Residents invited to public budget meeting on Feb. 1
Jan 27, 2010 - 08:35 PM
By Reka Szekely
AJAX -- Ajax officials are proposing a 2.75-per cent hike on the local portion of the 2010 municipal property tax bill, which works out to $30.45 for an average home assessed at $293,600.
Residents paid 27.7 per cent of their tax bill to the Town of Ajax in 2009, the rest went to the Region of Durham and local school boards for education.
The budget details are available online at townofajax.com and as a hard copy at Town Hall. 65 Harwood Ave. S. Residents are invited to a public meeting on the issue on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.
"The public meeting portion is really an opportunity for members of the public to give comments to council," said Rob Ford, Ajax's director of finance.
The proposed property tax hike will add roughly $1.2 million in revenue to the Town. That's in addition to $1.1 million in assessment growth from new residents and businesses and $1.4 million in additional slots money from the expansion of OLG Slots at Ajax Downs.
The Town already receives $5 million annually from OLG and the money is used for grants -- including $62,500 annually to the Rouge Valley Health Systems Foundation and more than $100,000 annually to the United Way -- and to reduce the cost of borrowing for large capital projects by paying a larger portion of costs upfront.
There will be modest growth in services for 2010, including more frequent grass mowing and recycling bins in the Town's parks. The rest of the additional revenue will be used to maintain service levels.
The Town is also planning on hiring nine additional staff members in 2010.
"Although the economy has slowed, we're still a very fast growing municipality that requires the addition of staff to maintain services," said Mr. Ford.
Though down from previous years, Ajax had the highest assessment growth in Durham in 2009.
"Which means we have more roads to plow, more grass to mow, more sports fields to maintain," said Mr. Ford.
The meeting kicks off at 7 p.m. in council chambers at Town Hall.
"We're very flexible, we don't require anyone to preregister with the clerk's office," said Mr. Ford. "People can just come that night and participate if they wish."
Those who can't make it, can send e-mail comments to
finance@townofajax.com or leave customer feedback on the Town's website. They can also drop a letter off at Town Hall.
Council will approve the final version of the budget on Feb. 8.
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