The final decisions of the 2020 municipal budget process will be made at this meeting as council struggles to keep the tax impact low, without creating too much disruption on the City’s ability to deliver services. How will all this work out?

There will be no delegations for this meeting. Delegations for the 2019 Tax Supported Operating Budget, and the 2019 Local Boards and Shared Services Budget will be heard at the November 27 council meeting.

CS-2019-81 2020 Tax Supported Operating Budget – These are the recommendations for the 2019 Tax Supported Operating Budget. For the full break down, see the original preview here.

1. That the following recommendations from Report CS-2019-81 titled 2020 Tax Supported Operating Budget dated Monday, November 18, 2019 be referred to December 3, 2019:

i. That the 2020 tax supported operating budget be approved with a property tax and payment in lieu of taxes levy of $256,886,524 which is an increase of 3.88 per cent over the 2019 levy inclusive of the following:

a. a departmental base operating budget including reserve and reserve fund transfers, contractual obligations, inflationary adjustments, and user fee increases, totaling an increased net levy requirement of $1,656,247 or 0.68 per cent

b. operating impacts from 2019 approved capital projects totaling an increased net levy requirement of $969,750 or 0.40 per cent

c. Council in-year decisions totaling an increased net levy requirement of $408,119 or 0.17 per cent

d. net increase in transfer to tax supported capital reserve and reserve funds of $6,575,000 offset by increased investment and dividend income to reduce the net levy requirement to 1.75 per cent

e. increase in City corporate programs of $507,893 or 0.21 per cent

f. department service enhancement budget requests totaling an increased net levy requirement of $26,150 or 0.01 per cent due to legislative changes

g. local boards and shared services operating budget, totaling an increased net levy requirement of $4,928,773 or 2.02 per cent

h. increased assessment growth revenue of $3,284,157 or 1.35 per cent

i. reserve and reserve fund transfers (page 67 and 68) in the tax supported operating budget

ii. That the proposed user fees posted at Guelph.ca be approved and enacted through by-law.

CS-2019-82 2020 Local Boards and Shared Services Budgets – These are the recommendations for the 2019 Local Board and Shared Services Budget. For that full break down, see the original preview here.

1. That report CS-2019-82 titled 2020 Local Boards and Shared Services Budgets dated November 20, 2019be referred to the December 3, 2019 Council meeting for final deliberation and approval.

2. That the 2020 Downtown Guelph Business Association budget with gross expenditures of $695,450 and a total levy of $660,000 be referred to the December 3, 2019 Council meeting for final deliberation and approval.

CS-2019-98 Budget Impacts per Ontario Regulations 284/09 and Budget Public Sector Accounting Standards Reconciliation – This is a financial statement that comes with every year’s budget, and it’s required by Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS). There is no added financial impact from this report, it’s just a matter of separate financial reporting that’s required for three areas: amortization of tangible capital assets, post-employment benefit costs and landfill post-closure costs.

***If council reaches no decision on December 3, a supplementary meeting has been set for December 5.