Below are the questions I submitted this week to staff and the answers (in red) I received back.
Sidenote:
The 2021 budget staff submitted to Council on Nov 13, 2020 took into account a revenue increase of $707,400 to represent a 0.75% GROWTH forecast (which is how taxation is expected to grow from projected development within the City over last year's base).
Question 3 in my questions emailed to Staff on Wednesday, was about this 0.75% growth forecast for 2021. I wrote:
"During previous budget deliberations Oshawa Council has increased staff’s projected growth estimate. How does the actual growth rate compare to the projected growth rate for the past five years?...With the record breaking construction permits in 2020 is there not the expectation that will result in increased taxation in 2021?"
Since Staff’s answer to a similar question I asked last year was that “the formula to calculate the variance is the actuals compared to the budget”, this year I also asked: "What budget figures are used in the growth formula calculation?" and "Could Staff elaborate by identifying the actuals -is that the CVA or something else? Do Staff have the City’s CVA for 2020 and a projection for the 2021 CVA?"
Thursday evening I received Staff answers to my questions and the answer to my question 3 was "This is not a budget question but Assessment question. The growth estimate that is included In the budget is derived by the Market Change Profile Report from MPAC further complemented by the building permit reports generated by the City."
Interestingly, at Friday's meeting Councillor Chapman asked if there was any change to the growth rate forecast. Finance Staff answered that new information had come in on Wednesday from MPAC that the City of Oshawa's growth rate could be increased to 0.91%. He then submitted a prepared motion to make this change to the Budget. This means that MPAC expects the City's taxation to grow and $858,312 can be added to the City's 2021 revenues ($151,912 more than originally forecast in the the staff budget submission on November 13th but still less than last year's adjusted forecast Growth of 1%).
As a question to the motion I asked how the City's growth forecasts compare to the actual City's growth, if Oshawa's previous years' actual growth rates were published by the City, MPAC or the Ministry of Municipal Affairs? Finance Staff said they did not have them.
Next Councillor Nicholson asked (what seemed to me to be the same question I thought I'd just asked) what was the actual growth. Finance staff it would take a few minutes to find it. The Mayor said they could have time to look. A few minutes later Finance Staff said it could be provided at the next (final) budget meeting Dec 11th.
The 0.15% growth forecast increase brings the proposed tax levy increase down slightly. The 2021 budget that Staff submitted required a $3.59 million increase in the tax levy over the 2020 approved budget, being a 2.39% tax levy increase on the Oshawa portion of the tax bill over last year's.
The point in budget deliberations where Council left off on Friday, Dec 4th is now down to around a $3.30 million increase (2.19%) tax levy increase on the Oshawa portion of the tax bill. To have a tax levy increase under 2% will require finding $300K in savings or revenue increases. Even finding them, and making a motion to advance any, as several initiated by Councillor Nicholson were, still requires a majority vote of Council...and many motions failed to be approved with votes shifting ever so slightly, but the majority for the most part not seeming to want to deviate much from the budget as submitted by staff.
Budget deliberations resume Friday, Dec 11th 9:30 a.m. This is scheduled as the final 2021 Budget meeting. My goal, in keeping with my campaign promise is to see the tax levy increase not exceed inflation.
Sidenote:
The 2021 budget staff submitted to Council on Nov 13, 2020 took into account a revenue increase of $707,400 to represent a 0.75% GROWTH forecast (which is how taxation is expected to grow from projected development within the City over last year's base).
Question 3 in my questions emailed to Staff on Wednesday, was about this 0.75% growth forecast for 2021. I wrote:
"During previous budget deliberations Oshawa Council has increased staff’s projected growth estimate. How does the actual growth rate compare to the projected growth rate for the past five years?...With the record breaking construction permits in 2020 is there not the expectation that will result in increased taxation in 2021?"
Since Staff’s answer to a similar question I asked last year was that “the formula to calculate the variance is the actuals compared to the budget”, this year I also asked: "What budget figures are used in the growth formula calculation?" and "Could Staff elaborate by identifying the actuals -is that the CVA or something else? Do Staff have the City’s CVA for 2020 and a projection for the 2021 CVA?"
Thursday evening I received Staff answers to my questions and the answer to my question 3 was "This is not a budget question but Assessment question. The growth estimate that is included In the budget is derived by the Market Change Profile Report from MPAC further complemented by the building permit reports generated by the City."
Interestingly, at Friday's meeting Councillor Chapman asked if there was any change to the growth rate forecast. Finance Staff answered that new information had come in on Wednesday from MPAC that the City of Oshawa's growth rate could be increased to 0.91%. He then submitted a prepared motion to make this change to the Budget. This means that MPAC expects the City's taxation to grow and $858,312 can be added to the City's 2021 revenues ($151,912 more than originally forecast in the the staff budget submission on November 13th but still less than last year's adjusted forecast Growth of 1%).
As a question to the motion I asked how the City's growth forecasts compare to the actual City's growth, if Oshawa's previous years' actual growth rates were published by the City, MPAC or the Ministry of Municipal Affairs? Finance Staff said they did not have them.
Next Councillor Nicholson asked (what seemed to me to be the same question I thought I'd just asked) what was the actual growth. Finance staff it would take a few minutes to find it. The Mayor said they could have time to look. A few minutes later Finance Staff said it could be provided at the next (final) budget meeting Dec 11th.
The 0.15% growth forecast increase brings the proposed tax levy increase down slightly. The 2021 budget that Staff submitted required a $3.59 million increase in the tax levy over the 2020 approved budget, being a 2.39% tax levy increase on the Oshawa portion of the tax bill over last year's.
The point in budget deliberations where Council left off on Friday, Dec 4th is now down to around a $3.30 million increase (2.19%) tax levy increase on the Oshawa portion of the tax bill. To have a tax levy increase under 2% will require finding $300K in savings or revenue increases. Even finding them, and making a motion to advance any, as several initiated by Councillor Nicholson were, still requires a majority vote of Council...and many motions failed to be approved with votes shifting ever so slightly, but the majority for the most part not seeming to want to deviate much from the budget as submitted by staff.
Budget deliberations resume Friday, Dec 11th 9:30 a.m. This is scheduled as the final 2021 Budget meeting. My goal, in keeping with my campaign promise is to see the tax levy increase not exceed inflation.
