Press Release - 2008 Budget Made for Markham

Markham, ON ~ February 13, 2008 ~ Town of Markham Council approved its 2008 budget last evening. The budget was trimmed to a 3.73% increase – one of the lowest in the Greater Toronto Area.

“During the recent Click with Markham public engagement program, residents told us they expect real value for their tax dollars. And, as we looked at today’s uncertain economic environment coupled with financial pressures GTA municipalities face, it became clear that we must put priority focus on today’s needs and invest prudently for tomorrow’s requirements,” said Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “This budget puts the emphasis on actions residents want today without sacrificing our future.”

Markham Councillor and Budget Chief Dan Horchik added, “The average impact of the 3.73% increase is $39.20 on the Markham share of the tax bill. This is truly a budget made for Markham – it addresses immediate needs in our rapidly growing and increasingly complex community as well as increasing financial pressures from a variety of sources.”
Overall, Markham receives about 26.3 cents of every dollar of residential property taxes collected, with the remainder divided between education (25.69 cents) and the Region of York (48.06 cents).

For the business community, Markham’s commercial and industrial tax rates continue to be among the lowest in the Greater Toronto Area.
Markham’s 2008 Operating Budget is $158.1 million, it’s Capital Budget is $131 million, the Waterworks Budget is $59.2 million and the Building Standards Budget is $7 million, for a total of $355.3 million. This compares to a total budget of $310 million in 2007. The Budget was set, taking into account a 2.75 per cent increase in assessment growth in the Town.

“Markham is committed not to use one-time funding to balance the operating budget,” said Budget Chief Ward 6 Councillor Dan Horchik. “We continue to allocate $500,000 of taxes from new property assessment to the capital program and contribute $1 million to our land acquisition reserve funds.”

“Maintaining and even enhancing service levels where possible, is an important priority. In 2008, Markham Public Library will provide additional hours of service and will improve the library collection with accessible high demand materials. The service level for snow removal, particularly for plowing local streets, has increased. And, as part of our commitment to diversity, the Town has doubled its investment in the Career Bridge/Ability Edge internship program which gives foreign trained immigrants an opportunity to gain Canadian experience,” said Mayor Scarpitti.

The budget also takes into consideration the expected impacts of 2008 wage settlements, inflation, municipal service contract escalations, rising energy costs, rising construction costs and costs of complying with new provincial legislation.

Some of the projects and priorities funded in the 2008 budget include:

Environment

Development of a Markham GreenPrint – a community and corporate environmental management plan with an annual report to the community
Funding for a major tree planting initiative
A comprehensive education and enforcement plan for the pesticide bylaw
Continuing the organic collection program in high-rise buildings and the community mailbox recycling program to collect litter mail at problem Canada Post community boxes
Development of a strategy for the Town’s stormwater manage

Diversity

Markham will double its contribution to the Career Bridge/Ability Edge program – an internship program that provides employment opportunities for foreign trained immigrants in their field of expertise

Work to increase the diverse representation of residents on Markham committees and boards
Enhance services to be more responsive to the diverse needs of the community
Provide Language Line interpretive services in more than 140 languages ment ponds
Purchase of four additional hybrid vehicles for the Town’s fleet

Transportation and Transit

Implementation of the cycling lanes and pathways program
New road construction
Replacement of the 19th Avenue bridge over the Little Rouge Creek
Rehabilitating the Green Lane bridge, west of Leslie Street
Extending Rodick Road from 14th Avenue to Esna Park Drive
Construction of new sidewalks, primarily in industrial areas
Installation of traffic lights at various intersections and conducting various technical projects such as speed limit reviews and traffic count programs
Implementation of a car pooling program to promote the reduction of automobile use – called Travel Demand Management

Managed Growth

Design and construction of new parks including: Angus Glen Community Park; Berczy Park; Leitchcroft Times Galleria Community Park; Ames Court Neighbourhood Park; Greensborough Parkettes; Villages of Fairtree Neighbourhood Parks
Development of guidelines and policies to support a made-in-Markham strategy for community growth
Development of a Markham Centre open space plan
Undertaking an urban design study to identify intensification opportunities in the north Yonge corridor
Design for the next new fire station
New sustainable development standards and guidelines for community design, site planning and building design

Parks, Recreation, Culture& Library Master Plan/Public Safety

Tender award for the East Markham Community Centre and Library Construction of a new collections building at Markham Museum
Development of a new parks, recreation, culture and library master plan to provide strategic direction for these services being delivered to residents
Design and install traffic calming measures under the safe streets program

Service Levels

Road resurfacing and improvement projects
Replacement and rehabilitation programs at parks, community centres and the Civic Centre including: rink seating replacement at Centennial Community Centre; lighting upgrade for the Unionville Library; work at various fire stations
New sanitary trunk sewer at Highway 7 and Main Street Unionville
Water quality monitoring equipment for waterworks