City council was urged to reduce the proposed double-digit property tax increases, maintain expanded transit and active transportation projects and add several items to the municipal spending plan on Wednesday evening, a budget cycle tradition known as delegation night.
Council made no commitments and asked no questions of city staff after hearing from 15 delegates.
“We’re really just focused here to listen,” Mayor Cam Guthrie said at the start of the meeting, noting later that alterations to the draft budget will come during a council workshop next week, followed by consideration of adjustments on Nov. 29.
Most of the delegates didn’t make a specific dollar figure ask of council, with several calling for council not to move ahead with planned transit system expansion slowdowns.
“The wellbeing of our community is at stake. This is not merely a plea, it is a call for immediate, impactful action,” stated Steven Petric, chair of the Transit Action Alliance of Guelph. “Transit can no longer be the sacrificial lamb for short-term savings, particularly in the face of a declared climate emergency and housing crisis.”
That stance was backed up by several other delegates, including Nelson Chukwuma of Conestoga Students Inc.
“For many (students) who depend on transit, entire neighbourhoods are simply not an option because to get to work, school and other necessary places, it means transferring between buses or trips that are unnecessarily long,” he said, noting students have experienced consequences for being late for class or work as a result.
Maintaining the system is the same as a reduction, Chukwuma added.
“In Guelph Transit’s case, increasing service levels is maintenance,” he continued. “Transit is ultimately an issue of equity, climate change and housing. By deferring improvements the City of Guelph basically defers equity barriers, climate change and the ongoing housing crisis.”
A similar request was made by the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation not to scale back planned trails expansion efforts.
On a related note, council was asked to hand over responsibility for upgrades to the Trans-Canada Trail to the community rather than simply abandon its own efforts.
That request came from John Fisher, president of Guelph Hiking Trails Club.
“I’m not here asking for money. In fact, we are offering to help council achieve their key strategic objectives, their approved master plans, improve their regional government relationships and generate revenue for businesses at no cost to taxpayers,” he said.
“The justification for (city staff’s) no-build plan … is complexity, cost, uncertainty doesn’t resonate with passionate trail users who find that decision shortsighted and unacceptable.”
A couple delegates asked council to bring down the draft tax increase, noting residents are hurting in the current economy.
"In the middle of a historic affordability crisis, we urge council to reduce the proposed punitive tax increase, and do the hard work of making difficult choices to hold the line on spending, reduce costs and revisit some assumptions under-pinning the proposed 2024 budget," said Dustin Davis of the Guelph and District Association of Realtors.
"Right now, in homes across this city many Guelph families are wondering how they can balance keeping a roof over their heads, food on the table and gas in their cars."
He called on council to put a freeze on hiring new city staff, cut anticipated provincial impact-related tax increases until we learn how the province plans to make the city financially whole following legislative changes that lessen fees the municipality can collect from developers, and not to increase the budget for city council to attend conferences.
In terms of dollar figure budget requests, council heard four:
- $960,000 for facility upgrades at Guelph Farmers’ Market, of which $460,000 would be paid back
- $90,000 to support operation of the Guelph Wellington Community Health Van
- $43,445 each of the next two years to support physician recruitment efforts
- Along with anywhere between $100 and $100,000 to keep the drill hall renewal initiative an active project.
Guelph Farmers’ Market
10C, which operates the Guelph Farmers’ Market on the city’s behalf, asked for $960,000 to help cover the cost of new infrastructure intended to improve the experience of vendors and visitors. That work includes barrier-free washrooms, a new front entrance, a shared commercial kitchen and café, and indoor-outdoor event spaces meant to modernize and increase active uses.
Of that money, Julia Grady, 10C’s executive director, explained $460,000 would be repaid to the city.
An inspection of the market last year turned up a number of deficiencies, council was told, including an insufficient HVAC air system, needed electrical upgrades and identified a requirement for two new, barrier-free washrooms to support increased occupancy from 233 to 500 people.
10C representatives said they plan to fundraise the other half of the project’s cost.
Community Health Van
Guelph Wellington Community Health Van, operated by Sanguen Outreach Programs, is asking for $90,000 for 2024, the same amount that’s been asked of the County of Wellington.
In October Saguen officials learned a three-year Health Canada Substance Use and Addictions grant would not be extended beyond March and were told they should seek alternate options, council heard.
Making up 80 per cent of funding, the Health Canada grant currently covers approximately $240,000 per year and expires in March 2024.
The van currently visits each of its serviced municipalities every Tuesday and Wednesday on a bi-weekly basis, making two stops a day for two hours each, before returning to Guelph, where it provides off-duty service from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On average, the van serves 100 individuals a week in Guelph while in Wellington County, 55 and 45 individuals are served on a weekly and bi-weekly basis.
Physician recruitment
Guelph Wellington Ontario Health Team seeks equal parts funding from the City of Guelph, County of Wellington and the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, which each contributing $43,335 per year for two years.
Given the city’s mandated growth, Guelph will need to recruit 34 new family doctors, explained Ian Digby – something nearby communities are already working on.
There are existing, individual recruitment efforts underway, he noted, but “we don’t have a whole and community approach.”
Drill hall
With stabilization efforts completed but no future use determined, the drill hall revitalization effort isn’t considered an active project. Mike Salisbury of the Guelph Centre for Visual Art, which proposes to turn the hall into an arts hub, is asking council to put something in the budget to go toward making the hall usable, not just stabilized.
He suggested that could be $100 or $100,000.
“Now, these actions are largely symbolic in nature, but the community can’t raise funds to complete this project if it does not exist,” he said, noting the city has yet to determine what the building will become. “We can’t come to the table if one isn’t set for us.”
Council was further encouraged to provide financial support for Guelph Tool Library, though no specific dollar figure was suggested. Funding, suggested board chair John Denis, could be used to enhance its programming, which currently includes regular repair cafes, a downtown thrift store and Guelph Seed Library.
