Nithview SWM System: If Added IN to Capital Expenditures
NOTE: The 7-page 2025 Draft 10 Year Capital Plan submitted to Council by Director O’Krafka in November, and as posted on the website, has a line #334 item titled, Nithview SWM Facility Retrofit. This is the storm water management facility presently being installed at Tri-County Mennonite Homes’ Nithview location in New Hamburg. The mayor’s picture was on the front page a recent issue of the Gazette signing a beam for this new construction.
Wilmot would have been eligible to collect Development Charges in an amount of about $1 million over the course of construction. The Province of Ontario has directed that all municipalities are not allowed to collect this revenue anymore. To make up for this loss of revenue from the private corporation performing the construction, Wilmot municipal tax payers now have to cover this expense. The expenses include the installation of an upgraded Storm Water Management Facility ($595,000 over 2 years) to handle the changes caused by this construction. There are probable expenses for road repairs, park trails access to treh Nith riverbank to integrate with the new facilites. These losses put restrictive funding pressures on other expenses covered by development charges – such as a new fire truck.
Instead of collecting approximately $1 million, Wilmot has budgeted $595,000, in capital spending, over 2 years for this SWM Facility. The 10 Year Capital Plan shows a need for $95,000 in the 2026 budget to finance this capital project, and $500,000 in the 2027 budget.
Why is this $95,000 not shown in the 2026 Capital Budget, when it appears in the 10-yer capital forecast for 2026? It’s a capital project. It needs to be financed this year, and needs to appear in this capital budget.
It would seem reasonable, that the tabled budget needs to be amended to place this $95,000 in the 2026 capital budget.
If the 2026 projected cost of $95,000 is added to the Capital Expenditures, the total becomes $14,313,435. ($14,218,435 + $95,000)
The tabled budget total amount rises to $34,754,248.
The tax levy required rises to $25,262,127, which represents an increase over 2025 of 15.48 %
NOTE: Item #26, Infrastructure Services, is a multi-year expense, but the 2026 capital requirement amount is not given in Appendix A., and must be added in. All calculations will be affected by this increased amount.
When the 2026 amount for item # 26, Infrastructure Services is entered, then the increase in the tax levy dollars requirement, for items as tabled, increases again, as does the per centage tax rate calculation rise above 15.48%. [NOTE: 15.48% equals an increase of $368.65 over the 2025 tax levy paid versus the tabled amount of $231 (without water) > subject to caveat on page 7]