The Corporation of the City of Kawartha Lakes

Minutes

Budget Committee Meeting

Monday, September 16, 2024

9:00 A.m. - 12:30 P.m.

Council Chambers

City Hall

26 Francis Street, Lindsay, Ontario K9V 5R8

Members:

• Councillor Dan Joyce
• Deputy Mayor Charlie McDonald
• Councillor Tracy Richardson

Accessible formats and communication supports are available upon request. The City of Kawartha Lakes is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. Please contact [email protected] if you have an accessible accommodation request.

---

1.

Call to Order

Chair C. McDonald called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Budget Committee members T. Richardson and D. Joyce were in attendance.

CAO Ron Taylor, Director of Corporate Services S. Beukeboom, Director of Community Services J. Johnson, Director of Public Works B. Robinson, Director of Engineering and Corporate Assets J. Rojas, Manager of Customer Service B. Clarkson, Manager of Building and Property J. Smith, Manager of Parks and Recreation R. Smith, Executive Assistant Community Services L. Donnelly, Manager of Water and Wasterwater A. Hayter, Manager of Fleet and Transit R. Porter, Manager of Roads Operations C. Porter, Manager of Roads Operations T. Hopper, Manager of Roads Operations O. Vigelius, Manager of Solid Waste D. Kerr, Executive Assistant Public Works S. Harrington, Senior Accountant J. Hood, Executive Assistant Corporate Services N. Bloomfield, and Executive Assistant to Mayor and Council C. Ellison were also in attendance in Council Chambers.

2.

Administrative Business

2.1

Adoption of Agenda

• BC2024-18
  Moved By Councillor Joyce
  Seconded By Councillor Richardson

  That the Agenda for the Budget Committee Meeting of Monday, September 16, 2024, be adopted as circulated.

  Carried

2.2

Declaration of Pecuniary Interest

There were no declarations of pecuniary interest disclosed.

2.3

Adoption of Minutes from Previous Meeting

• BC2024-19
  Moved By Councillor Richardson
  Seconded By Councillor Joyce

  That the Minutes of the Budget Committee Meeting of Thursday, September 12, 2024, be received and adopted.

  Carried

3.

Deputations

There were no deputations.

4.

Presentations

4.1

BC2024-04.4.1

Overall Wage Impact on City Budget
Ron Taylor, CAO

CAO Taylor presented on the overall staffing strategy for the 2025 Budget and the wage-related impact. He began with an overview of the City as one of the largest employers in the area and one of the largest service deliverers. Approximately 50% of our staff are in the Emergency Services areas and in Long-Term Care and wages represent and 36% of the total budgets for the City. This is lower than comparator single-tier municipalities, all of whom have a higher proportion of their budget allocated to Salaries and Wages. As a whole the City is proposing 40.75 new positions after a thorough vetting process.
The City initiated a long-term forecasting model to help methodically on-board new staff at appropriate times based on service level need as well as growth. Annually, Departments review their forecasted needs and update accordingly. The 40.75 new positions are deemed necessary to meet current service levels and to ready the City for the inevitable growth. Some positions will offset current contractor costs by bringing the work in-house, others are a reflection of provincial changes to funding structures, particularly in Human Services. Departments all submitted Business Case Analyses in the vetting process as part of their proposed budgets. These submissions were asked to be shared to the Budget Committee in time for the Budget Deliberation process.
Overall, the increase in positions is approximately 4%, which is lower than other sing-tier municipalities; the City has traditionally trended lower than others in terms of staffing and the increases of last year and this year are really meeting a 10 year pent up demand. The expectation is that future budgets will not see the same levels of staff increase requests. The ramifications of not making these hires would be seen in service level reductions. The Overall Net Tax Impact of these new positions is $2,358,722.

• BC2024-20
  Moved By Councillor Richardson
  Seconded By Councillor Joyce

  That the Overall Wage Impact on City Budget presentation be received.

  Carried

4.2

BC2024-04.4.2

Departmental Budget Presentation - Community Services
Jenn Johnson, Director of Community Services

Director Johnson presented the Community Services Budget. She gave an overview of the individual divisions (Administration, Customer Service, Parks and Recreation, and Building Property). Collectively they are responsible for the City's Courier System, which includes Library Book deliveries between branches, oversight of the municipal customer service program, municipal recreational programs and leisure programming, maintenance of municipal forests, parks, cemeteries and trails, and administration of CHEST Boards and the Wilson Estate.
She pointed to a number of pressures facing the Department including an increase in Debit/Credit Card fees, increased contractor costs, an anticipated reduction in Student User Fees due to expected lower enrollment numbers, and the change to certain programs becoming operational/maintenance-based rather than Capital projects, which are funded differently. The increase in staff is partly due to larger builds and renovations that are coming (some costs are offset by Capital Budget though) and horticultural needs. Currently they are unable to keep up with demand and there is an increase in workload after taking over additional horticultural areas. Councillor Richardson noted that these positions align well with resident concerns that she has received and expects service delivery will improve after the new hires.
Some accomplishments in 2024 include the launching of the Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan, completion of the Design phase for the EMS Headquarters, revitalization of the Little Britain Community Centre and modernization projects at the Coboconk and Lindsay Service Centres.
The overall increase that Community Services is requesting is $988,296, for a total budget in 2025 of $9,423,815.

• BC2024-21
  Moved By Councillor Richardson
  Seconded By Councillor Joyce

  That the Community Services Departmental Budget presentation be received.

  Carried

4.3

BC2024-04.4.3

Departmental Budget Presentation - Public Works
Bryan Robinson, Director of Public Works

Director Robinson presented the Public Works Departmental Budget. He gave an overview of the individual divisions (Administration, Roads Operations, Waste Management Operations, Fleet Services, Transit Operations, and Water and Wastewater Operations). Together they are responsible for many legislative requirements of the City, including adherence to the Safe Water Drinking Act, MTO legislation, and Minimum Maintenance Standards on our roads as well as monitoring and reporting on Landfills. As a whole they administer many multi-million dollar contracts to fulfill operational and maintenance needs.
Roads Operations is specifically responsible for some specific Council-directed services such as brushing, dust control, ditching, and winter maintenance as well as administering locates, streetlights, storm water infrastructure maintenance, and permits. Solid Waste has oversight over 5 active and 11 closed landfills, all of which require monitoring and reporting in perpetuity. They also administer waste and recycling programs and is about to launch the new Source Separated Organics program. Fleet Services has responsibility for maintaining the City fleet (except for EMS fleet), with over 400 pieces of equipment. Transit Operations provide LIMO services as well as traditional public transit and charter services. Water and Wastewater operates 21 water and 6 wastewater systems and administers bulk water systems, sewer surcharge agreements and supports community wells.
Some of the budget pressures being felt by Public Works includes increase in fleet costs (passenger vehicles are up 18.9%, pickup trucks are up 27%, and heavy equipment are up 28.1% over the past three years. Repair costs are increasing as parts are up 5-10% and fuel costs are up  20% (gas) to 33% (dyed diesel). Contractor increases are also going up and there have been changes to certain grant funds that are also having an impact. In terms of accomplishments in 2024, they have increased their transit hours, installed GPS on all equipment, and implemented the new Permit Central portal, as well as supporting the International Plowing Match. For 2025, they are prioritizing the implementation of the SSO Program, a SCADA system upgrade and continuing to transition to digital technology.
The 2025 ask for Public Works is an additional $6,349,853 for a total budget of $45,156,198.

• BC2024-22
  Moved By Councillor Richardson
  Seconded By Councillor Joyce

  That the Public Works Departmental Budget presentation be received.

  Carried

5.

New Business

There was no new business.

6.

Other Business

There was no other business.

7.

Adjournment

• BC2024-23
  Moved By Councillor Joyce
  Seconded By Councillor Richardson

  That the Meeting adjourn at 11:52 a.m.

  Carried