HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-11-04Special General Government Committee
Minutes
November 4, 2016
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Municipal Clerk at 905-623-3379 ext. 2102.
Minutes of a special meeting of the General Government Committee held on Friday,
November 4, 2016 at 9:00 AM at the Kendal Community Centre.
Present Were: Mayor A. Foster, Councillor S. Cooke, Councillor R. Hooper,
Councillor J. Neal,Councillor W. Woo
Regrets: Councillor W. Partner
Staff Present: C. Clifford, A. Allison, T. Cannella, J. Caruana, D. Crome,
Greentree, F. Horvath, M. Marano, N. Taylor, G. Weir,
1 Call to Order
Mayor Foster chaired this portion of the meeting.
2 Declaration of Interest
There were no disclosures of pecuniary interest stated at this meeting.
3 Finance Department
3.1 Verbal Report from the Director of Finance/Treasurer Regarding the
2017 Budget
Nancy Taylor, Director of Finance/Treasurer introduced today’s agenda.
Curry Clifford, Interim CAO presented, by way of PowerPoint presentation, the strategic
introduction of the draft 2017 Budget. He reminded the Committee of their six key
strategic plan priorities and requested that they keep these priorities in mind when
considering the 2017 Budget. Further, the driving cost increases were discussed
including:
Cost inputs of energy,
labour arbitration decisions
Business environment is more complex
Changing community expectations
Growing community with more people to serve (population increase from 91,460
to 97,100 between 2013-2016)
More services to maintain – gross value of tangible capital assets went from
$629m in 2013 to $683m in 2015
Special General Government Committee
Minutes
November 4, 2016
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Ms. Taylor provided a verbal report, accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation,
highlighting:
Financial Indicators – BMA Statistics
o The Director committed to providing Members of Council with an
electronic copy of the BMA Study once it is has been received
o Property Tax comparisons and assessment -- Clarington’s 2016
Assessment composition remains at a 90/10 split. Comparing year to year
is challenging as there is a reassessment done every 4 years.
o Clarington’s property taxes is at 3.5% as a percentage of income which is
lower than Durham lakeshore municipalities. This is only 1 factor of
affordability.
o Provided a tax comparisons for bungalows, 2 story homes and senior
executive homes and an overall 5 year trend with a view to average tax
increases of 1.3% which also speaks to affordability
o Average household income is high in Clarington and the tax burden is in
low to mid-range overall and low in comparison to GTA group and study
average.
Historical Trends
o The share of the property tax bill remains as follows:
50% Region
19% goes to School Board
31% remains with Clarington
Financial position per Capita
o Clarington’s 2015 Net Financial Position was highlighted as it compares to
the GTA Average
o Financial position per capita is strong
o Debt per unweighted assessment is declining and only at 32% of study
average
o Total debt per capita is low
Asset Management Plan
o This is a significant project that affects every department and is due to the
Province before December 2017. It will affect strategic funding and will
necessitate a more dynamic view of how capital funding is determined.
Additionally it will affect future capital budgets.
o Approximately 13% of Clarington’s assets have their useful life expired,
but they will remain in service.
o All capital asset data has been collected and now staff will be looking at
strategy for replacement including: probability and consequence of failure
per asset categorizing, determining asset service levels and target
calculations which will lead to developing financial plans for the
appropriate level of maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement of assts.
All Department Heads will all be involved in this assessment.
o Theoretical shift from traditional capital budget strategy will now be
focused on AMP Priority distribution