Belleville council has its work cut out for it next week.
There’s a regular council session on Monday, a special public information meeting regarding Memorial Arena and Legion properties on Tuesday, and capital budget discussions all day Wednesday and Thursday.
City staff will present a capital budget totalling about $37.6 million in 2020, down from $45.3 million this year.
It’s proposed that more money be taken from taxation next year so if the capital budget passed as presented it would increase taxes by slightly over 1%.
Last year’s capital budget increased taxes by one quarter of a percent.
Some of the larger projects in the proposed capital budget are:
Bell Boulevard/Sidney Street upgrades and widening priced at $13.5 million.
Reconstruction of Avondale Road from Dundas West to Harder Drive priced at $4 million.
More money is earmarked for the seemingly jinxed Bridge Street Bridge. $1.3 million is being requested to continue repairing problems on the historic bridge downtown.
Also on the list are upgrades to two sewer pumping stations, one in Cannifton and another on Moira Street West totalling $2.5 million.
Meanwhile CAO Rod Bovay will ask council to give pre-budget approval for $250,000 to get a Parks and Recreation Master Plan completed by later in 2020.
He is suggesting that several projects planned for parks in 2020 be delayed until after the Master Plan is completed.
The Master Plan would address such issues as new dog parks, the extension of the Riverside Trail north of the 401 and additional community parks.
The money would come from an amount set aside in the 2018 budget and from reserve funds.
The budget discussions begin at 9 a.m. both Wednesday and Thursday.
