'Challenging budget year' ahead for Waterloo region, budget committee chair warns

Regional councillors have a challenge ahead of them.

They're set to meet on Wednesday afternoon and evening to go over parts of the 2023 budget and hear public input on it. 

The total proposed preliminary 2023 operating budget expenditure for regional services, which excludes police, is $1.2 billion — more than 11 per cent higher and about $48 million more than the 2022 budget.

If approved as is, it would mean a property tax impact of 9.2 per cent.

Regional Coun. Michael Harris, who chairs the region's strategic planning and budget committee, says the 11 per cent increase comes as they face inflation, the complex needs of the community, losing some provincial funding and local growth.

"We're going to have to balance affordability with providing those essential services," he said in an interview Tuesday with Craig Norris, host of CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition.

The report going before councillors on Wednesday afternoon says the preliminary budget "focuses on maintaining critical services during a period of unprecedented fiscal challenge and proposes investments focused on areas of top community need."

Among those top needs are:

• Accelerating affordable housing.
• Implementing new initiatives to address the homelessness crisis.
• Transit service recovery and expansion "to address new ridership patterns."
• Increased paramedic services.
• Modernizing and improving service experience for residents.

"Our region is one of the fastest-growing communities here in Canada," Harris said. "That growth is exciting, but it's also expensive in terms of the infrastructure and services."

The Strategic Planning and Budget Committee will present an overview of the 2023 Plan and Budget in the afternoon and will reconvene into an open session with delegates for public input meeting in the evening.

Goal to end homelessness

A point-in-time count in September 2021 found more than 1,000 people in Waterloo region were homeless. Since then, encampments have popped up in the three cities and have grown in size. Community members have spoken out about the need to help people find places to live.

Harris said significant investments will be made toward building affordable and attainable housing.

"Work is underway for 2023 that will see additional use of regional surplus land partnerships and incentives to keep this strategy on track," he said. "We have a goal here to end homelessness."

The agenda for Wednesday's budget meeting also includes some councillor proposals in which regional councillors have written out ideas for their colleagues to chew over ahead of the Wednesday meeting.

For example:

• Coun. Rob Deutschmann has proposed funding for security at OneRoof Youth Services in Kitchener, which was a request made earlier this month by the youth shelter.
• Deutschmann and Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe are making a joint recommendation to make transit free for children under 12 and for seniors aged 65 and older to ride for free on Wednesday and Sundays, also a request made earlier this month.
• McCabe has a second proposal to reduce Grand River Transit fares over a five-year period by 75 per cent.

Cambridge councillor recommendations

Cambridge Coun. Doug Craig also listed a number of items specific to his city in his letter to council colleagues. Those include:

• More health and social services.
• A youth shelter.
• A women's shelter.
• Detox beds.
• Bus tickets, bus passes and a shuttle service for people at the men's shelter, The Bridges.
• More outreach workers at The Bridges.
• More transitional housing.

Craig said there's a need to grow the health and housing needs of all Waterloo region residents.

"We all are aware of the people on the streets, people are having addiction problems and I think we have to do as much as possible, starting with this budget to help people," he told CBC News. 

Craig said he understands that one budget is not going "to solve all the issues in the region of Waterloo."

"This is a four-year process and it's exactly how I'm looking at it," he said.

On Wednesday, the afternoon meeting with staff will be followed by a 6:30 p.m. meeting where members of the public are scheduled to speak about budget items.

After that, the next strategic planning and budget committee meeting is scheduled for Feb. 1 to provide an overview of the police services budget, followed by the committee's next detailed plan and budget review meeting scheduled for Feb. 8. 

It will cover program plans and budgets for transportation, waste management, the airport and others, including a presentation from the Grand River Conservation Authority. 

The final budget is scheduled to be approved Feb. 22.

LISTEN | Regional Coun. Michael Harris says council faces a 'challenging budget':