Media Release (Jan. 30, 2017): The Town of Fort Erie Budget Committee approved the 2017 Operating Budget with an overall residential property tax increase of 2.8 per cent when combined with Niagara Region and the boards of education. The town’s portion is a 5.8 per cent increase with highlights including:

• $500K (2.03 per cent) contribution to capital reserves to address the infrastructure deficit;
• $440K (1.78 per cent) for additional tree removal and replanting related to Emerald Ash Borer;
• $480K (1.95 per cent) dedicated to accelerate the roadway resurfacing program for 2017;
• $78K (0.31 per cent) for first-year impacts of transit route improvements;
• $100K (0.41 per cent) toward works to assess the Coal Docks property; and
• $132K (0.54 per cent) to increase service levels in areas such as parks & arenas, employment services and digital services.

For further details on the 2017 operating budget, please visit the Town’s website at forterie.ca.

– 30 –

Quotes:
“One of our main objectives is to continue narrowing Fort Erie’s infrastructure gap – as we move forward with increasingly competitive priorities,” said Mayor Wayne Redekop. “Therefore, as we head into challenging times, Fort Erie is committed to providing valuable services and programs to our residents and making strategic investments for the future prosperity of our community while striving to restrain overall levy increases.”

“As we enter into the third year of our Strategic Plan, we continue to make investments to shape the future of Fort Erie,” said Budget Committee Chair and Ward 6 Councillor Christoffer Knutt. “Despite increasing funding pressures, we have sustained investments to support our priorities such as increasing our roads resurfacing funding from $400K in 2013 to $1.58M in the 2017 budget. We thank those who took part in the consultation process for their contributions in helping us to achieve this goal.”

“There were significant challenges for the 2017 operating budget due to MPAC’s recent re-assessment and the shift in burden to residential properties,” said Treasurer Jonathan Janzen. “This was offset by increases in development related revenues and by using reserves to mitigate the impacts of supplementary initiatives that Council supported to further the 2015-2018 Strategic Plan.”

Contact: Jonathan Janzen, Treasurer
Phone Number: 905-871-1600, ext. 2300