Thank you for your question and feedback.

Animal Services is an operational division within Strategic and Business Services, which falls within the Community Services Department. Animal Services has its own budget which has been proposed at $565,330 for 2018.

The City of Oshawa has a rigorous system of internal controls to safeguard and monitor all of the City’s finances. The City’s external auditors perform an examination of the City’s internal control system on an annual basis. In addition, the City has internal auditors who perform operational, value for money and governance audits. These audits are designed to identify potential areas of corporate risk.

Thank you for your questions and for joining the Q&A session.

The 2018 budget was developed in conjunction with the requirements outlined in the Municipal Act to prepare a balanced budget. Some of the major themes included in the 2018 budget are: continue building reserves; paying down debt; and keeping taxes affordable. City staff from all departments contribute data and information to the budget submission.

Included in the budget submission and 9-Year Capital Forecast are a number of downtown streetscape projects that respond to Plan 20/20 as well as projects related to green initiatives throughout the city.

Thank you for your question.

The City of Oshawa offers a number of incentive programs to encourage business investment within the city.

Within the city’s urban area, the City does not charge City Development Charges for industrial development. The City also has a grant program to assist landowners in the rehabilitation and cleanup of brownfield (contaminated) sites. Additional incentive programs are in place for specific parts of the City and vary from area to area. They are summarized on the City’s website on the Incentives and Programs webpage. For example, within the downtown, grants are available for constructing new residential and commercial buildings, renovating existing buildings with respect to improving a building’s façade, accessibility, building systems or creating residential units on the upper floors.

The programs are administered by the Development Services Department. For more information, please contact the Economic Development branch at business@oshawa.ca. 

Thank you for your question.

Included in the 2018 proposed capital budget is a project for the expansion of the City’s cycling network, which implements cycling facilities as outlined in the Active Transportation Master Plan. The focus of this implementation is to create and expand the connected network of facilities throughout the city.

In addition, the City has also budgeted for a number of trail development projects.

The Oshawa Executive Airport plays a key role in the Durham Region economy and supports medical, police, military, corporate and recreational needs for Durham Region, the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario. Flight training, air ambulance, passenger charter services, freight services, aerial police operations, aircraft maintenance and aircraft restoration services are all provided at the airport. Recently, NAV Canada invested $8 million for construction of a new control tower, and the City of Oshawa invested $6 million into the Oshawa Executive Airport to attract jobs and grow Durham Region’s economy. At this point and as per Council direction, there are no plans to pursue scheduled passenger services due to noise sensitivity with the surrounding community.

Thank you for your inquiry.

The City of Oshawa provides green bin collection on behalf of the Region of Durham who is responsible for the composting of green bin material (organics).  The City does not receive revenue from the processing of this material.

The determination of municipal collection services on private property, for locations such as townhouse condo complexes, is typically made during the site plan approval process prior to construction. During this time, the City works with developers to ensure that City standards for waste collection services are met.  In some cases the developer chooses not to meet our standards in which case the complex must provide their own waste collection through private collection services. Where the City’s collection standards are met the City of Oshawa can provide waste collection services on private property.  Depending on the design of the complex, the City may provide curbside collection, which would also include green bin collection. However in some cases the design of the complex (i.e. road widths/turning radius etc.) limits collection vehicle access. In these situations the City may provide front-end waste collection services through the use of  bulk bins (a centralized drop off location).  Bulk collection of green bin material provides a challenge when processing as the material tends to contain more contamination not suitable for composting at the Region’s compost facility. 

The success of the Region’s green bin program is dependent on well separated organics material which is difficult to achieve where bulk collection is provided. Hopefully future enhancements to the composting process will allow for materials from bulk collection to be collected and diverted but at this time we regret we are unable to provide the service due to these challenges.

Thank you for taking part in the telephone town hall meeting on the City budget. We appreciate you listening in to the conversation and for sharing your feedback.

Thanks for the great suggestion to communicate clearly in advance what programs and services are and are not included in the City Budget. We have added your suggestion to our notes should we have another town hall in the future.

Furthermore, in advance of the January 4^th, 2018 live Q&A on Connect Oshawa on the proposed 2018 City Budget, we will make sure to include information on the site about the programs and services that are provided through the City Budget, as well as information on the types of Regional services that are not included in the municipal budget.

In addition, we have added a weblink to City vs Regional Services on www.connectoshawa.ca/budget.

We hope you continue to participate in the 2018 City Budget process.

Thank you for your feedback and questions.

You asked about accessibility in private buildings and restaurants. The City does not currently have authority to require building owners of restaurants/private buildings to install or modify for accessibility features unless it is a new construction, major renovation or property standards issue. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (A.O.D.A.) does not require businesses to make accessible modifications to buildings (i.e. washrooms) unless there is a new construction or a major renovation. If there is a new construction or major renovation and a building permit is required, City staff ensures that the Ontario Building Code accessibility requirements are met. The City also has a provincially mandated Accessibility Advisory Committee where community members (many who have a disability), under the authority of the A.O.D.A., regularly review site plans for accessibility.

In regards to City facilities, the City of Oshawa uses Oshawa Accessibility Design Standards (O.A.D.S.) to guide staff on the accessible construction and renovation of City facilities. In addition, the Oshawa Accessibility Advisory Committee members work with staff to conduct City facility audits and review site plans and other designs. For several years, Council has approved an annual sum of $120,000 for the removal of accessibility barriers at City facilities.

The City also encourages the use of the Oshawa Accessibility Design Standards in the development community. Under the Community Improvement Program applicants must meet with the Accessibility Advisory Committee and complete an Accessibility Plan.

You also asked about specialized transit. Durham Regional Transit including D.R.T. Specialized Services are the responsibility of the Region of Durham and therefore provided for in the Regional budget. For more information on the Regional budget, visit the Region of Durham website.

Thank you for your question.

The City’s budgets are quite lean which creates pressures as a growing community.  Council has adopted a continuous improvement framework from which staff apply LEAN methodologies to practices and procedures, as well as service reviews and risk management activities.  These actions help us ensure that the resources are allocated appropriately.  The City is challenged to meet operational needs, manage growth while respecting taxpayer affordability.

Hello,

Thank you for participating in the City’s first-ever telephone town hall on the City budget and for your questions about the Tribute Communities Centre.

You asked:

1. How much do we pay per year for maintenance? The City allocates $400,000 per year to a reserve for capital maintenance work to be performed at the facility.
   
   
2. What is the loan repayment amount? The loan repayment amount is approximately $3.5M annually
   
   
3. How many more years until paid off? The debentures will be paid in full following the last payment in 2028

Thank you again for your participation.

Thank you for your question.

Municipalities across the board are feeling these pressures and do not have control over provincial and federal legislation.

The annual City Budget takes into account and plans for a number of challenges and pressures including inflationary increases and contractual labour increases.

Additionally, to provide some context on Fire Services, the 2017 operating budget for Fire Services is $26.3 million. This is approximately $158 per resident. Oshawa Fire Services provides 911 dispatch, fire prevention, fire suppression and education. This supports the operation and maintenance of 6 fire stations and 29 vehicles, emergency call response and fire inspections.