Last night, Thorold City Council met to kick off the 2024 City Budget deliberations.
As ThoroldToday reported, City Hall is projecting a 2.99% net levy increase, if the budget were to be approved as is by City Council.
To start off Tuesday's proceedings, the City's Director of Finance, Maria Mauro, gave a presentation that highlighted the dwindling city reserves.
“This was a particularly challenging year,” said Mauro. “In order to get to 2.99% we had to tap into the reserves more than we normally would, just to support the levy. When you look at what your targets are for the reserves, we’re underfunded.”
While the city wants to have $18M in its reserves for the capital and operating budgets, there is only $7.4M available, which is a $4.4M decline when compared to the 2023 City Budget.
“There isn’t a municipality in Ontario that doesn’t have an infrastructure shortfall,” said Mayor Terry Ugulini. “We all have been lobbying hard that we need help from upper levels of government. Our only way that we can mitigate that is on property taxes. Every municipality has the same problem and some are worse than others.”
Councillor Tim O’Hare asked for a report on the matter so council can come up with a solution in the near future.
After Mauro's presentation, Councillors went over the projects they want to add to or change in the 2024 City Budget.
First up were the new hires proposed by City Hall.
A recent organizational review identified 24 immediate hires the city would need to make if it wants to meet its population growth rate of 27 per cent.
To mitigate budget impact, City Hall is asking for 21 hires, with staggered starting dates throughout the year.
But both Councillors Carmen DeRose and Jim Handley disagree with the wages put forth by City Hall.
A recent job posting on the City's website for a Mechanic offers between $68,120 and $71,552 a year, while the Special Events Coordinator position is listed in the budget at $108,000.
“I got some calls about that,” said Councillor DeRose. “They said you’re never going to hire a mechanic at that. I look at a starting teacher and it’s ridiculous compared to someone that’s going to start in special events making $108,000.”
But City Hall staff clarified that the Mechanic job posting only notes the salary, while the Special Events Coordinator line item in the budget encompasses both wages and benefits.
“Typically our benefits are about 35% [of the total package],” said CAO Manoj Dilwaria. “When you take that $108,000 and about 65% of that is the salary, that comes to $70,200.”
Dilwaria also explained that there’s a difference between unionized and non-unionized positions and that this also affects the salary amount offered.
In the end, council approved the hires, although Councillors DeRose and Handley voted against them.
Next up, sports and recreation.
At the suggestion of Councillor Henry D’Angela, council decided to set aside an annual $25,000 to maintain the city’s baseball facilities.
“It’s a cheap cost when compared to hockey,” said Councillor D’Angela.
Councillors also expressed interest in building a turf field.
While the dream of a turf field in McMillan Park has long been dead, Council is now exploring the option of a brand new turf field in an undetermined location.
Next week, the president of the Thorold Soccer Club, Gene Citrigno, will share his opinion on the matter with City Council.
When it comes to the city’s parks, Councillor Mike De Divitiis wants to light up Battle of Beaverdams Park at night.
“When you’re coming into the downtown, it should be lit,” he told his fellow councillors. “After all that money we spent there, it should look beautiful.”
Councillor De Divitiis earmarked $10,000 for the project, even though he acknowledged it wouldn't be enough to light up the whole park.
"That will be just a starting point," he said. "Next year we add more money to it."
But at the advice of City Hall staff, it was decided to spend the $10,000 on a study in stead, to see how much it would cost to light up the whole park.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” said Councillor DeRose, in response. “I think we go buy some lights and put them up.”
While both Councillors DeRose and Handley voted against the study, it was still approved by the rest of council.
Another project included in this year's budget is the TD Niagara Jazz Festival.
Event organizers have approached the City about hosting a world music day in Beaverdams Park during the Canada Day weekend, effectively adding a third day of programming to the two-day festival organized by the city.
While a lot of the details still need to be hammered out, the event would cost an estimated $7,000 for an extra day of fencing and security.
Councillors decided to set aside $10,000 in the budget on an annual basis, so the money can be spent on another event next year.
And with that, Council ended Tuesday's deliberations with the budget projecting a net levy increase of 3.10%.
But nothing is final yet, as deliberations are set to continue next Tuesday.
