In the chart below you will clearly see how Public Works has ballooned to unsustainable levels. Public Works has risen a whooping 79% or just over $23-million dollars in those 5 years!
With Government costs soaring to out of control levels the pressure will be put on the tax payer to come up with these short falls. Taxes have risen 22% and a modest increase will not be enough to bail out the bloated departments.
Even though the additional income from the tax payers increased over all revenue to 5%, Norfolk County's Liabilities are destroying the County's balance sheet. Liabilities have increased by 65% and in just 5 short years have climbed to over $36-million! Yes Citizens, that's millions. Your share of that loss stands at $570 each.
Social and Family services have already been cut to the bone. How much more can be cut away? Over $20-million dollars have been stripped from these services while Social Housing has climbed by $3-million.
Public Works is almost entirely responsible for the gigantic liability increases. Roads, Environmental Services and the Planning and Economical Development departments have seen their costs increased faster than any other department. The numbers are staggering. Most of the recent Public Works projects have gone well past the financial estimates and it appears that a random dart board toss would come just as close.
Are we to continue to have our service levels reduced by this administration while at the same time Public Works doesn't even know the meaning of accountability? Why should the poor and elderly be punished for the giant money hole that is known as Public Works?
Mr Eric D'Hondt is a seasoned veteran with over 30 years at the helm of Public Works. His salary puts him on the Sunshine List as the second highest paid employee of the County at over $140k per annum. Is Norfolk County rewarding incompetence? It's rumoured that Mr. D'Hondt has a $1-million dollar buyout clause on his contract but with your department running in the hole by $23-million, one can only wonder if it's not a good buy at that point. There seems to be no motivation for any department in Public Works to become economically responsible.
The Roads department is digging a massive hole which the Manager there appears more worried about a dirt road than his financial responsibilities. The Planning and Economical Department is also rife with bloat citing Norfolk's quest to be 'Open for Business' as the main reason behind that.
County Staff salaries and benefits have risen 24% from 2007 - 2012 so another $11-million get's added to the tab. In 2012 Norfolk County lost almost $6-million from operations and overall liabilities are out of control.
Without taking on the County's own departments for cost cutting measures the financial burden is clearly coming down to the Citizens. A hefty tax increase combined with large service cuts are on their way. If our current administration's handling of the LPRCA budget is any indication of what to expect you can be assured the overall County dept will grow yet again. There are only so many assets that Council can sell and they must be chomping at the bit to gain access to the funds that resulted from the under sold Norfolk Power fire sale. This should buy Council another year of delaying decisions that the next administration will have to deal with when the reaper comes calling.
| 2007 | 2012 | As a % | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes | $54,472,636 | $66,258,224 | 22% | $11,785,588 |
| Total Revenue | $154,040,889 | $161,368,015 | 5% | |
| Expenses | $135,989,709 | $156,343,787 | 15% | $20,354,078 |
| General Government | $8,664,168 | $11,413,360 | 32% | $2,749,192 |
| Protection | $14,526,486 | $19,541,582 | 35% | $5,015,096 |
| Transportation Services | $16,273,367 | $27,806,607 | 71% | $11,533,240 |
| Environmental Services | $10,882,828 | $20,826,318 | 91% | $9,943,490 |
| Health | $12,682,765 | $15,911,349 | 25% | $3,228,584 |
| Social & Family Services | $57,133,848 | $36,493,947 | -36% | $(20,639,901) |
| Social Housing | $4,098,564 | $7,028,167 | 71% | $2,929,603 |
| Recreation | $9,506,761 | $13,256,316 | 39% | $3,749,555 |
| Planning | $2,220,922 | $4,066,141 | 83% | $1,845,219 |
| Subtotal of Public Works | $29,377,117 | $52,699,066 | 79% | $23,321,949 |
| Ontario Grant | $10,967,000 | $9,538,700 | -13% | $(1,428,300) |
| Conditional Grant | $52,284,540 | $40,587,454 | -22% | $(11,697,086) |
| Rev from Other Municipality | $5,372,886 | $3,498,267 | -35% | $(1,874,619) |
| User Fees | $25,350,970 | $30,197,145 | 19% | $4,846,175 |
| Licenses | $1,700,661 | $1,781,562 | 5% | $80,901 |
| Fines | $1,964,454 | $2,600,781 | 32% | $636,327 |
| Other Revenue | $943,146 | $4,295,350 | 355% | $3,352,204 |
| Government Business | $25,796,533 | $32,455,952 | 26% | $6,659,419 |
| Subtotal of Revenue | $124,380,190 | $124,955,211 | $575,021 | |
| Salaries and Benefits | $47,311,795 | $58,716,213 | 24% | $11,404,418 |
| Total Liabilities | $55,480,730 | $91,783,523 | 65% | $36,302,793 |
| Net Income (Debt) | $20,597,980 | $(5,381,765) | -126% | $(25,979,745) |
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