Barrie Footing Additional $9 Million Bill
Tax Capital Reserve Fund to Cover Cost of New Expenses
A good news, bad news situation for Barrie’s balance book. The city Monday night said some of the projects budgeted for in 2016 are expected to come in about $6.4 million under budget. On the bad news side, city staff are requesting another $15 million for new projects, including approximately $4 million to advance the purchase of land for the Harvie Road 400 Bridge Project. The additional money requested would also go towards the purchase of new vehicles for the Barrie Landfill, Fire Service, and Traffic Department. New swim blocks are needed at the East Bayfield Community Centre to bring them up to FINA standard, while repairs are needed on City Hall’s generator. An additional $2.4 million is needed to complete the Mapleview Drive reconstruction from Huronia to Country Lane, thanks to heavy rain creating unstable road surfaces and poor soil conditions. Two projects were pulled from the 39 projects listed, including the Military Heritage Park project, for further review and justification. The $6.4 million in savings would be applied to the cost of the new projects, $9 million would come from reserve funds and wouldn’t affect this year’s tax rate. Council is expected to give final approval to the additional funds next week.
