Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Following up with the final stage of the budget process, Greater Napanee council voted to formally adopt the 2024 budget during their March 12 regular meeting.
The 2024 tax levy is estimated to be $15.2 million and comes with an average residential tax rate increase of 6.68 per cent. The total budget is $22 million, with the balance after the tax levy collected made up through federal and provincial funding.
-Keeping with taxes, council voted to adopt a by-law that would delegate authority to the Assessment Review Board (ARB) in instances of a resident being unable to pay taxes due to sickness or extreme poverty.
In her report to council, town treasurer Ellen Hamel noted there had yet to be an instance where this process had to be invoked. Still council voted to put the procedure in place in the event it ever did arise.
“So the point is if somebody, both people are aged people, both extremely sick, they talk to you, you get a hold of the assessment for the review board, they can come ahead and get an exemption for paying the taxes on their property while they’re in the hospital or whatever,” councillor Mike Schenk said to make sure he understood the process.
In essence, the protocol would be a way for a resident to file directly with the ARB and avoid having to make a lot of personal information public if it were to come before council. Even if it went through council first and then brought to the ARB, the ARB would have the final say on the matter.
“We very rarely ever see them and there are very few of them that are applicable to the circumstances,” said mayor Terry Richardson.
Schenk agreed that it would be extremely rare for anyone to meet the criteria.
“There is like 20 things you would need in order to be eligible,” said Schenk. “So when you go down that list…it is basically a full disclosure, total audit that you have to provide and show that there is no way that you’ll be able to pay it.”
-Council voted to enter a one year memorandum of understanding with the Bay of Quinte Regional Market Board for a $1.55 per capita rate, which translates to $26,162 for the year.
-Major changes are coming to the town’s blue box program over the next couple of years.
In anticipation of that, council voted to give town staff direction to enter into an agreement with Circular Materials Ontario (CMO) to opt-in for curbside collection of blue box materials in 2025. Council also authorized staff to explore an agreement with CMO to opt-in for depot collection of blue box materials at both of the town’s waste disposal sites in 2025, and enter into an agreement with CMO to opt-in for collection of blue box materials from non-eligible sources in 2025 and continue working with CMO and Waste Management towards the full transition of the blue box program in 2026 and bring forth additional reports to council as required.
The Town of Napanee will begin to transition to the new blue box regulation in 2025, which will see all recyclables become the responsibility of producers of those products. Producers will be responsible for collection and processing of all recyclables products from eligible sources. The full transition will take place in 2026, which will result in a big net savings for the town. Staff will continue to update council and the public in the coming months as they finalize more details about the program.
-Council voted to note and receive a correspondence from resident Mike Stockfish, which calls on council to issue a moratorium on future batter storage projects and rescind the motion of support from November 2023 for the Bethany battery storage project.
In a report to council, staff noted ‘legal counsel has also confirmed that the town would face significant legal liability were council to rescind a motion that a third party has relied upon to submit a procurement bid. Staff’s recommendation is therefore that council not entertain any motion to reconsider or rescind a previously issued motion of support.’
-In keeping with tradition, council voted to proclaim April as Be A Donor Month, as well as proclaim April 7 to be Green Shirt Day.
That date honours the passing of Logan Boulet, a member of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team that was involved in a bus crash while on their way to a game in 2018. Boulet succumbed to his injuries-though as a registered organ donor, his tragic passing meant six others were given a second chance at life. Canadians coast-to-coast celebrate Green Shirt Day both in remembrance of the young hockey players who died in the accident but also to encourage others to consider becoming a registered organ donor.