HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-01-11, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018.
Draft budget includes $1.8 million in capital spending
Continued from page 1
of a draft budget, however, and
council can eliminate expenses to
reduce it.
In previous years, increases have
ranged from 2.10 per cent in 2014 to
4.21 per cent in 2016.
Editor's Note: All projects and
prices within the draft budget are not
final and could be changed or
removed by council prior to the
budget being passed.
Currently, another $781,886 in
projects could be added to the
budget if council decided to include
the North Huron Museum
renovations, estimated at $265,000,
and completion of the Mill Street
project in Blyth, which could add
$516,886 to the budget, or half of
that if the municipality is approved
for an Ontario Community
Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) grant.
Other unknown expenses that
council may address include the
Howson Dam project, a forthcoming
study on the Richard W. LeVan
Airport and its future in the
municipality.
Council also has to come to a
decision regarding Ontario
Provincial Police (OPP) taking over
protective services in Wingham.
The decision needs to be made by
the end of March and would result in
increased police coverage costs for
2018. The township would also need
to spend $450,000 to $480,000 to
shutter the existing Wingham Police
Service.
While much of the budget is
malleable, Evans explained some of
it can't be changed, including the
$750,000 in debt repayments and
$750,550 in commitments the
municipality has already approved,
including the Arthur Street project in
Wingham, part of the Industrial
Land Strategy project North Huron
has with Morris-Turnberry; $50,000
to both the Wingham Hospital and
Blyth Memorial Hall projects and
$421,508 to replace municipal street
lights with cost-saving LED models.
Evans also explained some
commitments didn't have a dollar
figure, including a pay equity/market
review the municipality started to
review wage and benefits and the
impact from Bill 148, the Fair
Workplaces/Better Jobs Act, which
will increase the minimum wage and
result in other costs associated with
benefits and job conditions.
Reeve Neil Vincent said that, for
every dollar spent on the increased
minimum wage North Huron could
be paying as much as $4 more on
benefits guaranteed in the act, which
will have a significant impact on the
budget.
Evans explained that North Huron
is in a unique situation with its
expenses where protection (fire and
police) and recreation and culture
costs were higher than transportation
costs.
Most municipalities, he said, have
higher budgets for the public works
department and associated
transportation projects, however
North Huron isn't among them.
CAPITAL PROJECTS
Capital spending included in the
draft budget totals $1.8 million, with
more than one-third of that being
raised through taxation. Other
revenues include grants, long-term
borrowing, reserves and user fees.
Major projects include Wingham's
Arthur Street phase two project,
which will cost $229,042, half of
which will be covered by a grant and
$80,000 of the remaining to be
covered through reserves; the LED
street light conversion project which
will cost $421,508, which the
municipality is borrowing to pay for
and will pay back from the savings
from the reduced electrical and
maintenance expenses; converting a
section of the Wingham Lagoon to
serve as sludge storage for $195,379,
a project suggested by North
Huron's water system contractor
Veola, and repairs to the North
Huron Community Complex fitness
area roof at $113,000.
PUBLIC WORKS
As far as equipment purchases,
recently -hired Director of Public
Works Sean McGhee explained
there were three vehicles he wanted
to replace.
The first, a trackless sidewalk
machine, is budgeted to cost
$179,097 which would be paid for
through general taxation except for
$30,000 from an other source.
"We have two units and the oldest
is a 1986 model," he explained when
presenting his capital expenses.
"They have served the township very
well"
The $180,000 price tag, McGhee
said, included not just the trackless
unit but two new pieces of
equipment — a 14 -foot deck mower
that would allow the unit to be used
in the spring, summer and fall
(currently the units are primarily
used in the winter) and a special
snow blower that will allow the unit
to work faster than the existing
models.
"It's a very aggressive piece of
equipment," he said. "It can handle
heavy snow, wet snow and ice and
increase the speed the operator can
go forward at. It's expensive
equipment, but it will increase
efficiency."
McGhee also suggested a new
mower at $25,440 with the cutting
deck in front of operators. The
current equipment has the cutting
deck behind the operator, causing
them to be looking back, hindering
efficiency.
Deputy -Reeve James Campbell
commented that $25,000 was a
significant expense for a roadside
mower, and McGhee offered to bring
information back about the units that
were being considered.
The mower was being considered,
McGhee said, because he found the
current third -party contract for
roadside grass mowing to be quite
high and believed it could be less
expensive to bring it in-house.
Finally, McGhee explained that
the municipality required a four-
wheel drive pickup truck to
replace an aging 2002 pick-up truck
with more than 225,000 kilometres
on it.
"We're getting to the point where
keeping the vehicle could prove to
be cost -prohibitive," he said.
Other expenses McGhee
addressed included an
environmental assessment on the
Howson Dam, which will allow
council to decide the future of the
structure. Currently, the dam is
inoperable and will require
significant investment to restore
or demolish. As a result of the report,
Continued on page 11
Stay Connected
Just starting out
The Blyth Brussels Minor Hockey Association's Junior Initiation team was in action on
Saturday morning at the Blyth and District Community Centre, taking on their neighbours from
the north in Wingham. The game was hotly contested, but at the end of the day, it was all about
learning the skills that will make the players better in their later years. (Quinn Talbot photo)
ARCA begins spring tree orders
No room for trees? Think again. A
local conservation authority is
suggesting four areas where you
might consider planting trees.
When discussing tree planting
with farmers, stewardship staff
sometimes hears the response that
"I don't have any room left for trees
on my farm." Faced with this
challenge, during the newly
launched spring tree order program
for 2018, staff of Ausable Bayfield
Conservation are proposing four
areas where trees can be planted on
a farm with minimal if any loss of
farmland:
• Along rivers and municipal
drains: Trees can be planted along
both sides of natural watercourses
where land isn't great for crop
production. With the transition from
pastures to cash crops, these
valleylands are better suited for trees
than investing crop inputs for
mediocre yields. Trees can be
planted on one side of municipal
drains with the other side left open
for future maintenance. Trees can be
selected with roots that won't plug
Continued on page 15
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