The City of Orillia’s 2022 budget received final approval during a special council meeting Monday.
As a result, the increase to the tax levy will be 2.98 per cent.
Budget committee previously voted in favour of a 2.94 per cent hike, but that figure changed Monday when Coun. Mason Ainsworth received support from his colleagues to put $25,000 toward traffic-calming measures.
In November, budget committee voted against a request from Ainsworth that would have seen the creation of a traffic calming reserve with an initial contribution of $50,000.
Ainsworth said the $25,000 would not be spent unless specific traffic-calming projects were approved by council.
“It’s not spending money; it’s just setting it aside …” he said.
It’s unclear whether a reserve will be created for traffic-calming projects. Staff said they plan to establish a reserve policy in the new year and, at that time, could provide direction around whether it would be best to create a new reserve.
Coun. Tim Lauer did not support the move Monday. He said he would rather see money spent on enforcement to deal with speeding.
“I’m just not convinced that this is going to be effective,” he said.
Joining Lauer in voting against the motion were Coun. Ted Emond and Mayor Steve Clarke.
Ainsworth and councillors David Campbell, Ralph Cipolla, Jay Fallis, Pat Hehn and Rob Kloostra voted in favour.
Council also decided Monday to uphold its decision to approve Mariposa House Hospice’s request for $50,000.
Budget committee previously approved the funding but asked hospice officials to return Monday to answer questions following concerns that were raised by some council members.
The Severn Township-based organization, which opened in February, had sought the operating funding in an effort to help it become self-sufficient.
Emond looked at the matter with a “philosophical point of view.”
“The operational side of health care in our province is the responsibility of the province,” he said.
“The city has no money. It’s the taxpayers who are going to be contributing.”
He said fundraising “is the correct route” for the hospice to find the money it needs.
“I feel that what is being provided by the residential hospice is more than health care,” Annalise Stenekes, executive director of Mariposa House Hospice, responded.
She said it is common for people to think all of the costs should be covered solely by the province, but she added it’s “more nuanced than that.”
Si Lowry, president of the hospice board, said he believed “the government should be funding the true cost.”
“It’s an injustice that they don’t pay us the amount that it costs to run the hospice,” he said.
That’s the current reality, however, and “we do need a little help from the city,” Lowry said, noting other communities have provided similar support to hospices in their areas.
“There is a precedent there.”
Some council members then spoke about the importance of providing the requested funding.
“If you ask the people of Orillia, almost 100 per cent would say we should support it,” Cipolla said.
Ainsworth worried if the hospice didn’t receive the support it needed, it could “potentially close up in the future.”
“It’s not a big ask if you look at the rest of our budget,” he said.
