By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The 2025 budget was officially presented to members of Wilmot council and the public who attended the township’s first budget meeting either virtually or in person on Monday evening.
Following the budget presentation by interim CAO Greg Clark, councillors were permitted to ask questions of staff. Township residents will get their say at a public meeting on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. that is sure to get plenty of attention.
The financial situation the township finds itself in has led Coun. Harvir Sidhu to prepare a motion for the next township council meeting on Dec. 16.
“I feel like the residents should know how we got to where we are; something we can all learn from – a comprehensive document that can be referenced, mainly to add greater transparency,” he said.
The 264-word motion draws attention to the challenging financial position and a significant infrastructure gap.
“Whereas members of the public do not have a comprehensive document to reference outlining the historical position of Wilmot Township; whereas to better inform council and the public about the factors that have contributed to this situation, it is essential to compile a comprehensive historical report on the township's financials. This report will provide valuable context, highlight trends and identify key policy decisions that have influenced our current financial standing,” said a portion of the motion.
It goes on to ask staff to prepare a report outlining the history of Wilmot’s financials including a high-level summary providing an overview of the status of reserves over time, debt levels and contributions to reserves among other budget lines. It also asks for the township's current financial position including debt levels, revenue sources and expenditures. Sidhu is hoping staff can deliver a report to council after budget deliberations, if not sooner.
During the meeting, Coun. Kris Wilkinson expressed his concern regarding population growth when compared to the size and cost of government.
“Looking at our financial statements as far back as 2005, we had a population of 17,500. At last report in 2022, we had 22,157, so we saw an increase of 5,000. Expenditures … went from $6 million in 2005 to $24 million in 2022 and this year it’s being proposed at $33 million.”
He added there hasn’t been much population growth but a massive increase in expenditures over the last 20 years and an increase in staff from 48 full time in 2005 to 85 in 2022.
“What I see is a spending problem. What I am asking for – and I can appreciate all the requests – (is) the justifications for this and I totally get where you’re going. I don’t see this being affordable for the residents of Wilmot and I don’t think it’s something we can work with as is.”
Wilkinson asked township staff for a comprehensive list of programs along with what they cost, how they are being accessed and utilized along with options for service cuts. Interim CAO Greg Clark explained Wilmot doesn’t have a spending problem but rather a revenue problem.
“When you ask about bare bones cutting out services, if council wants to identify which services they’d like us to look at, we are more than willing to look at those things. When we look at the budget holistically, there is no fat to be trimmed.”
He added the budget is scraped to the bone more than anything he has seen in his 10 years working in municipal finance.
“Where we are starting from is a very, very lean budget. If council would like to direct us to look at particular services and bring back a proposal on what cutting back services would look like, we are open to that suggestion.”
Clark added he is hesitant to bring in a budget with a 10 or 12 per cent increase, mainly due to the large capital increase he said is needed.
“We can get it to 10 per cent. It just means we don’t do capital.”
The Gazette reached out to Wilmot Township and asked for the tax increases over the last 10 years. Fourteen years worth of numbers was provided and they range from a low of 1.2 per cent in 2014 and 1.3 per cent in 2013. On the high end, the increase was 6.98 in 2020 and 9.17 in 2023 along with last year’s 10.8 per cent.
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