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Voting in favour were councilors Travis Dodd, Scott Greig, Marion Koepke, Richard Thomas, Deputy-mayor Brian O’Leary and Mayor Ian Boddy. Councilors Brock Hamley, Carol Merton and John Tamming were opposed in a recorded vote. The Councilors who were opposed wanted to send the budget back to city staff with direction to find the reductions that Council had previously asked them to find .Councilor Tamming repeated his previous opposition to any budget increase. He said council should seek greater cuts and greater efficiencies, a view he said was prompted by “scores” of residents pressing him for tax cuts. He also noted a recent report showing city household income is fifth from the bottom in Ontario, making Owen Sound one of the poorest cities in the province. |
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Councilor Tamming said the city is over staffed and in another discussion later in the night, he called for council to stop providing conventional transit (sparing mobility transit) and see what happens. He called it a “radical” idea but said it might spur a ride-sharing service or cause people to figure out alternatives on their own.
A residential property owner with a 2016 assessment of $235,000 would see a total tax bill of $4,256, up from $4,153 last year or $103. That includes city, county, and education taxes. Similarly, a residential property owner, with a home with an assessed value of $470,000 would see an increase in taxes of $206 from last year.
Six years ago in 2016, the city's revenue from taxation was $26,3 million. It is now $32.5 million in 2022. That is an increase of $6.2 million or 19% in six years. On average the city's operating budget has increased by one million dollars per year during the last six years. That's a healthy increase 3.2% per year. I'm not sure how many Owen Sound taxpayers experienced annual wage increases of 3.2% per year over the last six years. For most, these tax increases mean that they have less money to spend to meet their essential needs. No wonder Owen Sound is one of the poorest cities in the province.