City of Barrie finalizes 2022 budget with 2.94 per cent property tax increase
The City of Barrie finalized its second pandemic budget, packed with a property tax increase of 2.94 per cent.
Mayor Jeff Lehman calls the outcome reasonably balanced.
"I'm sure, for some, 2.9 won't be a welcome number, but the reality is with inflation today, the city's costs are actually rising faster than that," he said.
The increase works out to $132 more per year for the average residential home.
There's another bump for water and wastewater bills. In all, residents are looking at an extra $156 a year.
Lehman said he's glad council didn't have to make any service cuts this budget.
Instead, it made some additions, such as a new library branch in the Holly area for the southwest end, plus the addition of four new bylaw officers.
Barrie Police Services got the most significant slice of the budget pie, with a spending bump of 2.88 per cent.
The police service accounts for roughly 15 per cent of the City's costs.
"I think we need to take a good, hard look at the Barrie police budget going forward and look at ways we can reinvest some of those funds into upstream solutions," said Councillor Keenan Aylwin.
The City also focused on expanding road capacity.
Highlights from the 2022 budget include:
- Construction of a new Bryne Drive connection from Harvie Road to north of Caplan Avenue
- Resurfacing 6.3 km of roads and replacing 5 km of roads
- Bunkers Creek Culverts and Watercourse Improvements (Innisfil Street to Lakeshore Drive)
- Continuation of Mapleview Drive East Improvements (Country Lane to Yonge Street)
- Funding to reopen the Georgian Theatre in 2022
- Substantial funding increase to the County of Simcoe for housing and homelessness prevention
- Aerial spray to prevent LDD moths in city woodlots for 2022 and 2023
- New permanent traffic calming measures to create safer roads
The City's operating budget for 2022 is $392 million, with a capital budget of $346 million.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Montreal doctors' breakthrough discovery about causes of cerebral palsy giving hope
A breakthrough discovery made by doctors at the Montreal Children's Hospital about the causes of cerebral palsy is giving new hope to one West Island family.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Why Kim Kardashian is being sued for 'knockoff' furniture
The estate of minimalist contemporary artist Donald Judd filed a lawsuit against Kardashian this week, claiming the fashion and beauty mogul promoted 'cheap knockoffs' of his furniture designs.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.