Newmarket's 2011 Budget - Providing Value For Your Hard Earned Tax Dollar

I dislike tax increases as much as the next person, however, a responsible budget (and a responsible council) balances the increase in taxes with the delivery of services that Newmarket residents ask for.

As I talk to people all over Newmarket, the message I get again and again is that people are willing to pay for the services we provide as long as we manage the cost of those services wisely. The easy – and politically opportunistic – option would be to take a scorched earth approach to the budget – the result would be reduced services (a.k.a. closure of facilities) and from what I am hearing, people do not want that.

This year our residents will see an “All in” tax increase of 2.92% for the average home (assessed at  $328K). It compares favourably with an inflation rate of 3.2% for the GTA as of December 2010 when you consider just over 2% of our increase relates to hiring an additional 20 firefighters to maintain the level of protection we expect for our homes and families. It means an increase of $106.35 annually of which Newmarket’s increase is $75.97.

We still continue to be competitively positioned when compared to our neighbouring municipalities. The 2010 BMA Municipal Surveys show the following average property taxes:

                                      Newmarket                York Region                 GTA   

Detached bungalow:          $3,151                     $3,432                         $3,380

Senior Executive home      $5,190                      $5,638                        $5,675

It should also be noted that our property taxes also include $372,000 for environmental land purchases and that $12,000,000 or 13% of our budget is specifically designated for asset replacement funding, something which many other municipalities have not yet been able to accomplish to the extent we have.

I want to congratulate staff & council for their hard work and commitment to deliver the objectives we set out to achieve: 

• Continuing our focus on maintaining a high level of Community satisfaction.
• Maintaining a responsible, affordable and sustainable tax levy to respond to current and future needs.
• Provide for the hiring of 20 new firefighters to meet the needs of a growing community and ensure public safety
• Provide more opportunities for community budget consultation … even more so than when we were acknowledged as a Best Practise Community by the Provincial Government.

This year we were able to take another important step forward by further  annualizing our costs for the full year… so that we go in to a new budget next year unencumbered and we have a clearer understanding of the impact that decisions made this year will have in future years.

Additionally, we are continuing our long term perspective by setting out a framework that targets a 4 year financial plan with specific goals to help us prioritize our resources.

This is a good budget; it is a responsible budget and it reflects a balance between the service level expectations of our community with the costs of providing these services.

If you would like more information, please follow this link: http://www.newmarket.ca/en/townhall/budget2011.asp?_mid_=743