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MINUTES - General Committee - 20110307 TOWN OF AURORA SPECIAL GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES OPERATING & CAPITAL BUDGETS Council Chambers Aurora Town Hall Monday, March 7, 2011 ATTENDANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS Mayor Dawe in the Chair; Councillors Abel, Ballard, Buck, Gaertner, Gallo (arrived at 7:19 p.m.), Humfryes (arrived at 7:03 p.m.), Pirri, and Thompson MEMBERS ABSENT None OTHER ATTENDEES Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Customer and Legislative Services/Town Clerk, Director of Building and By-law Services, Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services, Director of Legal Services/Town Solicitor, Director of Parks and Recreation Services, Director of Planning and Development Services, Director of Corporate and Financial Services/Treasurer, Manager of Financial Planning, Financial Analyst/Budget Coordinator, Financial Analyst/Cashflow Manager, Capital Asset Management Coordinator, and Council/Committee Secretary Mayor Dawe called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. I DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST There were no declarations of pecuniary interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. II APPROVAL OF AGENDA General Committee recommends: THAT the agenda as circulated by the Customer and Legislative Services Department be approved as presented, with the following addition: • New Item 7 Memorandum from Director of Corporate & Financial Services/Treasurer Re: Digital Information Display Units for Town Hall CARRIED Special General Committee Meeting Minutes Operating & Capital Budgets Monday, March 7, 2011 Page 2 of 5 III DELEGATIONS (a) Ms Karen Smith Re: Request for Sidewalks on Glass Drive to be Included in 2011 Budget Ms Karen Smith addressed Council representing Ms Robyn Lefebvre, Ms Lynn Pearson and other residents and neighbours of Glass Drive, many of whom were present in the audience. She noted that the current paved pathway is insufficient to protect the high volume of pedestrian traffic and referred to two recent near misses experienced by Ms Lefebvre and Ms Pearson. Ms Smith stated there have been numerous communications to Council over the years and referred to recent e-mails from the Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services advising that the design project for Glass Drive would be advanced to 2011. She thanked Council for listening and responding to the concerns and fears of a community that has worked diligently together for several years to create a safe neighbourhood and hoped that their presence at this meeting would help to ensure that this project would not slip through the cracks when the 2011 budget is voted on. General Committee recommends: THAT the comments of the delegate be received. CARRIED (b) Mr. Christopher Watts Re: General Suggestions for Budget Mr. Christopher Watts thanked Council for the opportunity to participate in the Town’s budget process and referred to one of the initial priorities being to build a 2011 budget that reflects the needs of all Aurora residents. He stated that he had several concerns after witnessing special interest groups making presentations during this process in efforts to continue past practices. Mr. Watts presented his suggestions for Aurora’s 2011 budget that included spending priorities, ways to save costs, and an idea to generate revenue. General Committee recommends: THAT the Procedural By-law be waived to allow the delegate to continue his presentation past the five-minute limit. CARRIED General Committee recommends: THAT the comments of the delegate be received. CARRIED (c) Mr. Dan Elliott, Director of Corporate & Financial Services/Treasurer Re: Update of 2011 Operating Budget Process and Adjustments To Date Mr. Dan Elliott presented the Record of Approved Operating Adjustments as at March 7, 2011, briefly reviewed the adjusted line items, and advised that the adjusted items would require the Committee’s recommended resolutions. Mr. Elliott noted that the current tax impact to the Town rate, after the aforementioned adjustments, would be 5.93% and the residential combined tax impact would be 2.84%. Special General Committee Meeting Minutes Operating & Capital Budgets Monday, March 7, 2011 Page 3 of 5 General Committee recommends: THAT the comments of the delegate be received. CARRIED IV CONSIDERATION OF ITEMS 1. Memorandum from the Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services Re: Glass Drive Pavement/Sidewalk Issues at St. Joseph Catholic School Memo 01-11 General Committee recommends: THAT the memorandum regarding Glass Drive Pavement/Sidewalk Issues at St. Joseph Catholic School be received for information. CARRIED 2. Memorandum from the Financial Analyst/Budget Coordinator Re: Operating Budget – Additional Information – Cat/Dog Canvassing Fees General Committee recommends: THAT the memorandum regarding Operating Budget – Additional Information – Cat/Dog Canvassing Fees be received for information. CARRIED 3. 2011 Operating Budget – Aurora Public Library Board Presentation by Ms Louise Procter Maio, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary-Treasurer of Aurora Public Library Board Ms Procter Maio introduced her co-presenter, Mr. Charles Levine, current Vice Chair of the Aurora Public Library Board, and noted that there was a reduction of almost $23,000 in the Library budget due to cost savings in the benefit line. She thanked Council for its support of the Library over the years. Mr. Levine recognized the newly appointed Board members that were present in the audience and new Councillor members, and he thanked the outgoing members for their service to the Board. He presented the Library’s mission, services, community value, and 2010 usage indicators. Ms Procter Maio presented elements of the 2011 Draft Library Operating Budget including governance, functional areas, business plan objectives, budget principles, items, highlights, and pressures. Ms Procter Maio concluded by stating that the Library is an integral part of the community and every dollar invested in the Library is an investment in each resident. General Committee recommends: THAT the presentation by Ms Procter Maio be received and referred to the budget discussions. CARRIED Special General Committee Meeting Minutes Operating & Capital Budgets Monday, March 7, 2011 Page 4 of 5 4. 2011 Operating Budget – Fire & Emergency Operations Presentation by Deputy Fire Chief Robert Comeau, Central York Fire Services Deputy Fire Chief Comeau presented an overview of the Central York Fire Services budget including organization structure, objectives, expenditures, base pressures, enhancements, forecast pressures, and Aurora’s share of the Operating budget. General Committee recommends: THAT the presentation by Deputy Fire Chief Comeau be received for information. CARRIED General Committee recommends: THAT Project 31104 – Glass Drive Design be moved forward to the 2011 budget. CARRIED 5. 2011 Operating Budget – Corporate Expenses & Revenues Presentation by Mr. Dan Elliott, Director of Corporate and Financial Services/Treasurer Mr. Dan Elliott presented an overview of the Corporate Expenses and Revenues budget that includes items which are Corporate-wide in nature and could not be easily associated with a specific department. General Committee recommends: THAT the presentation by Mr. Elliott be received for information. CARRIED General Committee recommends: THAT the Advertising budget of the CAO be reduced by $10,000 in the 2011 budget. CARRIED General Committee recommends: THAT Project 31099 – Design – Tyler Street be removed from the 2011 budget. CARRIED General Committee recommends: THAT Project 72127 – AFLC Elevator be referred to staff for a report of options. CARRIED Special General Committee Meeting Minutes Operating & Capital Budgets Monday, March 7, 2011 Page 5 of 5 General Committee recommends: THAT Project 31025 – Surface Treatment – Old Bloomington Road be removed from the 2011 budget. CARRIED General Committee recommends: THAT the Procedural By-law be waived to extend the hour to 11:00 p.m. CARRIED General Committee recommends: THAT the CAO’s budget for sponsorship of the 2011 Jazz Festival be increased by $2,000 for the 2011 budget. CARRIED Councillor Humfryes declared a pecuniary interest regarding the Fire & Emergency Operations budget, as her husband is a fire fighter employed by Central York Fire Services, and did not participate in the discussion or voting of this item. General Committee recommends: THAT the Fire & Emergency Operations budget be decreased by $201,300 for the 2011 budget. CARRIED General Committee recommends: THAT Project 12018 – Aurora Town Hall Renovation be removed from the 2011 budget. General Committee recommends: THAT the motion regarding removal of Project 12018 – Aurora Town Hall Renovation from the 2011 budget be deferred to the next budget meeting of March 21, 2011. CARRIED V ADJOURNMENT General Committee recommends: THAT the meeting be adjourned at 11:02 p.m. CARRIED GEOFFREY DAWE, MAYOR JOHN D. LEACH, TOWN CLERK THE REPORT OF THE SPECIAL GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING OF MARCH 7, 2011 WAS RECEIVED BY COUNCIL ON MARCH 29, 2011.