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 17 ,2 02 0 | 4 Mega Moving Sale FroM $59.99 to $399 on the Main Floor Jewelry $30 and Up Brand new collectionS FroM 20% to 30% oFF Ti Vesto Boutique will be moving on December 30th, 2020 from Burlington to Ancaster. Follow us on instagram and Facebook for the latest news. 1455 lakeshore road (at the bend off locust St) Burlington 905-631-8338 • www.tivestoboutique.com Sunday by appointment only • Monday closed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm Gift GivinG made easy Holiday gift sets & bundles for the tea lover in your life. visit teasociety.ca promocode: Oak10 Explore our teas at teasociety.ca $10 off your first order All natural,Certified Organic loose leaf tea Order by December 20th to guarantee delivery before Christmas in Halton, Peel,Toronto and Hamilton COVID-19 is now expec- ted to cost the Town of Oak- ville approximately $17 mil- lion in 2021; however, it does not appear residents will ex- perience a significant hike in their property taxes as a result. The 2021 Budget Commit- tee recently met to hear a staff presentation on the proposed operating and cap- ital budgets. During that meeting, the impact COVID-19 is expec- ted to have on the town in 2021 was also discussed. "As we move into the de- liberations of the 2021 bud- get, the pandemic of 2020 has not yet left us," said town chief administrative officer Jane Clohecy. "It has consumed many of the town's resources throughout 2020 and, unfor- tunately, the same is going to be true for at least the first half of 2021. We have estimat- ed the impact of COVID in 2021 to be $17 million." Catherine Hewitson of the town's Finance Depart- ment noted the town is now projecting $7.3 million in lost recreation revenue, $4.9 million in lost transit reve- nue, $1.2 million in lost park- ing revenue, $900,000 in lost sports field rental revenue and $1.5 million in lost reve- nue related to development, licensing, etc. The town also faces $1.2 million in additional CO- VID-19 costs related to en- hanced cleaning and en- forcement of COVID-19 re- lated bylaws. To help mitigate the im- pact of COVID-19, Hewitson said staff are recommending one-time budget reductions of approximately $10.1 mil- lion. These recommendations include: • waiving the one-per- cent capital levy increase • the temporary gapping of vacant positions and part- time hours that correlated with modified service deliv- ery • making use of savings in personnel, supplies and util- ities that result from the par- tial-year closure of stand alone recreational facilities • using savings in fuel and contracted taxi service due to modified service delivery • using savings from of- fice supplies, mileage, pro- fessional development and other miscellaneous ex- penses that result from working at home arrange- ments and virtual training options. Hewitson said a service review has discovered effi- ciencies that will save anoth- er $1.1 million in 2021. Another $3.4 million will be transferred from the town's tax stabilization re- serve to help offset the im- pact of COVID on the bud- get. Hewitson said the re- serve balance would still be within recommended guide- lines despite this transfer. Town staff is proposing a 2021 budget that results in a 2.31-per-cent increase to the town's portion of the tax bill. This would result in an overall property tax in- crease of 1.7 per cent when combined with the estimat- ed regional and educational tax levies. The proposed increase would see residential prop- erty taxes increase by $12.03 per $100,000 of assessment, meaning that the owner of a home assessed at $800,000 would pay an additional $96.24 per year or $1.85 per week. The recommended oper- ating budget is $348.3 mil- lion. Town staff said this bud- get will support the delivery of a wide range of programs and services including the maintenance of roads and community facilities, fire services, transit, parks and trails, recreation and cul- ture, senior services, librar- ies and more. The recommended capi- tal budget is $81.1 million. Some of the major capital projects scheduled for 2021 include: • $14.4 million in Green Fleet initiatives, including the purchase of 11 new elec- tric buses and the communi- ty-wide installation of EV charging stations • $9.5 million for various storm water and erosion control improvements • $8.9 million for road and bridge rehabilitation • $4.6 million for neigh- bourhood parks, parkettes and trails in north Oakville • $1.6 million for various online and digital solutions to improve customer satis- faction. The budget committee was set to make its final rec- ommendations this week (beyond press time), at which point the budget will go before council for approv- al on Dec. 21. For more information, visit www.oakville.ca/ townhall/2021-budget.html. NEWS COVID-19 NOW EXPECTED TO COST TOWN $17 MILLION IN 2021 DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com "It has consumed many of the Town's resources throughout 2020 and unfortunately the same is going to be true for at least the first half of 2021." - Town CAO Jane Clohecy.