Conception Bay South

We continue to promote our Town using the slogan, "Bright Town, Bright Future" and again this year we have experienced record setting growth. The Town of Conception Bay South continues to be the largest and one of the fastest growing Towns in our province. Once again, we have established a new record for residential development with over 240 housing starts valued in excess of $20 million for this calendar year. More and more new families are choosing Conception Bay South because of our quality of life. Business development also continues at a record pace, with in excess of $3 million in new development. We are confident that these trends will continue in 2004 as we already have several hundred new building lots approved for development throughout our Town. This growth helps provide the financial resources and tax base necessary to provide quality services and programs to our residents and businesses. We are confident it will also help attract new businesses and economic development opportunities to increase our commercial tax base. Our focus as a Council will be to continue to maintain a safe, family oriented community where both young and old alike feel at home. As our Town continues to expand, the development of new infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing community must remain an important priority for our Council. Mayor Smith, since 1999 the Town of Conception Bay South has been aggressively providing capital infrastructure through the Multi-Year Capital Works Program. The Town has spent and committed a total of $35.5 million, cost shared 50/50 between the Province and the Town. During 2003 a $2.0 million Water and Sewer contract was completed, a $2.0 million Street Upgrading and Paving Program was completed, a $7.0 million Sewage Treatment facility at Cronin's Head was completed and a contract for $2.0 million was awarded for the construction of a new Water Reservoir on Fowler's Road. Your Worship, in 2003, we completed over a half million dollar Capital out of Revenue Program, fully funded by the Town. Highlights of this Program include: - the addition of new sidewalks along the downtown area - breathing air compressor - fleet replacement program - lawn tractor for Parks, Recreation, Youth & Environment - land acquisition for the development of the Manuels River Trail - digital Mapping System - a major paving program - sweeper attachment for single axle While our debt will increase in the near future, our projections indicate that within the next several years a significant amount of our current debt will be retired. Our Town is now 88% serviced with water and sewer. This hardly seemed possible a few years ago. Our population of 23,000 and growing brings new demands and needs. Council must strike a proper balance in meeting theses needs in a financially responsible manner. As we oversee a multi-million dollar budget, Council has a huge responsibility to ensure we are financially responsible. Council, management staff and unionized employees working together during the past year have demonstrated this and will strive to do so into the future. Mayor Smith, the Town of Conception Bay South is in excellent financial shape and I wish to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of the staff in our Financial Services Department. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I know their professional efforts in responding to our customers' needs and in providing accurate timely financial information to Council has been excellent. Your Worship, may I publicly acknowledge the work and dedication of our Director, Keith Arns, Senior Accountant, Liz Davis and our entire Finance Department staff. I am very pleased to report that, barring unforeseen circumstances, we will finish the year with a balanced budget for 2003. Mayor Smith, fellow Councillors, ladies and gentlemen, during the past several weeks, Council and staff have worked together to develop a budget which balances our priorities for 2004 and beyond. We are confident our Budget for 2004 will enable us to meet the challenges of the current year and enable us to improve services for all our citizen's and businesses. Our current tax rates are amongst the lowest in the entire Northeast Avalon region and the lowest of any similar municipality in the province. We hope to continue to maintain our taxes among the lowest in the province. In 2004 there will be a significant increase in revenue as a result of property re-assessments. Property assessments have increased on average 10% and, as a result, will generate an additional $600,000. Mayor Smith, as you are aware, there are two significant areas of additional expenditure for 2004. The first pertains to a significant increase in debt repayment resulting from the additional debt incurred as a result of the Town's participation in the Multi Year Capital Works Program. Under this program, hundreds of homes have been serviced with water and sewer, streets have been upgraded and paved, recreational facilities have been enhanced, and sewage treatment concerns have been addressed. The additional debt repayment required in 2004 is $400,000. The second pertains to the costs associated with the completion of the Cronins Head Sewage Treatment Facility. In 2004, an additional $300,000 has been budgeted for the operation of this state-of-the-art facility. These major expenditures offset the increased revenues. Mayor Smith, for 2004, I am pleased to announce that our residential property tax mil rate will remain at 8.9 mils, the lowest in the region. To meet the challenges of a vibrant and growing community there will be a modest increase for business property owners. The water and sewer connection fee for new home construction will increase and there will be several minor changes to our rates and fees. Mayor Smith, the implementation of these changes enables us to forecast a balanced municipal budget for 2004, and at $15.9 million, it will be the largest in our Town's history. A new Commercial Property Tax Mil Rate will be introduced at 10 mils which is still lower than neighbouring municipalities. This represents an increase of 1.1 mils. The Water and Sewer Connection Fee for new residential and commercial development will increase from $1,800 per service to $2,500 per service. There will also be minor changes and new additions to our Schedule of Rates and Fees. These changes are the result of a comparative review of similar rates and fees in the region. For instance, we have introduced a curb, gutter and sidewalk installation fee, which will enable us to continue with this program. Details on this and all other fees are contained in this document. Due to our record growth, we anticipate an increase in revenues associated with new home construction, building additions/renovations and new businesses. There is tremendous potential for attracting new tourism and economic development opportunities, which will bring additional revenue. These new opportunities will come from implementation of the Conception Bay South Tourism Infrastructure Plan. This development plan highlights several major projects that will enhance our tourism and business sectors and will create significant employment and economic spin-offs for our Town and region. With the ongoing work of our Economic Development coordinator, Joan Butler, combined with local organizations such as KEEP, Manuels River Natural Heritage Society, Rotary Club of Northeast Avalon, Foxtrap Harbour Authority and Conception Bay South Parks Commission, we hope to leverage considerably more federal and provincial funding as well. We are working with these groups and other groups to implement our Tourism Plan which Council adopted in 2002 as a long-term plan to develop tourism and related infrastructure throughout the Town. We have identified some new projects for next year, including Chamberlains Park, and will continue our work on existing ones. In 2004, we will build on our marketing initiative "Bright Town-Bright Future" to develop new promotional materials and continue consultations with business entrepreneurs and developers. I am pleased to announce that in excess $100,000 will be provided in our Economic Development budget to undertake these and other new initiatives in 2004. Your Worship, this Council and the previous Council have made the environment a key priority. Our commitment to preserving the waters of Conception Bay is now becoming a reality with the construction of the new Sewage Treatment Plant at Cronin's Head. This state-of-the-art facility is currently being commissioned and will be fully operational in late 2003. We remain committed to additional water and sewer servicing, water testing, and ongoing maintenance of our system. A new Water Reservoir at Fowlers Road will be completed in 2004. In 2004 we will call tenders for a further $2.0 million for the next phase of water and sewer and anticipate the start of design work for the new sewage treatment plant at Topsail. In addition to these initiatives we will be continuing with our Curbside Household Recycling Project, funded by the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board and the Town. The very successful Pride in Community program will be continued next year as well as improvements to our Bulk Garbage program. We will also continue with our Waste Disposal Assistance Program whereby we provide funding on a cost-shared basis to residents for septic tank cleaning. Our Car Wreck Removal Program and our Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Day will also be continued. These environmental initiatives cost in excess of $500,000. Your Council believes that these expenditures are necessary for the long-term protection of the environment of Conception Bay South. Mayor Smith, as a continued commitment by Council to local business, I am pleased to report that the $100 tax incentive program for membership in the Conception Bay Area Chamber of Commerce will continue in our 2004 budget. Further, the 2004 budget will continue to maintain its Youth Entrepreneur Tax Incentive Policy. This policy is the only one of its kind in the province. We want our young people to stay at home and create busine