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Writer's pictureAccountability Team
Feb 11, 20239 min read

City Council - Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 7pm

Updated: Jan 5

Finalization of the 2023 Business Plan and Budget – minus the Service Partners' budget requests. Plus a deputation by Jennifer van Gennip from the Barrie Housing and Homelessness Justice Network (we are a signatory) on the funding of warming centres.




📜📜 Confirmation of the Minutes


🗣🎙 Deputation


💰⚖️ 2023 Business Plan and Budget

🗣🎙 Deputation by Jennifer van Gennip, Barrie Housing and Homelessness Justice Network (BHHJN)


📝📄 General Committee Report


Section A

🤐📜 Confidential Instructions to be Applied to Negotiations – Inter-Municipal Relationships

  • Authorizing the Mayor and CAO to undertake the actions in the confidential Staff Report and report back to General Committee

Section B

🏘️🏢 Bill 23 Municipal Housing Pledge


📝📄 General Committee Report


Section A

👮⏳ Barrie Police Services Board's budget request

  • To defer consideration of this request until General Committee on March 8

Section B

🤝⏳ Service Partners' budget requests

  • To defer consideration of the Barrie Public Library Board, County of Simcoe, and remainder of Barrie Service Partners' budget requests until General Committee on March 8

Section C

💰⚖️ 2023 Business Plan and Budget

Operating Budget Approvals

1. That the 2023 tax-supported base operating budget, with total gross expenditures of $408.1 million and a net property tax levy requirement of $283.1 million for City Services and Service Partners, be approved with the following amendments to reflect changes since the 2023 Business Plan's publication on January 18, 2023:

a) That $35,000 be added to the 2023 budget for 2022 unspent funds allocated to the Market Precinct project, per Council Motion 22-G-026, to continue the business case development with funding from the Reinvestment Reserve; and

b) That 20 Fire Fighter complement positions be pre-approved as part of the 2023 budget to allow the recruitment process to begin in advance of 2024.

c)

i) That effective in 2023 the expense account allocations for items such as communications to residents for the Mayor be determined using a base amount of $25,000 plus $0.10 per person using population projections provided through the Development Services Department, instead of the current $0.06 per person amount; and

ii) That effective in 2023 the expense account for items such as communications to resident allocations for the members of Council be determined using a base amount of $5,000 plus $0.10 per person using population projections provided through the Development Services Department, instead of the current $0.27 per person amount resulting in an increase to the tax levy in 2023 of $53,245.65.

d)

i) That $250,000 ($25,000 per ward) in one-time funding be dedicated to support ward specific initiatives, including community engagement and ward wellness projects to be funded from the Reinvestment Reserve, with the projects being completed and unveiled by December 31, 2025; and

ii) That staff report back to the Finance and Responsible Governance Committee concerning an intake and approval process, with Council approval of a process occurring before 2023 Summer recess.

e) That $1,850,000 million related to salaries and wages for the 2022 Budget year be funded by increasing Salary Gapping by $1,387,500 and $462,500 from the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve;

f) That the previous funding from the tax levy of $2,822,322 for stormwater operations be added back to the tax base budget;

g) That Reserve Contribution increases totalling $897 thousand to the following tax funded reserves be delayed for one year: Fleet Replacement Reserve $450 thousand, WSIB Reserve $250 thousand, Legal Contingency Reserve $130 thousand and Landfill Post Closure Reserve of $67 thousand;

h) That the $200 thousand contribution to the Development Charges Discount and Exemption Reserve be reduced to zero with any total discounts being funded first from any Prior year tax support surplus;

i) That the $750 thousand increase to the County of Simcoe Capital Reserve be delayed for one year with any 2022 year end surplus generated from funding the County of Simcoe’s Budget to be allocated to this Reserve;

j) That $975,322 be funded from the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve in 2023 to help offset the costs of transitioning stormwater operating costs to the tax levy; and

k) That the projects funded from the proposed Stormwater Reserve on page 47 of the 2023 Business Plan and Budget be funded from the Tax Capital Reserve, and that staff report back to General Committee no later than the end of March 2023 on recommendations to cancel or defer tax capital funded projects to ensure financial sustainability of the Tax Capital Reserve.


City Services

2. That the 2023 budget request for City Services, with a net tax supported municipal funding requirement of $ 180.0 million, be approved with the following amendments to reflect changes since the 2023 Business Plan’s publication on January 18, 2023.

a) That staff in the Finance Department be directed to develop a separate reserve for the Dedicated Infrastructure Renewal Fund (DIRF) and that contributions to the DIRF be increased to 2% for 2023 through to 2025 and that 50% of the DIRF collected is to be used for Stormwater Capital Infrastructure.

b) That to help offset inflationary pressures in 2023, $1,900,000 dollars from the Reinvestment Reserve and $1,100,000 from the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve be used one time to fund City tax-funded operations.

3.

a) That the following New Investment and Service Recommendations as outlined on page 22 of the 2023

Business Plan with a net cost of $1,058,185 (operating) and $7 thousand (capital) and a net property tax levy requirement of $107,379 with additional funding of $162 thousand from the wastewater rate, $425 thousand from capital projects, and $364 thousand from reserves be approved:

Intake Form Description

2686 Utility SCADA Specialist

2737 Roads Operations Staff - Growth Lands 2023

2707 Emergency Vehicle Technician

2717 Facilities Project Managers

2720 Waterfront Additional Washroom Cleaning

2719 Marina Boat Storage

2726 Barrie Transit Fare Increase

2759 Barrie Transit Service Reduction Salem and Hewitts

2744 Summer Weekend Reopening

2758 Technology Analyst (NG911)

2687 Engineering Contract Administrator

2768 MacLaren Art Service Provider Status - Remove from Cultural Grants Program

2764 Barrie Arts Show

2722 Office Services Assistant - Building

2723 Structural Engineer

2734 Disability Management Specialist

b) That intake form 2798 be modified and approved as follows, 3 temporary 1 year contract positions (Senior Planner, Transportation Planning Engineer, and Risk Management Inspector) totalling $288,000 funded from the Reinvestment Reserve $174,939, Water Rate 92,728 and Capital Recovery $20,333;

c) That Intake Form 2768 - MacLaren Art Centre - Service Provider Status - Remove from Cultural Grants Program be amended to provide $165,000 funding commitment to the MacLaren Art Centre, funded by removing $125,000 from the Arts and Culture Investment Fund and the remaining $40,000 funded from Reinvestment Reserve;

d)

i) That Transit Fare Increases be approved as provided for in Intake form #2726, with the exception that the increases shall not apply to Seniors; and

ii) That the reduction of $24,209 in revenue be replaced through a one-time draw on the Reinvestment Reserve.

e) That the remaining New Investment and Services Recommendations not approved through the 2023 Budget process be referred back to the Executive Management Team (EMT) for consideration as part of the 2024 Business Plan.


Rate Approvals

4. That the Water base Operating Budget, with gross expenditures of $31.5 million and revenues of $31.5 million, and the proposed 2023 Water Rates as outlined in Schedule “N” of the “Proposed Fee Changes” section of the 2023 Business Plan be approved.

5. That the Wastewater base Operating Budget, with gross expenditures of $41.2 million and revenues of $41.2 million, and the proposed 2023 Wastewater Rates as outlined in Schedule “N” of the “Proposed Fee Changes” section of the 2023 Business Plan be approved.

6. That the Parking Operations base budget, with gross expenditures of $2.4 million and gross revenues of $2.4 million, and the proposed 2023 Parking Rates as outlined in Schedule “O” of the “Proposed Fee Changes” section of the 2023 Business Plan be approved.

7. That pursuant to Ontario Regulation 284/09, Staff Report EMT001-23 serve as the method for communicating the exclusion of the following estimated expenses from the 2023 Business Plan:

a) Amortization expense - $63 million;

b) Post-employment benefit expenses - $1.8 million; and

c) Solid waste landfill closure and post-closure expenses - $500 thousand.


Capital Budget Approvals

8. That, consistent with the Capital Project Control Policy, the 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027 Capital Budget relating to new capital spending requests of $78.4 million, $88.8 million, $75.5 million, $17.4 million, and $10.9 million respectively be approved with the following amendments to reflect changes since the 2023 Business Plan’s publication on January 18, 2023, and the 2023 to 2027 Capital Budget items not requiring spending approval, be received as forecast information:

a) That the approved budget for RP1180 - Roads Operations New Fleet to Service Growth be increased by $168,393 to be funded from Development Charges Reserves;

b) That project FC1287 - Marina L Dock Repair and Replacement be added to the 2023 Capital Plan with a budget of $525,000 to be funded from the Marina Reserve, and that the increased reserve draw be offset by returning $525,000 of Marina Reserve funding from previously approved project FC1233 - Marina Welcome Centre New Building Development;

c) That $269,500 of previously approved budget from EN1140 - Play Court Construction and Rehabilitation and $291,500 of previously approved budget from project EN1117 - Annual Playground Revitalization Program, in addition to $696,500 of newly requested budget, be used to create a new capital project related to the FedDev Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF) grant for Ferndale Community Park, Eastview Community Park, and St Vincent Park, with total budget and funding as outlined in Appendix “C”;

i) That $30,500 of previously approved budget from EN1140 - Play Court Construction and Rehabilitation funded from the Federal Gas Tax Reserve be returned.

d) That a new capital project be created for Traffic Calming Measures with one-time funding of $75,000 ($7,500 per ward) to be funded from the Tax Capital Reserve; and

e) That all capital projects in relation to the Downtown Permanent Market be referred to the Finance and Responsible Governance Committee.

9. That projects impacted by Bill 23 no longer be funded from Development Charges Reserves, but instead be funded from the Tax Capital, Water Capital and/or Wastewater Capital Reserves, as outlined in Appendix “G” to the Staff Report EMT001-23 regarding the 2023 Business Plan and Budget.


By-law update and forecasts received for information

10. That effective April 1, 2023, By-law 2022-013, as amended, be

repealed, and replaced with a by-law incorporating the fees and

charges presented in the 2023 Business Plan with the following

amendments to reflect changes since the 2023 Business Plan’s

publication on January 18, 2023:

a) That staff prepare an amendment to the Business Licensing By-law (Transportation) 2006-265 as amended and the Fees By-law to align the limousine industry with the provisions related to Private Transportation Company in order to have a Limousine Company responsible for the drivers.

11. That forecast information for 2024, 2025, and 2026 presented in the 2023 Business Plan be received for information.


Council and Staff authorization requests

12. That the Executive Management Team be authorized to add temporary non-complement positions to the end of the budget year utilizing existing approved funds to deal with any unforeseen circumstances that impact delivery of City services.

13. That Executive Management Team be authorized to implement the economic adjustment for the Non-Union Group (NUG) of employees (including full-time, part-time and students), effective January 1, 2023.

14. That staff be authorized to submit applications for grants that would reduce expenditures associated with projects, programs and services approved as part of the Operating and Capital Budget.

15. That two of the following officers, either the Mayor, Clerk, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer or their designates, be authorized to execute any agreements that may be required to accept grant funding from other levels of government or other partners, to reduce expenditures associated with programs, services, and/or capital projects.

16. That staff be authorized to submit applications for grants that would reduce future capital expenditures, fund service enhancements, or enable capital projects to be advanced, and a report or memo be

presented, as appropriate, prior to the execution of any agreement associated with the acceptance of such grant.

17. That staff issue a Request for Proposal for a company for the purpose of carbon credit generation and monetization;

a) That the Request for Proposal include the following parameters:

i. The successful bidder work with the City to generate, develop and sell carbon credits with a focus on

maximizing revenue;

ii. All bids must require zero-dollar initial investment from the City;

iii. There be no cost for the taxpayers to operate the program; and

iv. All data must be managed on the greenest possible blockchain platform to ensure transparency and accountability.

b) That staff report back to the Finance and Responsible Governance Committee via memorandum in June 2023 advising of the outcome of the Request for Proposal process.

18. That the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer be authorized to make the necessary alterations to the transfer to and/or from reserves to reflect changes since the 2023 Business Plan’s publication on

January 18, 2023.

19. That the City Clerk be authorized to prepare all necessary by-laws to implement the above recommendations.



📜📜 Bylaws


Bill 007 – 970 Mapleview Subdivision - Durham Avenue, Ludlow Drive, Terry Fox Drive and Lincoln Drive

Bill 008 – Part Lot Control Exemption – 34-48 Durham Avenue

Bill 009 – Part Lot Control Exemption - 2-16 Durham Avenue

Bill 010 – Part Lot Control Exemption – 25-35 Tamworth Terrace

Bill 011 – Part Lot Control Exemption – 37-45 Tamworth Terrace

Bill 012 – Part Lot Control Exemption – 6-16 Hylton Drive

Bill 013 – Expropriation, 922 Veteran's Drive

Bill 014 – Appointment - Mark Brian Hamilton

Bill 006 – Confirmation Bylaw













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