Columns » Opinion

GETTING THINGS DONE

February 21, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Mayor Tom Mrakas

Well, it is budget time not only at Aurora Town Council, but at the Region as well.
At Regional Council, we had a presentation by our Commissioner of Finance to kick off the upcoming budget process. The presentation helped outline the current pressures as well as the proposed tax levy from the Region.
The 2019 proposed budget includes $2.3 billion in operating costs and a tax increase of 3.37%. During the presentation we examined the 10 year capital plan which sits at $6.6 billion and what needs to be done to ensure that the Region continues to grow in a positive way.
The interesting thing that always gets looked at is how tax dollars get spent whether it is the local level or the Region. At the Region, for every dollar that is spent the breakdown is as follows – 30 cents York Regional Police, 28 cents Transportation Services, 19 cents Community and Health Services, 9 cents Corporate Services, 5 cents Environmental Services, 5 cents Financial Services, and 4 cents Other.
I am looking forward to dive into my first budget at the Regional level and look at ensuring that every dollar that is spent has value to you the residents of the Region – because, at the end of the day, it is your money and we need to ensure that we provide the best possible services to our communities!
Some did mention that the 3.37% was unacceptable. While that might be high, I believe that we need to come up with some concrete examples of where we can make adjustments and not Just say “we can do better.”
I know that I will bring the same level in depth analysis to the Region Budget as I have to the Town’s Budgets and examine the budget to find those areas that we could look at creating savings.
I am looking forward to beginning the budget at the next Committee of the Whole meeting in February. Now, off to go through the Budget binder!
Well, that is all for this week.
I am looking forward to working together with my Regional colleagues to get things done in a fiscally responsible manner.
As always, if you would like to get into contact with me please feel free to contact me anytime by phone 905-727-3123 ext. 4746 or by email tmrakas@aurora.ca and if you would like to sign up for more newsletters and Council updates then please visit Mrakas.ca/contact to join the growing list of Aurorans that are staying informed

         

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