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Ward 11 E-Newsletter - February 2019
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Councillor's Message
Welcome to the February 2019 issue of my Ward 11 E-Newsletter! I hope you find this newsletter informative.
As always, I am pleased to assist you and your family with any municipal issue that you may have. Please don't hesitate to contact my office directly at any time at 905-896-5011 or
[email protected]
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2019 - 2022 Business Plan and 2019 Budget
This year, the impact of the budget is an $83.08 increase on the City's portion of the property tax on an average residential property valued at $645,000 or $12.88 per $100,000 of assessment.
In 2019, Mississauga residents will see more transit service hours, additional transit security and public safety and more proactive fire prevention education. This is in addition to road, traffic and other infrastructure improvements, winter road maintenance, recreation programs, libraries and parks. A $3.1 million in cost savings has been realized in this budget. This is equivalent to reducing the City tax levy by 0.6 per cent.
Highlights of the 2019 Business Plan and Budget are as follows:
- The total increase in Mississauga's residential property tax will be 2.90 per cent. The increase includes 1.56 per cent for City services and 1.34 per cent for Region of Peel services.
- The City advances on its Strategic Plan in 2019 by adding approximately $9.9 million worth of new services, including:
- 31,000 additional MiWay service hours
- increased investment in transit enforcement and public safety
- continued redevelopment of the Small Arms Inspection Building, the City's newest arts and cultural facility
- Council did not approve the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Capital Funding Levy of $1 million in the 2019 Budget.
The 2019 Stormwater Program operating budget, excluding transfers to reserves, is $11.96 million. Highlights of the business plan include development of a comprehensive asset management plan, infrastructure improvements, flood relief improvement projects and community outreach activities. The Stormwater Charge rate for 2019 is $106.1 per stormwater billing unit. For more details on the City's budget and the budgeting process, visit mississauga.ca/budget.
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Region of Peel Council Approves 2019 Budget
Regional Council has approved the 2019 Operating and Capital Budget. The impact of the 2019 Budget is a Regional net tax levy increase of 2.7 per cent. This represents a 1.1 per cent property tax increase from the Regional budget. This Regional budget will contribute an annual increase to the average residential property and small business property tax bills of $52 and $93 respectively.
Additionally, to sustain the capital-intensive water and wastewater services, a 6.5 per cent utility rate increase was approved. The average home will see a $38 increase to their utility bill or about 10 cents per day, while the average small business will see an increase of $101 or about 28 cents per day.
Operating investments of $2.5 billion and capital investments of $1.3 billion ensure sustainment of current service levels and addresses enhanced service levels to accommodate rapid population growth and an aging population, with a special focus on Paramedic services and TransHelp.
Budget highlights in 2019 include:
- 68,000 more accessible transportation trips
- 12,300 additional paramedic response calls
- Implementation of the Butterfly Model, enhancing quality of life for Long Term Care residents
- Service to 5,000 new households for waste collection
- Expansion of EarlyON services for 9,200 children and parents
- Additional Peel Regional Police staffing to maintain our safe communities:
- 55 Officers
- 10 Communicators
- 5 Prison Escort Officers
- 14 Civilian Administrators
Along with meeting the Capital and Operating needs of the Region, the budget provides funding to the three local conservation authorities (Credit Valley Conservation Authority, Halton Conservation Authority, and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority), Peel Regional Police, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. To learn more about the budget, visit peelregion.ca/budget.
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City Requests Long-Term, Sustainable Funding from 2019 Federal and Provincial Budgets
Mississauga City Council, through a resolution adopted at Council, is urging the governments of Canada and Ontario to provide ongoing support for the City's top priorities and initiatives in their respective 2019 budgets. Specifically, Mississauga is looking for:
- strategic transit investments
- sustainable infrastructure funding
- legislative change and support to help increase affordable housing
- investment in development of the City's waterfront and other city-building initiatives
- continued partnerships
The City's key priorities remain building and maintaining aging infrastructure, more affordable middle-class housing and connecting people to jobs by building regionally connected transit. The City will also need to invest in keeping our city safe and advancing on the plan to address the impacts of climate change.
Ongoing investments in transit continue to be important in supporting future growth. Dedicated funding is needed for transit initiatives such as the Downtown Transitway Connection, the Regional Express Rail and Dundas Connects.
Like all municipalities, Mississauga receives the smallest share (eight to 10 per cent) of all tax dollars collected in Canada, yet cities own 60 per cent of the infrastructure. The City also must continue managing its infrastructure and move forward on City-building initiatives and development projects. With federal and provincial funding support, Mississauga can continue to successfully plan for the long term. To Read the full submissions, please visit www.mississauga.ca/portal/cityhall/governmentrelations.
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City of Mississauga Recognized for its Leadership on Energy Conservation and Innovation
The City of Mississauga has been recognized with multiple energy awards for 2018 for its energy conservation and innovative efforts. These are distinct provincial awards for programs that were implemented by the City's Energy Management team.
The City received the following energy awards:
- Energy in Action Innovation Award: Best Municipality/University/School/Hospital Customer (1 MW+) within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area - awarded by Ontario's leading electric and gas companies: Alectra Utilities, Enbridge, Hydro One, Oakville Hydro, Toronto Hydro and Union Gas
- The award recognizes the City's excellence in energy conservation through energy efficient technology, operational best practices and staff engagement.
- Examples of energy projects include the installation of heat recovery systems at indoor pools and solar water heating systems at outdoor pools. Other projects include light-emitting diode (LED) lighting retrofit in six facilities and cold water resurfacing systems among others.
- The Living City Energy Efficiency Gold Award for City Hall - awarded by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
- For the third consecutive year, Mississauga's Civic Centre was named the winner. This award recognizes leadership in sustaining a high level of energy and environmental performance at City Hall.
- Since winning the Town Hall Challenge in 2015, the City continued monitoring the Civic Centre's operation systems. City staff adjusted the controls and schedules of its heating, ventilation and air conditioning ( HVAC) units and lighting based on function, use and other changes in the building.
- Energy Manager Award - awarded by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)
- This award recognizes the effort and dedication that the City has shown to create a more sustainable and energy efficient workplace.
In 2017, the Energy Management team launched a 'Race to Reduce' campaign among staff at 19 City facilities. The goal was to find no-cost or low-cost energy savings measures. The facilities have saved approximately 3.96 gigawatt hours of electricity and $343,000 in annual costs since then.
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Mississauga Library Receives Generous Donation for Homeless Outreach Initiative
The Mississauga Library received a generous donation from the P. and L. Odette Charitable Foundation for $390,000 in support of its homelessness initiative the Open Window Hub. The pilot project helps homeless, at-risk individuals and vulnerable youth and adults in Mississauga. The program connects them with resources, outreach programs and better access to services to help raise their quality of life. Over the span of three years, the Library will receive $130,000 per year to support the program.
This past week, during budget deliberations, City Council agreed to allocate additional Library funding that would transition the Open Window Hub from a pilot program to a permanent community service allowing Staff to continue to assist at-risk and homeless individuals in rebuilding their lives.
The City's Open Window Hub uses best practices from library programs focused on the homeless population. This helps ensure partnerships are developed and maintained between the Library and other service organizations. The Open Window Hub helps homeless individuals in Mississauga by:
- Promoting inclusiveness of vulnerable youth and adults.
- Providing outreach services in the library.
- Allowing the homeless to work with a professional to prepare plans to address their situation.
- Offering referral services.
Over the course of this year, the Library will use the donation to:
- Provide training in mental health first aid to enhance all staff's skills in supporting vulnerable individuals.
- Invest in Social Work Masters students to intern and provide more hours of service delivery to support both staff and vulnerable individuals.
- Sustainably fund items and services in high demand for vulnerable individuals, such as the hygiene kits and Presto cards.
- The Library will develop plans for the second and third-year funds in response to the public need.
Through the course of the one year pilot, the program has been able to support and empower more than 500 individuals, connecting them with information, support and referrals to agencies across the region. In addition, it has also removed barriers to Library services and increased social inclusion.
The Open Window Hub launched in September 2017. It was funded in part by the Government of Canada's Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS). Delivered nationally, the Innovative Solutions to Homelessness funding stream of HPS supports the development of innovative approaches to prevent and reduce homelessness. Program partners for the Open Window Hub include the Region of Peel and the University of Toronto. For more information on the Mississauga Library and its programs and services, visit mississauga.ca/library.
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Councillor George Carlson| | [email protected] | 300 City Centre Drive
Mississauga, ON L5B 3C1
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