An update to a story we brought you yesterday about the county looking for more support from the Province.
Mayor Amy Martin had put forward a motion in recent weeks that was supported by AMO, looking for changes in the funding structure, but has not put out a new motion this week that is more specific to the county.
This could include a percentage of the HST and/or a new deal for Norfolk.
In her motion she noted the Ford government “New Deal” with Toronto.
Her motion also looks at some shocking stats in our county.
Norfolk County residents have already seen a 29.8% tax increase since 2019 and a 50% water rate increase since 2020.
Norfolk County’s average household income for 2023 is estimated to be $100,007 roughly $8,700 lower than the Southwest Ontario average of our municipal partners, and $21,000 lower than the Provincial average
That full motion can be found below.
Whereas Norfolk County is a single-tier municipality with approximately 70,000 community members spread across 1600 sq km’s of land; and
Whereas the population density is 45 people per square km and considered ‘low” by BMA Consulting Inc. (BMA) standards; and
Whereas the population density can make it harder and more expensive to deliver certain municipal services such as water, wastewater distribution, waste management, transit, health care services and more; and
Whereas Norfolk County’s average household income for 2023 is estimated to be $100,007 roughly $8,700 lower than the Southwest Ontario average of our municipal partners, and $21,000 lower than the Provincial average; and
Whereas this income discrepancy places a higher-than-normal burden on County residents compared to the average Ontarian; and
Whereas only approximately 60% of Norfolk County residents utilize water and wastewater services, the rate debt burden per user is higher than other rural municipalities; and
Whereas Norfolk County’s percentage of residents in the age demographic of age 65+ is 26% higher than the Southwest Ontario average; and
Whereas the BMA study demonstrates that the amortization of Norfolk County assets has been increasing more than the value of the assets, at a rate of 1%, which is approximately twice the Provincial average demonstrating that Norfolk County has not been sustaining our assets in a state of good repair; and
Whereas without further funding assistance from the Provincial and Federal governments, Norfolk County is projected to become the municipality with the highest debt outstanding per capita across the entire province of Ontario based on participating municipalities in the BMA study; and
Whereas the BMA study identifies that Norfolk County is consistently lower in the average property tax categories across both Southwest and Provincial averages compared to participating municipalities, when given consideration to the total municipal burden of property taxes, water/wastewater charges as a percentage of the average household income Norfolk County’s burden is greater than both the Southwestern and Provincial averages; and
Whereas tax policy decisions, like the elimination of the subclass discounts for commercial / industrial vacant land, will assist in improving the metric going forward, as will ensuring well-planned population growth; and
Whereas the elimination of subclass discounts for commercial industrial vacant land will assist in affordability moving forward, it is not enough to ease the burden on our taxpayers; and
Whereas the Inter-Urban Water System (IUWS) numbers beyond phase one have not been considered in these calculations; and
Whereas if 66% funding is not secured from higher-order governments, Norfolk County ratepayers will see a 279% increase over the next ten years; and
Whereas 69% of Norfolk County’s water related capital budget is funded by debt and 85% of Norfolk’s wastewater related capital budget is funded by debt; and
Whereas Norfolk County residents have already seen a 29.8% tax increase since 2019 and a 50% water rate increase since 2020; and
Whereas Norfolk County passed a resolution in January advocating for a Socio-Economic Review to be done by the Province to look at alternative funding models for municipalities; and
Whereas municipalities are outpacing provincial contributions by nearly $4 billion dollars per year;
And whereas municipal revenues such as property taxes do not grow with the economy or inflation; and
Whereas Toronto received a specific “New Deal” to assist with their funding crisis, while Norfolk and other municipalities have equal financial concerns;
Therefore, be it resolved that Norfolk County staff be directed to investigate alternate provincial funding options for advocacy purposes to upper levels of government including and not limited to; a percentage of the HST and/or a new deal for Norfolk; and
Further that they report back to council before August 2024.