2023 Belleville Operating Budget

Operating budget statements

Property Tax Bylaw and tax levy breakdown

Final budget

Gross

The 2023 Operating Budget is $187,421,700 in gross expenditures. Increases over 2022 included:

• $16,919,200 in base budget adjustments, including $5,263,700 in pre-approved items
• $4,789,900 in approved operating issues

Net

After revenues (user fees, government grants and interest), $117,914,900 in net expenditures supported by property taxes. Increases over 2022 included:

• $3,961,800 in base budget adjustments
• $1,794,500 in approved operating issues

The increase in property tax required for 2023 totals $5,756,300 or 5.13%. This increase was partially offset by 1.29% growth in property assessment in the City based on MPAC’s final roll, resulting in residential property taxes increasing by 3.15% to 3.66%, depending on the area:

• Belleville Urban – 3.15%
• Cannifton Urban – 3.17% 
• Cannifton Rural – 3.66%
• Rural – 3.33%

Pressures

• Inflation was 6.8% in 2022 in Ontario
• Employee compensation in collective agreements and other service contracts (1.9% impact)
• Significant increases in the area of insurance costs, fleet related increases (including fuel), and heating costs. (1.15% impact)
• “infrastructure gap” (aging roads, pipes, and bridges) (0.57% impact)

Base budget increase: $16,919,200

Pre-approved: $5,263,700

• $1,000,000 YMCA Fee Waiver
• $4,288,600 in Development Charge fee waivers
• $140,000 Welcoming Streets Program

Base

• $543,500 increase in capital budget contributions to the capital reserve fund to address the “infrastructure gap” (aging roads, pipes, and bridges)
• $1,759,600 increase in employee compensation in collective agreements and other service contracts
  • Police salary increase of 4%
  • Municipal employees salary increase of 1.75%

Operating issues

• Police: $1,539,500 (7.67%) increase to $24M for police salaries and to hire four new frontline officers and five more dispatchers
• Quinte Waste Solutions: $350,500 (30.04%) increase to $1.5M
• Library: $103,900 (4.24%) increase to $2.6M
• Quinte Conservation: $102,200 (10.75%) increase to $1.1M
• Provincially mandated
  • Social housing: $551,300 (9.65%) increase to $6.3M
  • Emergency Medical Services (EMS): $381,400 (9.22%) increase to $4.5M
  • Long Term Care: $255,800 (9.23%) increase to $3M
  • Social services: $184,900 (-8.03%) decrease to $2.1M
  • Health Unit: $67,400 (6.04%) increase to $1.2M
• $50,000 reduction to Façade Improvement program to $35,000

Taxpayer Impact Analysis

Proposed budget

Staff initially presented a draft budget that would have required a tax increase of approximately 7%. To bring this down to a final residential tax increase of roughly 3% to 3.5% (varying by urban/rural rating), Council took several steps:

• Defunded affordable housing programs ($500,000)
• Applied $650,000 from the Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve Fund

Meetings

April 6, 2023 – Special council meeting

April 5, 2023 – Special council meeting