County council wants one more kick at the budget can

By Cecilia Nasmith

Though approval of the 2020 budget was on the Northumberland County council agenda Wednesday, councillors agreed further review was in order and set the dates to do so.

Hamilton Township Mayor Bill Cane made the motion to proceed in this manner, and to do so as soon as possible.

Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander seconded the motion.

“I think of what we do in Brighton,” Ostrander said.

“We have scheduled six meetings, around three hours each, for our lower-tier budget - we have county departments with larger budgets than Brighton has overall.”

The presentation Director of Finance Glenn Dees made set out a total county levy of $59-million, representing a 3% increase after assessment growth – as targeted by council in June 2019 at the outset of the budget process. The overall estimated impact of this levy increase to a median single-family detached home in Northumberland County would be about $29.20 (subject to change, based on tax policy and information from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, both of which will be finalized in the spring).

Chief administrative officer Jennifer Moore pointed out that the material has been available for a number of weeks, and there have been several overview presentations.

“This is no reflection on staff,” Warden Bob Sanderson said.

“This is a relatively new council, and I commend the concept of council working harder on this budget an having a more comprehensive look at it.

“This can't be deferred for a long time,” the warden agreed.

“We should at our earliest convenience address this so staff can move forward.”

His own suggestion was a review by department and a time frame of two half-days for their presentation. Councillors agreed that the morning of Feb. 12 and the afternoon of Feb. 13 would be the dates.

Moore asked about when final approval might be expected, adding that county council had a regular meeting scheduled Feb. 19.

“Is the expectation, at the end of the day on the 13th, council would be in a position to approve the budget, or hold off until the February meeting?” she wondered.

“We have tenders ready to go, and this does have financial impact. Even a week or so delay could make a difference this time of year.”

Ostrander suggested giving pre-budget approvals to these tenders at the end of the Feb. 13 session, but it was decided that council will consider adopting the budget on that date.

The special budget meetings will take pace in council chambers at the county building, 555 Courthouse Rd., Cobourg. The Feb. 12 meeting begins at 9:30 a.m., and the Feb. 13 meeting starts at 1 p.m.

To view draft budget materials, including overall highlights as well as individual departmental breakdowns, visit Northumberland.ca/Budget2020.