Duane Hicks
The Town of Fort Frances is hoping the Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board’s formula for the apportionment of costs doesn’t change next month, or it will have a significant impact on the 2010 budget.
Council got an update of what’s going on at its budget meeting Monday from local DSSAB rep Coun. Sharon Tibbs, who indicated that at the DSSAB meeting on March 10, the board passed a resolution to review the funding formula after a request from the Township of Atikokan to switch formulas.
Now district municipalities and unincorporated areas are being asked to indicate their support for one of three formulas.
The formulas being presented include:
1). Unweighted assessment;
2). Weighted assessment using the weighted average tax ratio by class for DSSAB, including payments in lieu (PILs); and
3). Weighted assessment, including PILs, using municipal tax ratios for municipalities and weighted average tax ratios for unincorporated areas.
While Atikokan is in favour of Option #3, town council said Monday it wants to stick to Option #2, which is the current formula and which council feels is the most fair for district municipalities.
(Option #1 actually would be the cheapest for Fort Frances and Atikokan, but higher for all of the others except Chapple).
Going with Option #3 would drive up Fort Frances’ annual payment to DSSAB from $1,831,471.17 to $1,940,467.39—a difference of $108,996.22.
It also would increase annual payments for Lake of the Woods, La Vallee, and Morley, but decrease payments for Alberton, Atikokan, Chapple, Dawson, Emo, and Rainy River.
Unincorporated areas would stay the same.
Based on the current 2010 operating and capital budget, going with Option #2 would mean a total overall levy increase of 2.313 percent, or $3.57 per $100,000 of assessment for residential taxpayers But going with Option #3 would mean a total overall levy increase of 3.6616 percent, or $24.86 per $100,000 of assessment for residential taxpayers, she added.
The net dollar increase is much higher than that for Option #2 because there is a levy restriction for commercial and industrial classes.
The town only can pass on half of the levy increase to them, so the rest gets put onto residential and multi-residential—resulting in a taxation shift.
Witherspoon pointed out the levy increase mentioned above is based on the current operating and capital budget, which does not yet include education tax ratios or possible changes resulting from ongoing CUPE and firefighter negotiations.
“This has a tremendous impact on what we’re trying to do here tonight [Monday], which is get into our budget for 2010,” said Coun. Paul Ryan.
“It’s a tipping point,” he warned.
“It has tremendous implications to us . . . we’ll wait and see now if level heads prevail,” Coun. Ryan later added.
“We’ve already started lobbying for Option #2. The mayor has, and Laurie and myself have to a certain degree,” said Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig.
“Laurie has distributed some of the spread sheets she’s devised [to other clerks and treasurers],” he noted. “We have started the process.”
Mayor Roy Avis said the public has to realize how much of their tax dollars paid to the town actually goes to other agencies. For example, $15 of every $100 in property taxes goes to DSSAB while another $20 of that $100 goes to education.
“They think they’re paying it all to the council and council has control of it. Council does not have control of it,” the mayor remarked.
Under the current apportionment formula, Fort Frances pays the lion’s share (34.2 percent) of the total municipal levy to DSSAB. Atikokan pays nearly 14 percent while the others pay between 1.64 and five percent.
The unincorporated areas collectively pay 24.6 percent.
The local DSSAB has asked all of the municipalities to pass a resolution indicating their support for one formula option prior to its April 15 meeting.
Once resolutions are received from all councils and unincorporated representatives, DSSAB then will calculate support for each option.
If one receives double-majority support and there is a change, the municipalities’ shares will be adjusted accordingly.
Fort Frances council passed a resolution Monday in support of Option #2.
DSSAB’s approved budget for 2010 is balanced at $20,479.372.
While uploaded savings of $400,000 have been included in the budget, the total budget actually is 3.16 percent higher than last year ($627,587) as DSSAB must spend more money in some areas this year, such as an additional $411,954 in social housing.
