= NEWS : BUDGET INCLUDES MAJOR TRANSIT, ROAD WORK INVESTMENTS 2 Continued from page 1 3 2 = while investing i in the crit- will be invested in active transportation and road safety improvements. 3 ical services and _ infra- Representing Safe 3 structure the people of. Hal- Streets Halton, resident — ton need." Nick Morrison urged coun- g The key budget drivers a to "accelerate and mod- Fs $344,000in- ernize i ion of 2 vestments for public existing anti rta- Z health, $1.3 million for tion and transit supportive é ic services, ans." million for services for se- niors, additional $2.4 mil- lion for housing services, additional $7.9 million for state-of-good-repair pro- gram, $250,000 more for Halton Region Community Investment Fund, and im- plementation of the Cana- daw ‘wide $10-a-day child oe The Region has ear- marked $353 million for the 2023 capital Oakville Coun. Tom Ad- ams moved a successful motion at the Jan. 25 meet- ing that directs staff to come back with a report “providing some opportu- nities and benefits on accel eratin; i roject within the 105 year iin re ‘seconder of the mo- tion, Milton Coun. Samee- ra Ali, said that "with the Safe Streets Halton said the language regarding ac- tive transportation includ- ed in the budget and the in- creased integration of ac- tive ion infra- rogram, including grade separation and the widen- ing of Trafalgar Road, as well as the wideni Dundas Street, Tremaine Road, and Ninth Line. More than $60 million ever pro vincial mandates that are downloaded to us, I think it's important for us to have a prioritized list of what we should do first and what we should do next." Ina followup statement, structure with infrastructure _ renewal. The increase in funding was a well-welcomed pro- posal and we look forward to reviewing the report on how the additional funds individuals & mst Payroll, HST including Tax Amnesty, & Reassessments Tax Audit, & Appeal CRA Collection Instalment Taxpayer Relief and Fairness Chartered Prof Member of C nadian Tax Foundation (647) 989-1276 @yangaccounting.ca Resolution For an af Make insidehalton.com dable solution Appointment r Busi s and Individual tax a Free Confidential Halton Region website photo Nick Morrison, of Safe Streets Halton, is concerned about the increase of traffic-related incidents on Halton roads. could be spent later this year.” FALLOUT FROM BILL 23 Due to what MacCaskill called "a lot of unknowns," the Region still doesn't have a complete picture of What the lack of develop- ent charges cou'd mean for the coming year: As listed in the ‘budge et document, Halton stands to potentially lose more “The province will need to look at provincial grants to fund the gaps that have been created with the provisions in Bill 23." - Jane MacCaskill, Halton chief administrative officer than $1 billion over 10 years due to the various changes in how municipalities col- lect development fees. “The bottom line is that Bill 23 will create signifi- cant financial implica- tion. The province has in- dicated that they will keep municipalities whole. thatis going to be the case, the province will need to look at provincial grants We're celebrating 30 years of service this month, and we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone we've had the pleasure of serving over the years. We are looking forward to many more years of supporting you and protecting the things you hold dear. to fund the gaps that have been created with the pro- visions in Bill 23," said MacCaskill. While the objective of Bill 23 is to facilitate hous- ing, taking away funding to ensure infrastructure gets delivered could actually impetle it, she said. ‘is is a disaster," said Halton Hills Coun. Jane Fogal at the meeting, while Burlington Mayor Mari- anne Meed Ward said: "I feel like we have that same conversation every year where growth, community amenities do not keep up — and the province does not Koop up with their share of funding to make our com- munities livable and com- plete." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With Halton Re- gional Council having approved its 2023 budget, we wanted to examine what the impact will be on taxpayers, as well as the potential fii nancial impli- cations of Ontario's hous- ing plan, Bill 23. Michelle Cooper Insurance and Financial Services Inc. Michelle Cooper, Agent 1545 Cornwall Rd Unit 43 Oakville ON 905-826-4900 michellecooper.ca oO Desjardins