Belleville affordable housing defunded by council in 2023

During the 2023 Operating Budget meetings on April 5 & 6, 2023 Belleville Council was informed that the 2023 Operating Budget would result in an increase in property taxes by 7-8%, which was comparable to the inflation in Ontario of 6.8% in 2022.

In response, they went over the 2023 Operating Budget line-by-line to identify areas (see the Issues Summary) they could cut spending in order to reduce the year-over-year increase in residential property tax levies and make the property tax increase more affordable for homeowners in a year when cost of living sharply rose.

In 2023, Belleville City Council voted to eliminate the $500,000 in funding for the affordable housing program incentives from the 2023 Operating Budget in an effort to reduce the increase in property taxes for homeowners.

• On April 5, 2023, they voted to reduce it by $300,000 down to $200,000 on April 5, 2023
• The next day, they reduced it by a further $200,000 down to $0, functionally eliminating the City’s only affordable housing programs.

Moved by Mayor Ellis, seconded by Councillor Allsop, and carried by council, they approved cutting $300,000 from D7-2 Community Improvement Plan Reduction.

Cutting the remaining $200,000 (D7-26 Community Improvement Program Reduction to $0) was suggested by staff to council after they asked for suggestions of where they could make further cuts. The cut was approved by council the next day, with no on-camera discussion about defunding program from any city councillors, leaving $0 in 2023 funding for the the City’s affordable housing incentives.

As of July 11, 2022 the current annual budgeted contribution to the C.I.P. program is $500,000 and the reserve fund balance currently totals $1.35M.

2023 vs 2022 Tax Rates

Mayor Neil Ellis, who campaigned on a 0% tax increase in the first budget and also acknowledged the need to build housing:

I apologize that we didn’t get to zero. Obviously that’s what I’d like to have done but as we all know with inflation and some other issues that were handed to this council we got through it and I think we got a respectable amount especially to comparable municipalities like Brockville, Quinte West, or the County.

Mayor Neil Ellis

What are Belleville Council’s higher priorities?

• Rejected a $0.50 garbage bag tag price increase (D7-29) – Rejected increasing the price by $0.50 from $3 to $3.50, which could have raised an additional $213,900 in revenues to reduce the tax bill. Councillors said homeowners are already behind the eight ball with higher costs of living.
• Rejected a Quintelicious funding decrease (D6-3) – Rejected decreasing the price by $15,000 from $25,000 to $10,000. Sean Kelly and Thompson said city eateries need support as they emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Rejected leaf and yard drop off access reduction (D7-27) – Rejected reducing access to leaf and yard waste drop off on Saturdays ($10,000).
• Increased police budget above inflation (D1-2) – 7.67% increase, with plans to hire four new frontline officers and five more dispatchers.
• Reduced, but did not defund the Façade Improvement Programs – Funding available to property and business owners in the Downtown Business Improvement Area to improve the look of storefronts.

$0.50 bag tag price increase a non-starter

One of the most debated issues line items was a a $0.50 increase in the cost of a garbage bag tag from $3 to $3.50 per tag. This would have raised an additional $213,900 in revenues offset property tax increases.

Councillors argued that the increase would be a breaking point for some households, and would lead to more garbage dumping and cost more in the long run to send city by-law out to find out who’s thrown what, where. It could also be due to the recent Capital Budget Survey, which found that respondents were fairly supportive of increasing most fees, with the exception of Bag Tags:

Participants were asked whether they would be in favor of user fees increases, and if so, which specific fees they would support increases to. While nearly 15% of the responses did not support increases to any of the user fees, respondents were fairly supportive of increasing most fees, with the exception of Bag Tags. Apart from Bag Tags and Transit Fares, which received just slightly less support, potential increases to other user fees, including Dog Tags, Pools, and Recreation Programs, were supported by over 30% of respondents. Arenas and Sports Fields were the most supported areas, receiving support from over 40% and 50% of respondents, respectively.

2023 Capital Budget Survey Results

Carr echoed a need shared by his colleagues to pare the budget down even further for the sake of struggling homeowners, especially “age-in place seniors” who are watching every dime as the cost of living spirals amid inflationary times.

How much did other municipalities increase property taxes in 2023?

Compared to Belleville’s 3-3.5% increase, here are some comparator municipalities:

• Quinte West increased taxes by 5.36% ($177/year/$250k assessed value), including contributing $150,000 to the Housing Affordability reserve in support of improving access and supply of affordable housing in Quinte West.
• Peterborough increased taxes by 3.15% ($133/year/$250k assessed value). The initial draft was 4%, but it was trimmed down. “Residents in our community are feeling the costs of inflation and the challenging economic environment in their daily lives” said Coun. Andrew Beamer, council’s finance chairperson.
• Prince Edward County increased taxes by 7.9% (5.8%) ($144.97/year/$250k assessed value) to maintain service levels and invest in high-priority areas such as health care and infrastructure and at the same time, expanded eligibility to their Municipal Financial Relief Program which had been piloted in 2022. Households earning less than $32,240 (single income) or $64,480 (family income)  can apply for credits of up to $350 on their water bill and $750 on their property tax account.