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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS - 2017-01-16 - 2017 Budget Issue Paper CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER ISSUE: BD13 - 2017 Budget Public Input - UPDATED FUND:Operatingand Capital DEPARTMENT: General PREPARER: Ryan Hagey, Director of Financial Planning BUDGET IMPACT: None BACKGROUND: Public input into budget matters starts well before the formal budget process. This includes City-wide consultations such as the 2013 Environics survey, the 2014 Your Kitchener, Your Say! consultation, or the 2016 Neighbourhood Strategy as well as more focused consultations for specific topics such as the Kiwanis Park Pool (2015), or City Hall Outdoor Spaces (2016). In addition to these consultations, the City also receives feedback about the proposed budget during the budget process. RATIONALE / ANALYSIS: Budget consultation is done through traditional means like mail, phone, or in person during Public Input Night (January 16, 2017) as well as electronic means like email, responding to City of Kitchener Facebook and Twitter posts, or through the Engage Kitchener survey about the 2017 budget. th As of January 11, feedback about the 2017 budget has primarily been received through Engage Kitchener. The three topics covered in the survey are: 1.Budget Awareness 2.Infrastructure Replacement 3.2017 Budget Intotal 160people had viewed the information, with 40 people providing responses. The 2017 budget survey responses collected to date through Engage Kitchener has been summarized and attached to the issue paper. As well, any comments received through open-ended questions have been provided. The Engage Kitchener 2017 budget survey will remain open until early January and the updated results will be provided to Council for Public Input Night (January 16, 2017). FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None. RECOMMENDATION: For information. IF1 - 1 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER TOPIC 1: BUDGET AWARENESS Transit, culture Active transportation infrastructure, infrastructure debt. Downtown (in that I am overly sensitive to the amount of funding for downtown initiatives at the expense of the rest of the city). Sidewalk clearing that has since been voted down. IF1 - 2 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER Capital expenditures, maintenance on infrastructure, new projects, and what the word other as in sources means for funds coming into the coffers. Downtown core development and public transit infrastructure. The always increasing police budget...Accessibility for residents including snow removal Library, community centres and school services Infrastructure Arts & culture, infrastructure Education and transportation. what this will cost me. Capital side of the budget. All Fire services and the downloading of costs to surcharges on water and utilities Transportation (trails and roads) The cost to the taxpayer! Cycling infrastructure and transit system. infrastructure/roads/trails I'd say I'm interested in the budget as a whole and how the individual pieces fit in. Infrastructure and capital expenditures. Operating costs, Road Maintenance Roads, water, fire $$$$$$$$$ community services Expenditures. Actual reasons for the constant high increases in taxes - including utility fees. Planning & EcDev, KPL, & Rec & Leisure Far too much emphasis on water and sewer infrastructure replacement. Sometimes it feels as if there is a rush to complete while the taxpayer still has a few bucks. I think surveys like this and other public engagement are excellent. IF1 - 3 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER Please stop funding Ontario's Catholic schools. I don't want my tax dollars supporting religious education, particularly a system that promotes sexism and homophobia. Reduce costs across all services. The city is doing a great job at finally reaching out to the public. I know in the past they always have. The new approach with this style of survey and being on social media makes the average person able to give their ideas. Itgives them the feeling of respect and makes them feel as if they are part of the city. Even if no one looked at the surveys and was only doing them to look good ( that woukd be horrible ) woukd still be helping the residents happy. Also I think more residents should be picked to have a valued vote in the decision. Call for applications and then interview them be4 they get a vote and there should be at least one person picked from each area of town. Please bear in mind that many people are on fixed budgets or have not had any significant wage increases in the last eight years. While the efforts to keep the tax increases in line are positive, remember that increases in water, sanitary and storm sewers come from the same pocket. Breaking the costs down into multiple categories does not decrease the amount taxpayers must pay. Let me keep my money!!! Consider cutting spending at the same time as always increasing taxes. This is not sustainable. TOPIC 2: INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT IF1 - 4 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER It would be good to quantify infrastructure debt in the same way that financial debt is measured. Further, it would be good to highlight the difference between property taxes, and utility fees (which aren't the same as taxes). It would also be helpful to highlight the cost of infrastructure to various groups. I.e., suburban homes cost more in infrastructure than downtown condos. I do not understand why a growing city that continues to collect additional revenue does not benefit the existing citizens - why on earth are we not benefiting from the additional strain on roads, resources and infrastruture. I wonder what would our city look like with no growth because it may in fact be better for existing citizens which seems counter- intuitive. The expectations of the taxpayer by the city are becoming far too great to handle. Timelines for completion are too tight. What are the consequences if action is not taken? Now that we are going to be catching up on the actual cost of infrastructure, the city should use these increased rates as a tool to educate residents on the cost of sprawl and the need for intensification. As the city digs up roads to replace aging infrastructure it should use the opportunity to assure that surface infrastructure is brought to modern standards too and not a new version of what was. Bike tracks, lanes and trails should be mandated along major and minor collectors. Vehicle lanes should be narrowed not just along collector routes but in neighbourhoods where residential streets were overbuilt to accommodate both parked traffic and two directions of movement. Parking in residential neihbourhoods can be allowed as long as one lane of movement is possible, given the low level of vehicular traffic along most residential streets. This assures a long term reduction in maintenance with less road to clear of snow, less road to repair and an increase in permeable surfac, leading to less runoff. This would not only show outward progress but (a standardization of road width and a standard for where what type of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure is most appropriate) could reduce the need for deliberation and review when a change is proposed as a result of infrastructure replacement or expansion. IF1 - 5 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER While I didn't list infrastructure as a primary concern above, I recognize the need to maintain it and am happy that my tax dollars are being spent in this way. What has been done to reduce costs? The ion will be amazing for the city. The way it was done has affected the local business so bad cuz of the way it was built. Why was so many streets close at one time the plan should of bin to start at each end of track and build the track like they have been doing for over 100 years . Team one Digging and preparing ahead of the team building the track and a team cleaning up and opening the road behind them. So only a few blocks is closed at one time. I know it's slower then having so many crews working all over at once but the crews doing it my way would get so good at it cuz the would only have one job over and over till it's done that by the end they are working section faster with less labor costs 5hen the plan called for that section of track I know the city of Kitchener is working on addressing the aging infrastructure. I think Social Media updates about recently replaced lines would be a fantastic way to showcase the work that you guys are doing. While I understand the need for infrastructure replacement, then manor in which city is using the taxation and user fees is disheartening. The user fees (i.e.: storm water) have grown exponentially once taken out of the property tax portion of the bill. The storm water management used to be in the property tax, was removed and put as a user fee and the city said look how we are only raising property taxes minimally. But that wasn't true as the portion of property tax was just changed to a user fee and added on top of property taxes. Now those fees are climbing fast. It would be nice to understand more clearly dollar values being applied to each area. In the budget, I see an increase of $4.4 Million in salaries and wages from 2015, but only an increase of $1.5 million for all of Equipment Reserve Charges, Materials & Supplies, and Repairs & Maintenance. When you say you have to raise utility rates, taxes, and service fees (and are now trying to add fixed delivery costs to water to drain even more), it would be nice if the budget was more clear that these increases was for actual work that is needed and being done, and not transfer funds to increase salaries. TOPIC 3: 2017 BUDGET Having the city clear sidewalks is critically important from the perspective of both functionality and respect for those who have accessibility issues. With our city and region completely committed to enhancing transit, both monetarily and in policy, particularly through LRT, it is utterly unreasonable to ignore the crucial role sidewalks IF1 - 6 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER play in the transit system. The best-run LRT system depends on every single person getting to LRT stations. And those people are going to walk there. Even if a user takes a bus to an LRT stop, the user must still walk to the bus. Getting people to take transit requires an outstanding user experience, from start to finish. If it is a drudgery or unsafe to walk to a connecting transit stop, that single issue will dissuade people from making the leap to sell their car and use public transit as a long-term replacement. The success or failure of LRT rides on whether people are willing to overcome the weakest part of the public transit experience. And snow clearing from sidewalks is an essential part of this. If seen as an extension of the transit system, the cost of the city clearing sidewalks is exceptionally low, and indeed an integral part of the transit system this community is so committed to. Finally, the accessibility of the transit system for people with mobility issues cannot be merely an afterthought in the planning process. Entrances to buildings, and even entrances to buses, are now accessible for people with mobility issues. These changes are required parts of building infrastructure in Ontario. If our infrastructure requires accessibility for people with mobility issues, how much more should our sidewalks, the crucial element in reaching any infrastructure, be accessible throughout the year for those with mobility issues? More money put into public transit and bicycle infrastructure as well as cultural activities. Please, take into consideration what other cities in the world are doing to become more liveable and enjoyable. To be honest, the budget is very hard to read and understand. It is hard to see what investments are being made in active transportation. The feedback I have is as follows: o Implementing the bike plan is very slow and laborious, this is disappointing. o Not implementing sidewalk plowing in winter is a huge blow against walkability of the city. For approximately 6 months of the year, it is impossible to walk most places without encountering an uncleared sidewalk. The status quo is entirely broken, and yet nothing is being done to fix it, and staff report suggested there was no problem. This is incredibly insulting to those of us who actually get to see reality. While not strictly a budget issue, obviously, it's related. o There should be a regular source of funding for trails. Please reconsider sidewalk clearing - as a person who does not like to see the annual increase in every level of government, I completely support this increase. This one action would actually serve all property owners and give us all something of equal value. As a daily walker, the conditions of our sidewalks - especially this last week, have been disgusting. I am an able-bodied, middle aged man and have had many slips and difficulty getting around - so much so I have resorted to walking on the road which is not very safe. Why are our roads in better condition than our sidewalks? What does that say about our city - do we really value our citizens when roads are plowed so vehicles can move but people cannot? This is most certainly not a walkable city in the winter. Those folks who have any type of walking disability would not have been out this last week. PLEASE RECONSIDER. IF1 - 7 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER It would be nice to know at what age our water and sewers are considered in need of replacement, based on the above age of pipes diagram. I can't help feeling we are rushing to catch up on a greater percentage of this infrastructure than maybe we really need to and increases are landing heavily on your citizens. Fund Kitchener downtown wide Wi-Fi. Cement Kitchener's status as the technology hub of Canada. Fight against the ever increasing police budget. Put more into social services. Snow plow ALL sidewalks, crosswalks, and trails Eliminate all P3 agreements due to the overwhelming evidence of them not working What has been done to reduce costs? I woukd like to be a member of council. I m a active member of the city and would give 100 percent to know everything about the budget and research the ideas I had be4 I gave them. How do veteran councilors and the Mayor look themselves in the mirror in the morning. They are the reason we have the infrastructure deficit and while they provide generous pay packages and COLA adjustments to staff they fail to realize that taxpayers do not have growing incomes. Also we need to stop any bonuses or mediation on fire services. I don't see any planning in the capital budget to convert Duke, St Leger, and Park streets to underpasses under the GEXR tracks. With increasing train service these projects should become more of a priority to reduce to the number of potential train/vehicle interactions (cross-product) and reduce traffic congestion. They should be added at 2-5 year intervals in the capital budget. Because of the placement of the GO rail yard relative to the future multi-modal hub trains have to leave the yard cross Duke and St Leger BEFORE they begin their trip to Toronto and then cross them again once enroute; the opposite happens in the evening. This means that even for the current 4 trains in the AM, 4 trains in the morning there are 16 crossings every day not including freight (+2?) or VIA (+2?) trains. Once GO service moves to hourly or faster, the number of stoppages increases greatly. Lancaster also needs to be made into an overpass for the same reason, but I realize that is a regional road. The leisure facilities master plan needs to be updated to plan for a major facility or multiple facilities downtown. More and more people are living downtown, but there are no proper indoor tracks, swimming pools, etc. for these new residents to use and they need to leave the core to access them. Currently all the proposed investments are in new or refurbishing facilities in the suburbs; this needs to be rebalanced. Traffic is becoming an increasing concern. My dream would be that there is an east-west LRT to link with the LRT that is currently being built. In its absence, it would be helpful to have upgraded cycling infrastructure so that cyclists could get downtown safely. This should get some of the vehicles off the road (It would get mine off the road). This means IF1 - 8 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER dedicated bike trails that are separated from the vehicular traffic by physical barriers (or by lines of parked cars), and to have the cycling infrastructure paved. Gravel, stone dust, potholes and other rough surfaces are not cycle-friendly. I would love to see increased funding for the local arts scene. I appreciate the efforts that Council has made in recent years to bring us out of the deficit, it's important to have quality services and a balanced budget, while maintaining reasonable tax rates. Reading through the budget, I think it makes sense to leave the money in the DPPCC budget to cover the Kiwanis park deficit and to ease 2018 budget stress. I also think that addressing the WSIB changes should be a priority, I think that ensuring tax increases are commensurate with the rest of Waterloo region and using those extra funds to help build that fund would be more beneficial than working to have the lowest tax increase of the region, though I appreciate the efforts made to minimize the impact on my wallet. Be cautious with rising property taxes. While inflation in rising at a steady rate, wages are not always following suit. Rising storm / water fees are rising at 13% and that is after already taking it out of property taxes (which didn't go down) so was already a +/-9% tax hike when implemented. What is the city doing to potentially CUT spending instead of always increasing? Considering the enormous amount of money spent on the LRT system (that the public voted down), I would like to see careful consideration given to putting any more dollars toward it with transparency on why and where the dollars are being spent. Rather than looking at a wishlist and then deciding what will be included, please budget more like a taxpayer. Start with how much money is coming in, then decide what an acceptable tax increase would be give the inflation rate, local average wage increases and any critical needs. Given the amount of money you have, decided what you can afford to offer. This is the way I must budget. While there are items I might really want, if I don't have the money this year, it doesn't make it into the final budget. Also don't pick up the slack when the upper levels of government make cutbacks or download services. While we may hate to see these cuts, it is not the city's responsibility to fund items beyond its mandate (i.e. picking up social service costs no longer provincially funded. As regards the fire budget, limit any budget increases to the rate of inflation. Have this service finds any additional funds from within their existing budgets for a few years. Their will most assuredly be a hue and cry from both taxpayers and the fire service. Use this as an opportunity to redirection focus to the cause of these problems... the province. The taxpayers can only suck it up for so long. I am concerned about the impact of increases in property taxes and utility rates on seniors and vulnerable populations. I would support increases in property taxes being adjusted for income levels so that those of us who make more, pay more. perhaps more tax rebates for seniors/lower income. home values are not always a great indication of IF1 - 9 CITY OF KITCHENER 2017 BUDGET ISSUE PAPER income level. property values are also increasing rapidly while income is stagnant for many. home ownership is also a big step forward in achieving financial security - higher taxes and utility rates will make it difficult for first time home buyers. Im not worried about me but I do worry about my neighbours. I hope council will consider utility rebates for seniors and vulnerable populations. Keep on taxing. I'll just plant more money trees. Why does it feel like fire budget is ever increasing and outpacing inflation? Why do firefighters obtain better-than-inflation rates for increased wages and enviable hours of work? In addition: what feedback does the city have towards the region's police budget that is outpacing inflation at an unsustainable rate? IF1 - 10