Staff Budget Recommendations

Staff Budget Recommendations

These Recommendations will just hide the Budget Increases

1. Grey Sauble Conservation Levy
The Grey Sauble Conservation Levy is $304,808 this year. This is normally an expense that is paid from our taxes. This year staff are recommending that the cost of the Grey Sauble Conservation Levy be transferred to our water rates.

If approved this will do two things. First it will give the illusion that we are saving money because it will lower taxes. Second, it will be hidden and out of sight since the Water and Wastewater department is not included in the annual brief. You will not know if it goes up next year.

Email Members of Council and tell them two things. First do not move this to water rates and second. tell them to negotiate free parking for Owen Sound residents at Grey Sauble sites. Parking at Inglis Falls for example is now $10.00 for a 10 minute visit. This discourages Owen Sound residents from taking their visitors to this local attraction.

2. Art Galley Debt
A few years ago when the Art Gallery ‘Note-for-Profit’ experiment failed the Art Gallery came back to the city with a very large debt – about $700,000. I recall Mayor Ian Boddy telling us at the time, not to worry because the Art Gallery would pay the city back for this debt. Since then the Art Gallery has been paying the city back at a rate of $50,000 per year.

This year staff are recommending that the Art Gallery’s $50,000 debt payment be moved to the 2023 operating surplus. If this happens it will give the illusion that the Art Gallery is doing better. The facts are that the Art Gallery’s is failing. The Membership line item in the 2024 budget shows revenue of $7,500 down from $9.500 in 2023 and $15,500 in 2022. As well the revenue from the Gift Shop is budgeted to be only $3,650 in 2024 down from $9,650 in 2023. The Gift Shop had budgeted for over $20,000 in revenues in 2021 and 2022 now we are looking at revenues of only $3,650. This is a clear indication that traffic is down significantly.

Email Members of Council and tell them two things. First this is not the time to renege on the mayor’s promise. Leave the debt with the Art Gallery where it belongs. Second tell them it’s time to open a discussion on the future of the Art Gallery.

3. Parks Full Time Position
This year staff are recommending that Parks add a full time position and eliminate seasonal and student time for a net savings of $20,000. This is clear a migration of work from seasonal to full time which will cost taxpayers in all future budgets. We all know that the $20,000 in savings this year will disappear in the future, perhaps as early as next year, when these seasonal and student positions will come back. The bottom line is that workloads should not have changed so there is no need to create a new full time position in Parks. This should not happen!

Email Members of Council and tell them two things First, nothing has changed in the Parks Department since our population has been shrinking so there is no need to expand the workforce. Second, it’s time to impose a freeze on creating new full time positions. Stop growing the workforce – we can’t afford it!

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