Midland residents can finally start planning around the town taxation for their bills.
After much discussion by the new term of council along with heads of staff led by acting CAO Andy Campbell, Midland council approved a 3.99 percent estimated blended tax rate increase, which includes the town's 4.58 percent tax increase portion.
The third day of budget discussions began following the bombshell decision of the Midland Bay Landing Development project losing its developer on Wednesday, which resonated throughout the budget. Whereas the previous two days had council members scrutinizing every penny of savings to reduce where they could on behalf of residents, Thursday allowed a looser flow to the proceedings.
Council entered the day at a 3.41 percent blended tax increase and 3.83 percent total with the contentious issue of student hiring tabled to follow the various agencies, boards and commissions requesting assistance.
What would have been a $260,000 request by the Midland Bay Landing Development Corporation board was amended to an approved $50,000 for housekeeping purposes, but the intense half-hour discussion was an insight to council’s reaction into the impact of its loss.
After advising that the board could get together to look into engaging a second bidder, Campbell added, “Some of you ran platforms that may have a different design for there.”
Gordon was asked about the impact that the Midland Bay Landing loss had on the third budget day.
“It knocked about one percent off,” said Gordon. “That’s sort of an immediate gain on this budget, it feels like a bit of a win. And clearly for people who were not fans of the current plan, there’s a lot of happy dancing going on. To some degree, I count myself among them.
“However, I wasn’t looking for this outcome; I was looking for compromises. Something we could do that would come out of these meetings that the developer could wrap their heads around, it would be a win for all of us.”
Coun. Catherine MacDonald, who had been struggling with comprehension issues regarding the report due to its non-streamlined design and presentation requested access to the Midland Bay Landing technical reports, only for staff to point out that all 2000 pages had been publicly available on the town’s website for some time.
A recorded vote resulted in an 8-1 approval for the reduced $50,000 amount, with Coun. Jim Downer as the sole nay as he had been in strong visual disapproval of the fallout throughout the entire discussion.
A $172,500 request for the Huronia Airport Commission was approved only after Mayor Bill Gordon and HAC representative Roy Ellis stressed that an upcoming announcement in the next month would result in a major initiative for North Simcoe, and with staff reminding council that it was a tri-party agreement with Penetanguishene and Tiny Township as co-owners who would need involvement in any council alterations.
Coun. Beth Prost admitted to feeling “trapped and bullied” into voting approval with no alternative, and Coun. Bill Meridis felt like councillors had “no voice on any of the numbers.”
The return of Nahanni Born to the executive director mantle for the Huronia Museum was well received by council, with their unchanged annual $84,000 request easily approved; a static annual $10,000 Culture Alliance request was also approved. The Downtown BIA was approved for $114,500 after a conversation involving future expansion of their membership area which council looked forward to in 2023.
Council approved a $162,000 request from the Severn Sound Environmental Association through their ongoing joint partnership across the Severn Sound watershed.
The Midland Public Library conversation around security was addressed by CEO Trish Hayes, aided by first-hand anecdotes by Gordon to the services it provided for all residents including those at the Guesthouse Shelter nearby. The topic expanded to the social services the library offered the community, with council approving a $1.36 million budget request.
Both Gordon and Deputy Mayor Jack Contin committed to not taking stipends during the $32,000 police services board request, which was approved.
The result of those decisions cemented the final numbers, but council had more to do in the fate of student hiring.
Meridis challenged staff’s decision to put the students on the chopping block, stating staff knew full well their importance to the municipality and council’s willingness to vote for their continued usage.
As staff countered that their removal was a valid saving option at council’s discretion, Meridis called staff’s bluff with a motion to reduce only indoor students; it was fully defeated. Moments later, the motion to eliminate all students was also defeated in a unanimous recorded vote.
Council requests followed.
An extensive discussion emerged from Meridis’ motion for downtown safety, with his reasoning that if the county or OPP wouldn’t help the town through increased security, then the town could hire its own security.
It was a motion of pageantry to make the case for concerns regarding the Guesthouse Shelter impact, which was defeated but not before Gordon reaffirmed commitment to working with the police services board and county council to find a remedy for everyone.
A request for insurance premium relief for the Midland Cultural Centre – an $11 million Weber Foundation donated building – caused council to worry about setting precedent for forgiveness on all town-owned properties.
As Meridis pointed out, the town had gifted reduced forgiveness of payments as staggered over five years, and the pandemic’s impact on their inability to pay should not have happened for a group that only paid a $1-per-year lease on the property.
An hour later into the dark of night, Gordon pitched an amended motion for council to forgive all insurance premium requests until the next term of council, speculating that the Midland Cultural Centre board would simply continue to ask forgiveness every year; the motion was defeated. The formal request for one year of forgiveness was then also defeated.
Immediately following that vote, approval was given to forgive the Bridge Club of $2,800 in water bill relief – half their request – regarding disrepair of a municipal building last year due to a burst water pipe.
The remainder of the budget was wrapped shortly after with many thanks from council and staff on the hard work by all to reduce the numbers to a satisfactory level.
After the meeting, Campbell said: “We ended up at a really good rate given the inflationary pressures that this town – and everyone – is facing right now.
“I hope our residents take a look at what we’ve done and how we did consider all the challenges. Our goal is to provide excellence in customer service, and that’s what we intend to do.”
All three days of the 2023 budget discussions can be found archived on the Town of Midland YouTube channel.
