Last night at Council, we approved the final 2021 budget. We began the process facing a possible 4.7% increase and with everyone working together we have unanimously approved a fiscally responsible tax levy of 1.96%. This equates to roughly $47/year or $4/month for a home assessed at around $800,000 in Aurora.
I appreciate that during this pandemic and state of emergency that some residents have lost jobs or seen reduced hours, businesses have closed or are struggling to stay afloat. Some have suggested a 0% tax increase.
While a 0% tax increase may be the popular political decision –it is not the right thing or fiscally responsible decision. History in Aurora has shown us that “0% tax rates”, have long-term negative effects – with years of escalating tax rates to follow to catch up for the short-term popular decision not to keep taxes in line with inflation.
We needed to find a balance between helping those that need help and being fiscally responsible for the future of our Town. The Town has put programs in place to help those experiencing financial hardship during the pandemic from deferral programs for seniors and low-income families, to waiving of penalties on late tax payments for those impacted financially by Covid19.
Covid19 has also seen many difficult decisions at the Town, from laying off over 280 employees to running our facilities at minimal capacity to still allow residents to enjoy some of the services that we normally offer. These decisions have always been made with all residents in mind. Some have created savings and some, such as having facilities opened when you can’t have full capacity, come with added cost.
Council and staff worked hard to reduce the tax levy to a rate that would minimize the financial burden to our residents while ensuring that the reductions would not negatively impact future years. We can’t cut services by underfunding the needs of our municipality and jeopardizing the future of our Town.
I believe that Council has been able to deliver a budget that strikes a balance and ensures that the services that our residents deserve and expect will continue even as we go through these difficult times.
Today, we see the beginning of a light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccine beginning to be administered. We need to ensure that our Town is in a healthy position as we prepare to move forward as we come out of this pandemic.
So, I want to thank all members of Council for being united and making the hard decisions to do the right things for our community during this budget.
