CAO Saves Development Charges
Posted by John Malloy on 08/11/2010
By Chris Fell -
Only last-minute intervention from Meaford CAO Frank Miele saved the municipality from having no development charges whatsoever.
A year-long Development Charges Study and bylaw was nearly torpedoed when councillors Gerald Shortt, Harley Greenfield and Deputy Mayor Mike Traynor lined up against the document and said they would vote against the bylaw. With councillor Cynthia Lemon on vacation the three votes those members of council represented ensured the development charges bylaw would be defeated and leave the Municipality of Meaford without any development charges when its present bylaw expires on August 16.
Last minute intervention from CAO Frank Miele prevented a vote on the matter and council will hold a special meeting this afternoon (Wednesday, August 11) to discuss the matter further.
The municipality’s senior managers were completely caught off guard by the opposition of half of council to the bylaw. Staff recommended a new development charges bylaw be adopted that would phase in significant increases in the development charges the municipality collects over the next five years.
Staff recommended for the first 60 days of the new bylaw that 0% of the increase be applied. From day 61 through the end of the first year staff proposed a 10% increase. In year two that total would raise to 25% (total increase 35%). In year three a further 40% would be added bring the total increase to 75% and the last 25% would apply in year four.
The proposed charges are increased significantly for fully serviced lots in the urban part of Meaford due to the eventual need for a new wastewater treatment plant.
Councillors opposed to the new bylaw appeared to ignore the phase-in aspect of the report with their comments in opposition suggesting the new rates would be applied immediately. Deputy Mayor Traynor and councillor Greenfield even suggested they were being ambushed at the “11th hour” by the development charges report – even though the study has been underway for a year and multiple public presentations of the numbers have happened over the past six weeks.
Tension in the council chamber rose significantly when it became obvious the bylaw was about to be defeated.
via Simcoe Article: CAO saves development charges.
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