Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Wasaga Budget Passes

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Wasaga Beach
by Phil Birchard    

Just one day after Collingwood passed its 2010 budget, Wasaga Beach has also approved its budget for this year.

The tax increase in the 2010 budget is 2 per cent, which is down from a 2.8 per cent increase in 2009.

Mayor Cal Patterson says the entire budget is 48.2 million dollars, which is up from 43.9 million last year as well.

He says one of the costs in the budget that the town had no control over was policing.

OPP policing costs are increasing by 180 thousand dollars from 2009, and Patterson says that is without an increase in service.

He blames the increase on the fact that there were fewer tickets issued this past summer, because fewer tourists came to Wasaga Beach due to the weather.

Patterson says all of council took the goal of a two percent increase very seriously, and to meet that goal is quite an accomplishment by town department heads and council.

He says that both council and staff tried to hold the line on everything, but Patterson adds that the same service level has to be maintained as well.

He says council tried to stand back, look at the big picture, and see what people living in Wasaga Beach could actually afford to pay, and Patterson adds that people in town seem to be pleased with the tax increase.

Patterson says the only project put off in order to keep the increase to a minimum was the purchase of a grater for public works.

And he says there were some projects that were actually done sooner because of grants the town was awarded.

Patterson says those projects would have had to wait for a few years without the funding, so they jumped ahead in some cases.

Some of the projects in the budget this year include 2.34 million dollars for the second phase of the Bay Colony area sewer and water improvements, 200 thousand dollars for lighting at the Sports Park, and 100 thousand dollars for a new transit bus.

He says that the increase in Wasaga is a good number compared to other communities in the area, and Patterson says he's very impressed that town staff could get the budget done as quickly as they did.