TAMRMS#: B06
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2020 Census
Notice given by: Mayor Heron
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BUDGET POSTPONED MOTION:
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That the 2020 municipal census be cancelled and;
That the 2020 and ongoing transfer of $90,000 per year to the census reserve be eliminated with the 2020 savings used to offset the tax base and;
That administration make recommendations to the Community Growth and Infrastructure Standing Committee for a potential future municipal census program including budget implications.
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POSTPONED MOTION ADMINISTRATIVE BACKGROUNDER:
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Administration’s Understanding of the Intent of the Motion:
To avoid the need for a current-tax-funded $90K transfer to reserves after drawing down the reserve to pay the costs of conducting a census in 2020.
Operational or Organizational Impacts if Motion is Approved:
Legislative Services conducts the municipal census. That Department will keep a vacant position unfilled for 2020, so avoiding the need to conduct a census will assist Leg Services in providing the other services they provide with one less FTE. Other departments who are likewise challenged to do more with less, also assist in components of the census (e.g., Communications, IT) so avoiding a census in 2020 would also ease some burden on them.
Financial Implications of Motions:
Cancelling the 2020 census would avoid budgeted third party costs of approximately $155K to conduct the census. That would eliminate the need to withdraw $155K from reserves to fund the census, which in turn would eliminate the need to make a reserve top-up of $90K which is funded by current taxes.
Stakeholder Consultations:
N/A
Background:
The Province has announced that it will no longer be relying on municipal census results for the population information on which provincial grants to municipalities are based. For that reason, and because a federal census will occur in 2021 in any event, there is no compelling reason to conduct a municipal census in 2020. Accordingly...
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