'Challenging budget year' ahead for Waterloo region, budget committee chair warns
CBC
Regional councillors have a challenge ahead of them.
They're set to meet on Wednesday afternoon and evening to go over parts of the 2023 budget and hear public input on it.
The total proposed preliminary 2023 operating budget expenditure for regional services, which excludes police, is $1.2 billion — more than 11 per cent higher and about $48 million more than the 2022 budget.
If approved as is, it would mean a property tax impact of 9.2 per cent.
Regional Coun. Michael Harris, who chairs the region's strategic planning and budget committee, says the 11 per cent increase comes as they face inflation, the complex needs of the community, losing some provincial funding and local growth.
"We're going to have to balance affordability with providing those essential services," he said in an interview Tuesday with Craig Norris, host of CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition.
The report going before councillors on Wednesday afternoon says the preliminary budget "focuses on maintaining critical services during a period of unprecedented fiscal challenge and proposes investments focused on areas of top community need."
Among those top needs are:
"Our region is one of the fastest-growing communities here in Canada," Harris said. "That growth is exciting, but it's also expensive in terms of the infrastructure and services."
The Strategic Planning and Budget Committee will present an overview of the 2023 Plan and Budget in the afternoon and will reconvene into an open session with delegates for public input meeting in the evening.
A point-in-time count in September 2021 found more than 1,000 people in Waterloo region were homeless. Since then, encampments have popped up in the three cities and have grown in size. Community members have spoken out about the need to help people find places to live.
Harris said significant investments will be made toward building affordable and attainable housing.
"Work is underway for 2023 that will see additional use of regional surplus land partnerships and incentives to keep this strategy on track," he said. "We have a goal here to end homelessness."
The agenda for Wednesday's budget meeting also includes some councillor proposals in which regional councillors have written out ideas for their colleagues to chew over ahead of the Wednesday meeting.