Budget Consultation '23

The 8.6 % increase is un acceptable. The staffing positions of 2 CAOs in my opinion is unnecessary. We need Bylaw positions that covers weekend complaints after 4pm.

This budget is a ridiculous overreach in a time when many are struggling with bills and keep food on the tables. Clearly this council has visions of grandeur when they intend to download a 6% or more tax increase on the constituents while wasting resources to erase a Town logo and moto that is barely even out of the box! Not only is it wasting the money we paid to develop and introduce but now we spend it a second time mere months later. Your clear dislike of anything from previous council is not only showing its costing ME money. Get it together and come up with a reasonable budget.

You are right there is no right or wrong. My thoughts. This budget is full of what ifs, no substance. 84 priorities? Let's remove one Windrow priorities, we paid a significant amount to find out 4 years ago it is 4 million. Off the table, medical centre? I for one will not support paying a double tax for a provincial issue. As our representative you should be on queens Park every day pushing this and Simcoe. What is the mysterious 5 million for discretionary? We are close to a recession, what is this. It is the taxpayers money, to state discretionary is absolutely not correct. Reduce your priorities. 84? Most successful businesses and people will say 5 per year. Again a total waste of taxpayers money. This budget is one of the worst I have seen without any real substance and I hope everyone of the residents step up and say something. This is an absolute disappointment

You need to be fiscally responsible. This is not the year to be adding additional staff. Everyone is struggling and giving up things they want to do. How many of the Town Stsff actually live within Town limits and will be affected by the proposed tax hike? Councillors - please listen to your constituents and stop being yes men to your mayor.

Wow! Over an 8 percent increase this is just unacceptable. I voted this new council in, with the exception of one, and this is what we get? Unacceptable and shameful

We’re struggling with inflation same as the town. Couldn’t anyone find some savings somewhere. We’re dying out here. Give us a break. Tell me where in my budget I’m supposed to get an additional $200 for taxes. No pay increase for councillors. I’m not getting an increase and a lot of people aren’t. Hold the line. Give us, the residents, a break.

Having a $550,000.00 slush fund and calling it Council Initiatives is unfair to the taxpayers. If Council wants over half a million dollars to simply spend on secret projects, they should reveal those projects as part of the budget process. A Council that took office on a platform of transparency should be ashamed of this slush fund.

Why the huge jump in members of council expenditure? This is excessive and I completely oppose this ridiculous increase. And I would like an answer.

We are witnessing very difficult times for many and have been for a few years now. People need some kind of break to ease the pressures of the high expense environment we are currently in.
Despite the massive expense of an Arena/library project without grant funding, despite the higher inflation, despite the run on Reserves the last few years, we need help.
Keeping the tax increase low may require a further transfer from Reserves to ease the burden on taxpayers, yet allow for the key project work to be done such as delayed infrastructure work and development of a downtown on Main Street.

I would love to see reduced flooding, improved drainage and storm sewers placed on Shore Lane adjacent to where this project is to take place. I am also curious to know the reason why the Ainsley
Group appears to obtain a majority of all the projects.
Taxes especially on the waterfront are extremely high and I would strongly appreciate NO tax increase.
Regards.

Thank you for this opportunity for public input!

Consideration of climate change mitigation should be included in all that is being done in this municipality. A knowledgeable climate advisory committee is necessary for this purpose if the budget doesn't allow for the hiring of a climate specialist, although casino revenue could be taken into consideration as well besides what we may have in the budget. Climate change mitigation in the form of development and infrastructure which use green materials along with green energy will save money in the long run. Retro-fitting existing government buildings with green energy will, of course, initially have a cost but will also save the town money in the long run. I would like to see that the new twin-pad arena and library gets built with green energy features.

When adding to town vehicle fleet, please consider purchasing electric vehicles. Electric vehicles chargers should also be installed wherever possible around town, otherwise owners of electric vehicles will not come to visit if they do not have somewhere to recharge.

Council has acknowledged that we are facing a climate emergency. The 2023 budget should include funding for climate actions such as:
- creation and funding of a Climate Action Advisory Committee
- development of a climate action plan with reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions and the eventual hiring of a climate specialist
- continued community education programmes on climate change and how to reduce one's carbon footprint
- incentives for local businesses to improve energy efficiency and reduce their emissions
- development of a green building code applicable to any new development
- green features added to the new Twin Pad facility to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions
- infrastructure funding for climate change adaptation including flood management
The Town should use a portion of the Gateway Casino revenue as one of the sources of funding to promote climate action.

Hello,

I would like to see the 2023 budget include funds to reduce our impact on the environment. As we are on the largest freshwater beach in the world, we need to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Suggestions:
- Hiring of Climate/Environmental Specialist
- Creation and funding of a Climate and Environment Advisory Committee
- Development of a climate action plan, including targets and actions plan to reduce the town GHG emissions
- Partnering with other townships initiatives who have implemented climate action plans to expedite processes
- Education of the community on climate change and how to reduce carbon footprint
- Incentives for local businesses to improve energy efficiency and reduce their GHG emissions and plastic consumption
- Environment protection and conservation policies improvement and enforcement
- Green building code improvement and enforcement for any new development
- Green features addition to the new Twin Ice Rinks Arena and Library to increase energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions
- Infrastructure funding for climate change adaptation such as storm-water, drainage, and flooding management

I also believe a portion of the casino proceeds should be included as a source of funding.

Happy New Year!

Thank you for your consideration,

Lori Prymych

Our town need more budget to work on environment projects that is lacking in Wasaga Beach

Would like to avoid yearly flooding of Shore Lane west end that is way overdue! We residents are tired of having to deal with spring flooding. This occurs from 70th street all the way down to the end of Shore Lane! A promise that is way overdue...

We need affordable housing which isn't huge homes. This town lacks affordable rental units. Most towns have apartment buildings. Towns with much smaller populations than Wasaga have low rise buildings. Also we do need condos for seniors who can no longer maintain their properties. Let's stop spreading out and build up.

Lower all speed limits to 40 kms. Add speed bumps from Nancy Island parking lot to Schnooner Town bridge. Force traffic to use River Road West as a bypass if traffic is going through Wasaga particularly casino players.

The budget is very complex for the average resident to plow through. A great deal of interpretation/explanation would be very helpful in guiding our responses. I have concerns about the extra staffing (numbers and costs) given that I don't know what they are required for. I am also concerned about the costly Special Project position and sincerely hope it will be offset by avoiding the need for consultants. I would like to see the beachfront buildings sold and the revenue available for other things such as ongoing infrastructure improvements and community development (programs, services etc). We need to invest in our community as a residential one and not only a tourist location. I would not support the sale of any municipal land at Beach Two to Developers. That area is popular and should remain for recreational/tourist use only. I do not agree to the expenditures on Events early in the season (May and June) as they are often affected by weather, and there are not enough attendees to justify them. Low budget activities should be sufficient. I would not support a major tax increase and sincerely hope that the Library/Arena project will not be cited as a contributory factor as there is already a plan in place to pay for that. I encourage council and staff to release a lot more information and seek a lot of ongoing consultation regarding the budget and ongoing projects and expenditures.

I have been a resident of this beautiful town for over 30 years.
We have never had a tax increase of 6%, or even come close to that. The highest I can remember is 4% to 4.5%.
With the economy in the state it is in right now with high inflation and BOC rate increases, it is surely not the time to even try to implement a rate increase of that much.
People are struggling. Families are struggling. We have a a vast majority of residents who are retired and on fixed incomes. We have a lot of young families in this town. Speaking to my neighbours, who most of them are retired, they are all scared of the thought of such an increase.
Town staff and council have a duty to all our residents and now is the time to tighten the belt and focus on cost reduction, efficient use of all staff, and prioritizing projects and improvements. Do we really need 14 new staff positions this year?
The closer the budget comes in at BOC targeted rate of 2% inflation, the better.

Drainage and Stormwater Management Studies were completed in two areas in the West End, one on Constance Boulevard, and one on Shore Lane (from Sylvan Avenue to west of 74St North).
These two areas have been flooded every year for a long time, it is time to fix the problem which has been long time due, therefore local residents and taxpayers hope the work will be included in infrastructure improvement 2023 budget.