Barrie councillors set sights on budget deliberations

Barrie city councillors addressed concerns over the impact a downtown development could have on city-owned property.
At Wednesday's meeting, councillors approved on consent a staff report recommending the formation of a 'Limiting Distance Agreement' between the city and Debut Waterfront Residences, which is behind a new residential development in the city's core.
At issue is the fact that the development, which will see two 32-storey towers bring 495 units to Dunlop Street West, is inching too close to the property that the current transit terminal sits on. The city is looking to make the transit terminal a year-round market in the coming years.
"Being able to just allow a bit of space between what our eventual buildable footprint could be there one day, which we have no plans for at this point, and the building itself is one of the helps that they were looking for," Mayor Alex Nuttall told CTV News.
Wednesday's council meeting was lighter than usual. City councillors are preparing to shift their focus towards the 2023 budget, with service partners such as the Barrie Police Service, the County of Simcoe, the Barrie Public Library and the local conservation authority set to make presentations for their financial demands next week.
The mayor says this new council term hasn't had much time to analyze the budget, given the number of holidays that have taken over the start of the term.
"Staff have done an incredible here at city hall to try to ensure that the budget aligns with the strategic priorities," Nuttall says. "So we're just going to work through it piece by piece; it's not going to be perfect, but for the amount of time that our council has had to actually take a look at it, I think when we work as a team, we'll end up with a fairly good product at the end of it."
Budget deliberations are set to begin on Wed. Feb. 8, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Budget 2023 prioritizes pocketbook help and clean economy, deficit projected at $40.1B
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.

Freeland's green economy spending aimed at competing with U.S. Inflation Reduction Act
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says clean energy and green technology spending may not have been the big-ticket items of the 2023 federal budget if it weren’t for the need to compete with infrastructure spending in the United States.
Federal government capping excise tax on alcohol after outcry
The increase in excise duties on all alcoholic products is being temporarily capped at two per cent starting next month instead of a planned 6.3 per cent increase.
opinion | The gun control debate in America has been silenced
In the wake of another deadly mass shooting in America, that saw children as young as nine years old shot and killed, the gun control debate is going nowhere, writes CTV News political analyst Eric Ham.
Kids would rather learn from smart robots than less-smart humans: new study
A new study published by Canadian researchers suggests that kindergarten-age children would rather be taught by a competent robot than an incompetent human.
Was Stonehenge a giant calendar? New research suggests maybe not
Stonehenge's purpose has long been a mystery, with some researchers proposing that it may have been an ancient solar calendar. But now, new analysis suggests the calendar theory is unsubstantiated.
Hamilton family raising awareness about Strep A after sudden death of toddler
A Hamilton, Ont., family is hoping to raise awareness about Strep A after the tragic death of their two-year-old.
Budget 2023 proposes across-the-board 3 per cent spending cut for government departments
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
Young children, the head of their school and its custodian. These are the victims of the Nashville school shooting
Another American community is reeling after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. These are the three children and three adults whose lives were taken by the shooter.