North Grenville Mayor David Gordon says county council may have a tough time moving ahead with new projects this year.
Gordon says the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville have decided on a 0 per cent budget increase which leaves them without a buffer. According to Gordon they have reached into the surplus to account for the budget staying at 0 per cent for the year.
In the Mayor’s mind there should have been a one or two percent buffer. Gordon says it wouldn’t have been a very large increase but it would have helped deal with any emergencies council may have encountered during 2018. These emergencies can deplete a budget to a point where a county government is no longer operating effectively.
Gordon believes that if a budget reaches that point the tax increase that follows would be larger than the one or two percent he would have liked to see. He calls a one or two per cent increase sustainable.
Gordon stressed that this is his opinion and his views are not necessarily the same as members of the council.