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Tuesday, February 8, was budget day for Saugeen Shores Town Council.

The day-long deliberations began at 9:00 a.m. and ran the entire day with staff presenting the 2011 budget for each of the departments.

According to Treasurer, Lori Sweiger, town staff was not recommending reductions or enhancements to existing levels of service, although the budget did include modest increases to most fees and charges among them, seasonal fees at the Harbour and Tourist Camps, consumption rate for water and sewer and bag tags.

At the outset, an initial  3.37 per cent increase was proposed to the tax levy to accommodate increased capital funding to $1.5 million and to fund the balance of the operating budget increases.

Despite nominal increases, most departments ended 2010 with an operating surplus.  Those that did not were a result of revenue shortfalls rather than expense overruns.

As with any municipal budget, there are expenses over which there is little control, such as insurance premiums, wage adjustments and benefits in addition to losses in revenue due to declines in investment and interest income because of lower rates.  Group benefits for instance, due in July, are expected to top 10 per cent (10%) in addition to increases in areas such as CPP and EI premiums.

One of the more stable areas reviewed was that of doctor recruitment and medical operations.  With a full compliment of doctors and a Bruce Power contribution of $135,000 being held in reserve, the municipal medical situation is in a healthy position.

Sweiger presented the tax levy to Council in an easy-to-understand 'pie chart' that illustrated where the 2010 budget was allocated and also how the upcoming 2011 budget would be distributed.

When it comes to dollars, the municipality actually ends up with the smallest slice of the pie of monies raised.  The County receives 35 per cent (35%), the school boards another 25 per cent (25%) and, finally, the municipality gets to retain 40 per cent (40%).

Of the 2011 budget the following is the breakdown of allocation:

Saugeen Shores' Treasurer, Lori Sweiger explains at the day's end

When looking at the disbursement side of the budget, the funding side should also be understood.

Several issues were raised from the various departments, including Police Services, Fire, Harbour and Tourist Camps, Parks and Recreation, Waste Management, Public Works and Building and the Business Enterprise Centre.

At the end of the day, the initial increase to the tax levy was reduced to 2.97 per cent and staff will be working to bring it closer to 2.8 per cent (2.8%) ... in comparison, other surrounding municipalities are looking at levies ranging upward to 8 or 10 per cent.

Following the full day of meetings, staff will complete revisions to the budgets as required and requested by Council with a complete multi-year Capital Forecast to be brought back to council for further review.

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Tuesday, February 08, 2011