuss, review and finalize the 2004 Operating, Capital and Waterworks
Budgets. All Budget meetings were open
to Members of Council, Commissioners, Senior Staff and the general public. Topics discussed at the Budget Sub-Committee
meetings include:
The
following exhibit reconciles the 2003 Approved Operating Budget to the 2004
Operating Budget:
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Expenditures
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Approved
2003 Budget Expenditures (excluding surplus) |
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115,933,737 |
2004 Increase in Expenditures |
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7,578,538 |
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2004 Capital Program |
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1,200,000 |
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2003 Operating Surplus |
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1,900,774 |
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Total Budget Expenditures |
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126,613,049 |
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Revenues
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Approved
2003 Budget Revenues (excluding surplus) |
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115,933,737 |
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2004 Increase in Revenues |
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3,314,253 |
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2004 Assessment Related Growth |
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2,696,660 |
2003 Operating Surplus |
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1,900,774 |
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2004 Tax Levy Increase |
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2,767,625 |
Total
Budget Revenues
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126,613,049 |
The
Town of Markham continues to face inflationary pressures in many aspects of its
operations. General inflation, winter maintenance contracts, other contract
renewals, wage settlements, and the continuation of higher fuel/natural
gas/insurance costs have resulted in increased operating expenditures. Further, the Budget Sub-Committee has
approved the continuation of the Town's practice of phasing-in future costs
related to facility openings such as the Cornell Fire Station, Riviera Fire
Station, and the East Community Centre & Library. In addition to inflationary pressures, Markham
continues to add to its inventory of parks, streetlights, and roads, each year,
thereby requiring more resources for the maintenance and replacement of these
assets. The total impact of these
pressures on expenditures is $8.8M.
To mitigate the increased expenditures,
revenues were reviewed and increased by $6.0M in the areas of Assessment
Growth, Investment Income, Provincial Offences Act
Revenue and from the planned implementation of the Town's Revenue
Strategy. In addition, the anticipated
opening of the remainder of the Angus Glen Community Centre and Library in 2004
is expected to generate incremental user fee revenue.
In total, the
$6.0M increase in revenues does not fully offset the operating pressures of
$8.8M. The shortfall, $2.8M requires a property
tax rate increase of 3.9%
For the average household in Markham, valued at $358,000, a 3.9%
increase in the tax rate means a $33.62 increase in the municipal portion of
their property tax bill.
The Capital Budget of $79.5M includes $16.2M of property tax-funded projects. The recent Federal Government's announcement on a full Goods and Services Tax (GST) rebate for municipalities has a positive impact on the Town's Operating Budget of approximately $0.7M. Consistent with the Federal Government's intent, the Town of Markham's Budget Sub-Committee directed that the $0.7M be applied to fund Capital projects in 2004. The $16.2M of tax-funded Capital, inclusive of the $0.7M GST rebate, will be used to fund projects that maintain and improve the Town’s aging infrastructure. Other significant Capital projects include the construction of Enterprise Drive east of Warden to the GO rail line, construction of Helen Avenue from GO rail line to Kennedy Road, Environmental Management Plan, Kyoto Task Force, Implementation of Phase 1 of the 3 Stream Waste Collection Program, Land Purchase for the East Community Centre & Library, and the construction of a Fire Station at Bur Oak.
The proposed 2004 Budget exemplifies the Town's commitment to Fiscal Stewardship Leadership. Consistent with existing Town policies, one-time funding is not used to balance the operating budget. The Town's commitment to increase investment in Capital projects by $0.5M, funded from assessment growth, is maintained. The Town has also continued to ramp-up the Operating budget for future expenditures related to new Community Centres, Libraries and Fire Stations.
ATTACHMENTS:
Appendix 1 – 2004 Operating Budget
Appendix 2 – 2004 Capital Budget
Appendix 3 – 2004 Water and Wastewater Budget
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Barb
Cribbett, Treasurer
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Andy
Taylor, Commissioner
of Corporate Services |
Q:\SHARED\2004Council
_COWReports\2004 Operating, Capital, and Waterworks Budgets.doc
