Looking ahead to 2022 for Friendly City finances

Woodstock draft budget for capital projects discussed

This past Tuesday, Nov. 23, Woodstock City Council looked at the preliminary CAPITAL budget for 2022. It's all online for your line-by-line reading enjoyment, but make sure you have your reading glasses handy.

The department-by-departing operating budgets will be analyzed and approved early in the new year. It's too early to calculate a percentage of tax increases (if any) as the county is still comprehending its possible 2022 numbers.

Woodstock uses a 5-year rolling budget for CAPITAL projects, so be sure to look at the projected timelines for items such as the expansion of SouthGate Centre (2023, but with architecture work planned for 2022), Southside Aquatic Centre, or the likelihood of building a new arena to replace Civic Centre with construction to start in 2024.

I'm just one person on council, so all recipe items are most certainly subject to change, especially considering the municipal elections take place in October of 2022.

Since folks are often concerned over street projects and the sightings of bulldozers next year, I have copied the list here, but keep in mind this is not an approved budget. Also missing from the Woodstock list is the county replacing sewers, sidewalks, pavement on Huron Street from Ingersoll Ave (where they started this year) to Adelaide Street. Anyone who uses Huron as an artery road certainly realizes that this massive project was not going to be completed in 2021.

I think another key item is upgrading the water services to the day-use park at Pittock Lake north shore park for community events like Weinerfest Dog days and Dragon Boat races as the City will soon build new bathroom facilities (etc) at the site.

City Council will likely approve the CAPITAL budget at our Dec. 9 meeting.

Additional horizon items for 2022 are projected to include:

- More servicing for industrial lands on Pattullo.

- Two new buses for transit

- Replacing a snow plow / dump truck.

- New roof on Market Centre theatre building

- New pavilion and storage building at Cowan sportsfields.

- New junior playground equipment at Cowan Fields park

- Replacing the backstop at Tip O'Neill baseball diamond.

- On-going tree planting in new subdivisions.

- On-going trail additions including viewing boardwalk at Brick Pond.

Links:

https://calendar.cityofwoodstock.ca/council/Detail/2021-11-23-1700-2022-Capital-Budget-Review-Meeting/f13c34c5-36fd-4ec3-a0b6-adea00dfd485

https://calendar.cityofwoodstock.ca/council/Detail/2021-11-18-1330-Council-meeting-2022-Capital-Budget-Overview