GREENSTONE — Administration in Greenstone has delivered a stark $11.5-million message to town council.
According to a report, presented to council on Tuesday night, the municipality faces an annual funding gap of $11.5 million, or the equivalent of about $4,692 per household. That’s almost triple the current annual average levy on each house.
The municipality faces a rapidly approaching July 2025 deadline, required by the province’s asset management planning legislation, to determine current and future levels of service. Under the legislation, communities like Greenstone will be forced to live within their means.
Communities that don’t could face changes in municipal transfer funding from the province.
As a result, council has directed staff to undertake service delivery reviews on all services.
Municipal administration has recommended council develop a new water and sewer billing and collection policy, which incorporates and landlord-tenant administrative process, all set for approval by March 2025.
The move includes a request to spend $12,000 for necessary software updates. The updates would allow for electronic, online billing to be implemented, which would save $1.80 per bill sent out for those who sign up for online billing.
The new policy would include water and sewer rate relief for eligible low-income persons. If approved, it would increase the rebate from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, a $26,000 cost to the municipality.
A bylaw is expected to be brought to council on Nov. 25.
The report also proposes changing utility building in Greenstone from every three months to monthly, which the report indicates will reduce the number of residents in arrears, as the monthly bill will be $185.10, as opposed to the $555.34 bill they receive quarterly.
The move would also increase cash flow for the municipality, but also means residents could be cut off after three months of missed payments, as opposed to nine months under the current system.
