Quantifying the financial impact of the pandemic on a municipality is very difficult.
That's why like many other area muncipalities, Penetanguishene staff did not have an exact number to share with coucillors at their meeting earlier this week.
"The scenarios everybody is looking at is to look at how severe this impact may be or how long it may be," said Carrie Robillard, the town's director of finance/treasurer. "So until those factors are known or we know more, it really is just a preliminary overview of the potential financial impacts. It certainly does not encompass all of our revenue or expense lines."
She said some of municipal revenue streams that will see immediate financial impact are related to property tax penalties and interest.
In addition, Robillard said there could be potential financial impact related to provincial gas tax funding since the formula used by the province takes into account ridership numbers, which have been impacted under the current circumstances.
"We are looking at some immediate reductions in revenue related to numerous licences, permits and fees," she said, adding she wasn't able to provide any numbers at this time. "There might be a low number of requests coming in, but we're still processing tax certificates and municipal searches, etc. At this time, we're not issuing marriage licences, fire permits and lottery licences."
In terms of property tax levies, Robillard noted the town will be looking at lower supplemental property tax revenues, which are based on new builds.
"In terms of rental income, we've got provincial offences and court rentals, which have been cancelled until further notice," she noted. "Park arena and museum rentals are also not being collected at this time."
So far, Robillard said the town has not incurred a lot of COVID-19-related costs, but it is expected to be the case where cleaning services are concerned.
Coun. Michel Mayotte said he could see how there would be cost savings if some capital projects had been delayed or cancelled, but some of them were important.
"We recognize we're in the emergency state and some of the projects may not be allowed to be executed," he said. "Some of these projects were fairly important and now they're being deferred. Would there be an opportunity to revisit these projects once the emergency is lifted?"
Coun. Brian Cummings agreed: "Wasterwater is a very important project and it should be going on somehow, however we can't do it right now because of the regulations. And it was alluded that some work had already been done and some work that had to be completed cannot be completed."
Public works director Bryan Murray provided an answer, pointing out it's a "carry-forward project" so the town will come back to wrap up the project next year along with drainage improvement projects on Spohn and Kerr Drives.
Robillard said staff has also been discussing cost containment efforts.
"(The savings) we could be successful in achieving would be related to overtime, mileage, office supplies, fuels and hydro," she said. "We are experiencing some savings because of the pricing of fuel and hydro. Professional development opportunities have been cancelled, other than electronic and virtual attendance."
