Plympton-Wyoming will invest more money in roads, sidewalks and ball diamonds, but it will cost ratepayers more on their municipal tax bill.
The town has approved its $15.4 million 2017 operational and capital budgets during a one-day budget session Monday. It translates into a 4.5 per cent increase in municipal taxes for ratepayers or about $26 for every $100,000 of assessed value. In Plympton-Wyoming, the cost of an average home is nearing $300,000.
Chief Administrative Officer, Carolyn Tripp says councillors agreed to spend more money on roads and sidewalks to improve the community. “There is an aggressive capital program,” she says. “We put $65,000 more into sidewalk repair… last year we spent about $20,000. So sidewalks are a priority for us.” Most of that work will take place in Wyoming.
Work will also continue on Douglas Line and parts of Camlachie and Egermont Road will be repaired.
Plympton-Wyoming will spend over $330,00 more on roads this year – just over $4 million in all.
Tripp says there will also be an effort to improve two ball diamonds.
Plans are in the works for a major overhaul of Canton Park in Wyoming. “There will be a new building put up, the backstop is going to be moved; everything is going to be improved,” she says adding new netting to stop fly balls from going into the neighbours lawns will also be part of the project.
The town has set aside $100,000 for the project and is hopeful the province will come through with another $100,000 through the Ontario 150 grant program.
The ball diamonds in Camlachie will also be improved. About $150,000 will be spent to repair lighting and backstops and improve the gazebo there. Tripp is also hopeful there will be federal money available through the Canada 150 grants.
Another $30,000 to replace the boiler to heat the Wyoming Pool. Tripp says it is aging and experts don’t expect it to continue working through another swimming season.
The ball diamond improvements and boiler replacement were part of the reason the Parks and Recreation budget increased nearly 38 per cent – to about $372,000.
Mayor Lonny Napper adds some costs have increased due to the operation of the new splash pad. He says the cost to put the water used back into the sewage system costs the municipality $30,300 for water and sewer charges this year.
The budgets of the Camlachie and Wyoming Fire Departments also went up substantially by 17 and 10 per cent respectively. Napper says their budgets only increased because part of the new full-time fire chief’s salary is put in each budget.
The town will put last year’s surplus, about $578,000 into a fund to help renew the towns assets. The province is encouraging municipalities to put enough money aside each year to help rebuild infrastructure. Plympton-Wyoming would have to put $1.2 million away each year to do that. Figures from Plympton-Wyoming show that would lead to a tax increase of about $135 for every $100,000 of assessment.
Mayor Napper calls the document “a good realistic budget.
“No one likes an increase in taxes but there are things we have to do,” he says.
Napper adds historically, once the county and provincial education levy is set – the other two items which make up your municipal tax bill – the effect on your overall tax bill won’t be as large. “We’ll likely end up with a two per cent (total) tax increase.”