Revenue shortfalls just the beginning

Revenue shortfalls just the beginning
Revenue shortfalls just the beginning: Fertich Grimsby council calls for province to pick up the costs as greenbelt limits growth
By Amanda Street
Regional
Oct 30, 2009
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Grimsby didn’t “greenbelt” itself, which is why the province needs to step up and assist the town with future revenue shortfalls, say members of Grimsby town council.

The planning department is expecting revenue to fall $40,000 short of its 2009 budget, a recent report to the planning and development committee stated. The building department is also below budget, but with three major projects on the move, including the Westbrook subdivision development, director John Schoenwille expects to be on budget this year, but as open space in Grimsby becomes scarcer, deficits are on the horizon.

“For the next couple of years, we’ll be in good shape,” he said during a recent interview with The News. “After that, it’s a different story.”

Ald. Wayne Fertich, who chairs the administration and finance committee, noted it might be a good time for the mayor to engage in discussions with the provincial government about expanding the urban boundaries or come up with some way to compensate the town for lost revenue.

“Hopefully the government can appreciate the concern to expand the urban boundary to eliminate a deficit,” Fertich said during a recent council meeting. “This is just the beginning and certainly its time for the mayor and council to go after (Jim Watson, minister of municipal affairs and housing).”

Both Schonewille and Planning Director Keith Vogl were conservative in their budget planning this year, said Ald. Nick DiFlavio who chairs the planning committee, as the economic downturn was expected to impact new construction.

“Growth is not what we expected, and staff had conservative expectations,” he said. “But this is not a local phenomenon, it’a world-wide phenomenon ... and we are going to have to deal with a decrease in building. We can’t expect 500-home years anymore.”

DiFlavio said 2010 is going to be a difficult budget year for the planning and building departments with both expected to be below budget in terms of revenue.

With greenspace limited in Grimsby due to the Ontario Greenbelt restrictions, in the future, infilling will be the main means of growth. While infill projects require the same amount of staff time — they do not have the same revenue impacts.

“The ministry needs to make sure the costs associated with the Greenbelt are not put on the Greenbelt municipalities,” he said.