Council Preview 2026 Capital Budget Round Two
By John Swartz
Orillia council continues its 2026 budget meetings Tuesday, October 13 at 9 a.m. With the new process under the strong mayor regime the budget has been split into three parts (it always was loosely in three parts), but now each section is dealt with as distinct deliberations rather than starting at page one and motoring through in a series of meetings over two weeks.
The first section, the capital budget, began September 29, the next, operating, begins October 20, and the last, service agencies (OPP, SMDHU, Simcoe County.) November 13. The way it works now any changes to the budget Mayor Don McIsaac presents to council have to be done by formal amendments. That comes with its own system requiring councillors do a lot more work in order to justify why their change should be adopted.
The mayor can veto any amendments, which starts another process if a councillor believes an amendment should stay and persuades council to override the amendment. The old way was less tedious and council could make changes to staff’s budget proposal on the fly as each item or section came up for discussion.
Today’s meeting has 10 amendments to consider. Fist on the list is one put forward by councillor Janet-Lynne Durnford. She wants the project to install sidewalks along with curbs on Veteran’s Way near the new housing development at Elgin Street changed. This was on the list two weeks and went by without discussion.
This project is not on the ten-year capital plan and is jumping the queue because of the housing development and the internal to the development sidewalks end abruptly in the dirt.
Staff indicated sidewalks were really not needed because there is a paved trail on the other sides of the roadway/parking lot. Durnford’s amendment is to remove sidewalks from the planning for the project and do it in 2026. In an end notes type of report from staff on each of the amendments, staff say only doing curbs would likely cost $90K.
It’s interesting to note this work is being done to accommodate development, which one would think could 100% be funded by development charges. However the funding is entirely coming from the tax levy all property owners pay.
Durnford has the next amendment to pave Western Avenue from Peter to Matchedash Streets. It’s hard to believe Orillia has a cow path (other than Laclie Street) and once one realizes that cow path is an actual street, why is it in such bad shape? It is scheduled to be repaved in 2030, but Durnford wants it bumped up to 2026.
In the mean time she is also asking to have staff level out the potholes and rutting to get by until paving happens. Staff say the cost would likely be $67K. They also say, “This work has not been prioritized over other resurfacing projects due to it being on a local road (not an arterial or collector) with a low volume of vehicle traffic.’ which means bottoming out cars going to and from home is not their problem.
It’s interesting to note the extra work councillors have to do now in that she to find and quote a section of the Ontario Municipal Act, “Section 44 of, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 puts a legal duty on municipalities to keep their roads in a state of repair that is reasonable in the circumstances. Municipalities have an obligation under O.Reg. 239/02, which sets out minimum maintenance standards for pavement conditions.” This apparently applies to all roads in the province, except Laclie Street.
Councillor Tim Lauer has the next four amendments. One is to plant trees along the trail next to an unnamed, unpaved road to the Champlain Sailing Club where there is no separation between the roadway and trail. Lauer said trees would eliminate a safety issue and add to the City’s tree canopy. There is no dollar amount, but Lauer states there is a tree planting budget and where those trees are scheduled to be planted can be altered resulting in very little added to the budget.
Staff say there should be a minimum ten foot gap between trees and the trail and because of the road there isn’t enough room. They say 15 feet would be better. They also say if trees were planted every 2 meters for the distance Lauer wants it would cost $90k. Maybe they could look into a different species of tree to plant with roots that grow down more than they grow out.
On first pass of the amendments, it was observed by some of the responses to the list of items to be filled in, the make work amendment plan is not being received well by councillors. In the ‘box to be filled’ part of this amendment entitled, “SMART Goal Breakdown: Achievable – Ensure the amendment is realistic given budget constraints, staffing, and timelines” Lauer’s response is, “realistic is my middle name.” More on this count below.
Speaking of cow paths, another is one in front of Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital’s main entrance called Dunlop Street. Lauer wants $20K added to the budget to repave it. Staff say it would be more in the range of $80K. They also say it’s a local road and not a priority (which is their way of saying no). In other news this section of Dunlop Street has been nominated for the most travelled ‘local road’ in Canada.
Keeping up with the theme. Lauer wants $50K added to the budget to repave 100 meters of roadway starting at the entrance to Tudhope Park. Staff say the budget would likely be $78K and again, it’s a local road. This section of road is also nominated for most travelled ‘local road’, with a handicap; only one weekend’s worth of travel is allowed to be counted. It’s almost like there is a message being sent some of our most traveled, higher volume roads are neglected in favour of lighter traffic side streets when it comes to paving. If we’re going to have warts, let’s show them off.
Lauer has another road to fix. The unnamed gravel road ending at the Champlain Sailing Club should be paved according to Lauer. He estimates cost is $150k. Staff say a budget would more likely be $205K. Can you guess why this road has not been paved already? Yes, it’s only a local road – with a low volume of traffic. Never mind it’s a gravel road in a city.
Councillor Jeff Czetwerzuk has only one amendment and that is to refurbish the pavilion in Centennial Park next to the Port of Orillia building. The budget suggested is $15k. The pavilion has been used more often since the pandemic as a shelter for bands to play music at waterfront events. He’d like a fresh coat of paint and new shingles done before the summer. Staff say it has reached the end of its useful life (disproven this past summer when it was used) and, “rotted pillars, heaving cement, and a deteriorated roof preclude this project from restoration” and should be replaced with an estimate cost of $75k to $100K. Of course something new will have all the charm of what it’s replacing.
Councillor Jay Fallis has two amendments. One is to add $604K for implementation of parts of the Climate Action Plan. Fallis cites a number of goals, mostly energy use reduction and converting the City’s fleet to electric vehicles that should be advanced.
Staff say there a number of projects like Fallis wants already in the budget and that $471K from the 2025 budget is unspent and will be carried forward. This indicates the City is dragging its feet on climate change initiatives if that much money is still in the cash drawer. They also say they are creating a climate change ten-year capital plan in addition to the existing ten-year plan
Several sections of the amendment form were answered by Fallis with the same reply, “I am not filling this optional question out in principle. This is an added requirement for the Strong Mayor’s Budget which will ultimately cost Council Members time and energy, which could be spent analyzing the budget.”
Fallis also wants $100K added to the budget so the City can buy another sidewalk plow. Again he used the same response noted above to most sections of the amendment form. Staff say a new plow will cost $250k and needs two operators adding $70k to the operating budget.
A single comment from the City’s CAO, Amanpreet Singh Sidhu, at the September 29 meeting regarding a $98K expense for speed cameras likely being shifted to a red light camera system signalled staff’s previous position red light cameras were not being considered was at best malleable. Mayor Don McIsaac has an amendment of his own, which will likely not be vetoed, to in fact make this change for how to spend the money on speed cameras to the rear end collision inducing red light cameras. Staff’s comment is a report on red light cameras is due to council December 8. Merry Christmas.
Council meetings are open to the public or can be watched on the City’s Youtube channel.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia)
