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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 20 ,2 01 8 | 4 GOLFZONTM simulator Red Seal Chef MOVE-IN 2019! Future Address: 1 Sixteen Mile Dr, Oakville, ON (905) 542-9000 vivalife.ca Making Today Great! Licensed Pub Artist rendering. Subject to change. *Conditions apply Heated, indoor Saltwater Pool GOLFZONTM simulator Bistro Café and Licensed Pub Big-screen Theatre Vibrant Independent Living, plus Assisted Living suites Renowned V!VAlicious cuisine featuring three meals freshly prepared by a Red Seal Chef Bright and spacious suites including 2 bedroom, 1 bedroom plus den, 1 bedroom, and studio And so much more! Happy Holidays Tour our model suite and presentation gallery at our sister Community in Mississauga before the end of the year and be entered for a chance to WIN* a FitBit! We'll even throw in a complimentary V!VAlicious lunch. Call Trish at (905) 542-9000 to book your tour. A retirement lifestyleworthy of its Oakville address. Oakville's premier all-inclusive retirement lifestyle has arrived. Oakville homeowners can expect to see a two per cent hike in their property taxes for 2019 - if the town's proposed budget passes as is. Town staff recom- mended this budget in- crease to Oakville's 2019 budget committee during a meeting held at town hall on Tuesday, Dec. 11. The proposal actually calls for a 3.1 per cent in- crease to the town's portion of the tax bill, however, this figure drops when com-figure drops when com-f bined with an estimated ze- ro per cent increase to edu- cation rates and an expec- ted two per cent increase to Halton Region taxes. A two per cent property tax increase would be high- er than the 1.75 per cent in- crease in 2018, where the town's portion of the tax bill increase was 2.58 per cent. It is also slightly higher than the 1.99 per cent in- crease seen in 2017, where the town's portion of the tax bill increase was 3.21 per cent. The proposed increase for 2019 would see residen-for 2019 would see residen-f tial property taxes increase by $15.35 per $100,000 of as- sessment. This means a home as- sessed at $800,000 would pay an additional $122.80 per year or $2.36 per week. "The recommended budget ensures we invest in key areas while keeping our taxes in line with or lower than inflation and trending downward," said Oakville Mayor Rob Bur- ton. "It's a fiscally responsi- ble budget that makes stra- tegic investments in our community to enhance our infrastructure, while deliv- ering the high-quality ser- vices our residents want and expect." Town staff are recom- mending a $337.3-million gross operating budget that will support the delivery of a wide range of programs and services including maintenance of roads and community facilities, fire services, transit, parks and trails, recreation and cul- ture, senior services, li- braries and more. The budget committee also reviewed the town's draft 2019 capital budget, which will see $116.6 mil- lion invested in transporta- tion, infrastructure renew- al and other growth-related facilities.facilities.f Some key projects for 2019 include the Lakeshore Road Reconstruction and Streetscape project, the on- going construction of the South East Community Centre, the start of con- struction of Fire Station 8 in the Palermo area and re- construction of Speers Road west of Third Line to Fourth Line. Also included in the 2019 budget is funding to contin- ue with the town's annual road resurfacing program and Emerald Ash Borer management and tree re- newal program. The annual budget pro- cess also includes the bud- get committee's review of the town's rates and fees for programs and services of- fered to the communityfered to the communityf (such as transit fares and recreation and culture pro- gram fees), and the estimat- ed costs of administering and enforcing the Building Code Act and the Planning Act. The majority of the pro- posed changes to the 2019 rates and fees are in line with inflation. Town staff said the pro- posed 2019 budget takes in- to account the impact of several pressures includ- ing rising costs for various materials, supplies and utilities, increasing pres- sure on personnel budgets, and reductions to transit and planning revenues. Other pressures include the operating impacts from capital initiatives such as the full year cost for Trafal- gar Park Community Cen- tre, partial year cost for Sixteen Mile Branch Li- brary, new parks and road infrastructure in North Oakville as well as in- creased software costs re- lated to new systems and rising maintenance fees. "The investments rec- ommended in the budget respond to the town's key priorities by providing funding to transportation,funding to transportation,f infrastructure renewal and facilities. The budget com-facilities. The budget com-f mittee will review, discuss and make decisions in the context of keeping overall tax increases in line with inflation," budget commit- tee chair Tom Adams said. "The budget committee will be making a recom- mendation for council con- sideration on Jan. 28. Until then, I encourage residents to get involved by providing feedback to us on the pro-feedback to us on the pro-f posed budget during our open and public process." Residents have numer- ous opportunities to be in- volved in the budget pro- cess. A budget open house will take place Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. Budget committee and council meetings will take place on: · Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 9:30 a.m. - staff presentations; · Thursday, Jan. 10, at 9:30 a.m. - public delega- tions; · Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. - public delegations. Budget committee delib- erations will take place Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 9:30 a.m. with the budget com- ing before council for ap- proval on Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. The open house and all budget committee meet- ings and council meetings will take place at Oakville Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Rd. For more information visit Oakville.ca. NEWS TOWN OF OAKVILLE 2019 BUDGET COMMITTEE EYEING 2 PER CENT PROPERTY TAX HIKE BUDGET WILL COME BEFORE COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL JAN. 28