The Township of Tiny | Asset Management Plan Analysis: Part 3

III. What Does This Mean for You

It means that the cost of living in Tiny Township is about to get much more expensive unless the Council takes a serious look at all costs and rationalizes what is needed versus what is wanted. We need good roads, snow removal, policing, safe water, and garbage removal. Some want more social and recreational programs. Four councilors want a massively larger administrative center at a projected cost of around $50M while consulting reports tell us what we need are some renovations and a work from home policy for staff. Let’s look at some projections of potential costs below1.

Focusing on property tax implications only, if your current municipal portion of your property tax bill is $2,000 (remember the full property tax bill includes amounts for Simcoe County and the school board as well) by year 20 the municipal portion will increase to $2,956 just for asset management funding. If we add in an inflation factor for township operations of 2% compounded (a very conservative estimate), your year 20 municipal tax cost will rise to $4,133, a 106.7% increase. If we add in the estimated cost of the new administrative centre, reported to be an annual impact on the budget of $967.9k in document PWR-013-24, prepared by Tim Leitch, Director of Public Works, your year 20 municipal tax costs grow to $4,299, a 114.97% increase. That is if costs come in on budget and requested grants are received!

IV. What Still Needs to be Done

The asset management is one of many issues facing Tiny Township in the future. What are the next steps for Tiny Township with respect to the AMP?

• · The AMP needs to be updated for more in-field condition assessments to better reflect the true infrastructure needs, particularly with respect to non-core assets.

• · Findings from the Gordian Report (dated October 2023) dealing with the componentized building assessments need to be incorporated in the AMP. This report may show that buildings are in better shape than reported based on age assessments, (can be repaired rather than replaced).

• · All assumptions need to be reviewed ensuring they remain reasonable, including what sources of funding to use to determine the infrastructure deficit. Does it make sense to ignore 58% of current funding and rely solely on tax dollars to determine and close the gap?

• · Inflation for capital properties should be reflected.

• · A finalized financial strategy to deal with asset management needs to be included in the AMP and presented to council by the end of 2025.

  V. Conclusion

Although asset management is a complex and necessary endeavour, it’s just part of the overall operations of the Township. A well-designed AMP, and disciplined fiscal management over both capital and operating expenditures, will allow us to maintain our infrastructure and service levels. But at what cost? If we simply pile the costs of asset management on top of current operating costs, and get sidetracked by other unnecessary financial burdens like the proposed administrative centre, the tax increases will be significant. Significant tax increases hurts everyone and tarnishes our community. Those with lower income levels, or on fixed incomes, will be harmed the most. If we refocus our budgeting efforts on what is needed versus what is wanted, and seek greater operating efficiencies, taxes will go up, but at a more moderate rate.

We hope that you find this article informative and helpful in understanding how the AMP impacts you and how you can impact the ultimate costs for municipal services in the future. Let Council know what you think of the direction they are taking us and what you expect from them. They are there to serve the public, you! Together we can keep this wonderful community vibrant and affordable.