The city’s 2021 Operating and Capital Budget has been sent to council for final approval with a proposed tax hike of 3.38 percent before growth.
The decision comes after council was presented the changes city staff made to the budget following a glitch at the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) that led to an unforeseen expense.
Margaret Karpenko, the city’s CFO, says staff were able to find savings within city hall’s operations totalling over $760,000. That helped balance out the $825,000 expense created by the WSIB glitch, which was largely seen in the insurance rates for city staff and police officers.
With growth assessment factored in, the proposed hike sits at 2.99 percent, just 0.02 percent higher than what was previously proposed.
The budget will still see the city’s reserve funds injected to offset a significant tax hike. $1.4 million is being used in 2021, dropping to $440,00 the next year and gradually diminishing. The reserves are being used to account for the economic impacts of COVID-19.
Additional reserves are being used to support the North Bay Jack Garland Airport, which staff estimate will take the longest to recover from the pandemic.
Councillor George Maroosis was the only member to vote against sending the budget to council.
The budget is expected to officially be passed at council’s next meeting on January 26.
