After a day of deliberation, the region approved a 2024 budget increase that translates into a 6.94 per cent impact on tax levy once assessment growth is factored in.
Next year's regional operating budget will have a net expenditure of $1.5 billion supported by a $746 million tax levy, the largest piece of which is a $228 million police budget with an increase of close to $14.4 million over last year.
A 2.18 per cent assessment growth is what reduces the impact on property taxes from 8.08 to 6.94 per cent.
At the start of the day, the increase was at 7.95 per cent.
Overall it means the average homeowner will pay $165 more in property taxes next year on the region's portion of the tax bill.
That's based on the average assessed home value of $354,500.
Cambridge residents will have to wait and see how much the city's portion of the tax bill will increase.
Those budget deliberations don't start until the new year.
Earlier in the day Coun. Colleen James put forward an amendment to reduce the police budget by $1.5 million, a number she thought would soften the impact on the tax levy.
Coun. Rob Deutschmann supported the motion saying that amount could be saved by pro-rating some of the new officer hires to April instead of January.
But the motion failed.
Coun. Doug Craig, who sits on the police board with Coun. Sandy Shantz and Chair Karen Redman, said he took exception to the idea that the board wasn't transparent in coming its decision to approve the police budget's $14.4 million increase last month. He called out Deutschmann and James for spreading "a false narrative" about it in the media.
Deutschmann put forward an idea early in the process that the police budget should be reduced because WRPS has generated millions in surpluses by not keeping up with hiring officers allocated in previous budgets.
On the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness, Redman presented the motion she called "the next step on a longer journey and a down payment on a really good plan."
That plan was originally expected to cost the region $30 million over the next two years, but has already been reduced in its first year by over $3 million.
It includes a series of recommendations that start by addressing gaps in the system with an investment of $10.2 million into services like expanded hybrid shelter spaces, the creation of encampment response and outreach teams, portable rent supplements and motel stays.
Part of that money is expected to go toward satisfying fee for service costs from places that requested help for various programs and service add ons. They include Porchlight counselling, the Cambridge YWCA and Argus House.
Coun. Natasha Salonen suggested the Child Witness Centre of Waterloo Region should be included in that funding consideration since many youth who witness crimes and fall through the cracks of getting support from that agency are at risk of ending up on the streets.
Staff is being directed to report back by Jan. 31 with a prioritized expenditure plan for next year.
In addition, the region wants to build on the work staff is doing to understand the problem and create reserve funds to stabilize the support system.
To fund the plan, which won't be fully realized until next spring, the region wants to phase it in over a two-year period.
Council also wants to hear about financial investments required from other sources, including but not limited to federal and provincial governments, no later than April 30, 2024.
On Coun. Berry Vrbanovic's urging, council voted unanimously in favour of a motion to give $236,390 to A Better Tent City in 2024 and 2025 to hire more staff to keep its program going.
The organization supports unhoused individuals in small, temporary shelters set up next to the public school board's education centre on Ardelt Avenue in Kitchener.
Coun. Deutschmann called it "a really good deal" at about a tenth of the cost the region put into its own hybrid shelter on Erb's Road.
Coun. Pam Wolf said that while she supported the motion for A Better Tent City, future funding consideration should be going to Cambridge Shelter Corp. which has the best track record of any shelter in the region, yet receives the least amount of funding.
Council unanimously approved a motion put forward by Deutschmann to double the annual amount the region gives to the Waterloo Region Food Bank to $1.5 million.
A portion of that money is distributed to the Cambridge Food Bank, which is also struggling to meet demand.
The extra money is for 2024 only and will be funded by the region's tax stabilization reserve fund. The food banks would have to request the increase again for the 2025 budget.
Coun. Michael Harris suggested "co-habitation" in one facility should be an option both food banks consider, as long as residents' needs across the region are served.
"My message to both food banks is to spend some time this year, talking together about what that might look like ahead of any future requests, potentially, of this council," he said.
Coun. Jan Liggett was one of many who supported Coun. James' motion to add $500,000 to the budget for youth programs and services, saying she wants to see measures in place to catch severely at risk kids with upstream funding that supports their development.
The region also voted in favour of James' motion to increase the bag tag fee from $2 to $3 for anyone wanting to put more than two bags of garbage to the curb. It's expected to net a revenue increase of about $30,000.
A pitch to reduce spending on discretionary grants by 10 per cent, equal to $340,000, stirred some emotions on council, particularly Coun. Doug Craig who didn't think it fair to reduce funding to organizations that are counting on it next year.
Among those recommended to face those grant cuts are major art and culture organizations, and key cultural institutions.
"A number of these groups are depending on what they thought they were getting, so let's be very careful here," he said.
Coun. Dorothy McCabe agreed, saying arts and culture organizations especially are something the region should invest more in.
But Coun. Jan Liggett commended Coun. Kari Williams for bringing the motion forward to help reduce the tax levy, saying no group should expect to see the same amount of funding they've seen in previous years. "That's what this is all about."
The amended motion to keep the cut to 10 per cent instead of the originally proposal of 20 per cent passed.
An idea to update the region's waste diversion strategy was defeated due to a first year cost of $176,000 and plans to hire more staff.
