County councillors had few questions before approving the 2010 budget, unchanged from how it was presented a week earlier.
As it stands now, the budget includes a 2.59 per cent increase in the municipal levy - an increase that translates into a $53 increase over last year on the tax bill of an average home.
But that figure could still change when the results of an arbitration hearing over how the county and Guelph share social services costs is factored in.
The arbitrator’s ruling, announced Jan. 26, is that the cost of social services should be allocated based on each jurisdiction’s use of the services - the position the county put forward.
The decision means a roughly $2 million cost reduction in 2010 and ahead, treasurer Craig Dyer said at the end of last week’s council meeting. But finance department staff were still working on exact details of how the result would be applied to the 2010 budget and in the future.
The budget itself, without the arbitration decision factored in, passed quickly. Councillors and staff have been working on it since last year, and details have been presented at committee meetings in January and at a special Jan. 19 meeting.
But almost six hours into a council session, with deteriorating weather and an announcement that Highway 6 north of Guelph had been closed, at least one councillor thought postponing the discussion would be a good idea.
Erin Mayor Rod Finnie suggested there were many questions about the budget that councillors would be hesitant to ask, starting a lengthy debate so late in a snowy day.
But Warden Joanne Ross-Zuj disagreed and called for the discussion - and in the end, there were only three issues brought up and quickly dealt with.
Mapleton Ward Councillor Carl Hall’s suggestion that spending for upcoming library projects be spread over five years rather than three was endorsed. And Wellington North Councillor Lynda White asked about changing financing for the Centre Wellington OPP station, which has no impact on the 2010 budget.
Erin Ward Councillor Lou Maieron asked that money originally put aside to select a new transfer station site in the Erin area, now not needed, be rolled into providing garbage services for the area, now that the Hillsburgh transfer station is being closed.
With those issues dealt with, the budget passed.
Meanwhile, in a statement on the arbitration hearing, Ross-Zuj said the county had been confident through the process that its position was fair to taxpayers in both the county and Guelph.
“I hope we will be able to move forward and finalize new agreements governing these important services with the city of Guelph in the near future, and we look forward to getting on with the business of working constructively with the city in the delivery of these services,” she said.