The infrastructure bills keep piling up

 

Who’s going to pay for Windsor’s urban expansion?

Windsor's recently approved $5 billion Sewer Master Plan is aimed at protecting neighbourhoods from future flooding.   The federal government recently rejected $30M in grant applications that will now be financed by the local municipal tax base.   The city's stalled employment growth and aging population suggest few if any residents can bear increased taxes. And yet municipal leaders are continuing to push the provincial government to move forward with the proposed rural hospital on County Road 42. Developing Sandwich South (the 990-acre farmland surrounding the proposed hospital site) will add a multi-million dollar tax burden to Windsor residents in perpetuity. But, there is no current data that supports a real need to develop this rural area. Why is this a priority, when so much money is required for many crucial and urgent infrastructure needs where people already live? So why are municipal leaders spending hundreds of thousands of local tax dollars on promotion after promotion to steamroll residents into backing such an ill-conceived and costly plan?

On October 23, 2020, The Windsor Star reported that Windsor had been denied two federal government funding grant applications totalling $30M. While it is still too early to know the reasons why the two projects were rejected, it appears they will go ahead, though with local taxpayers now footing the bills.

$3M Vanity Project: The City of Windsor applied to the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund for assistance in paying for the controversial $7M Waterfront Celestial Beacon – Streetcar #351 project on the city’s riverfront, approximately 1.5km west of Windsor's downtown area. The minutes from the June 15, 2020 City Council meeting (p.11) show the project would still go ahead should the grant not be successful. The funds are to be taken from other sources, including $1M from the Paul Martin Building, the current home of the Central Library. $27M Flood Mitigation Project: The City of Windsor applied to the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund to help pay for $80M in Sewer Master Plan projects identified after Windsor’s historic 2017 and 2018 floods.   From the June 15, 2020 City Council meeting minutes' appendix (p.7): “There is a risk the City may not be awarded grant funding for this project. Should this occur the project will be revisited as part of the Sewer Master Plan and the recommendations associated with the implementation of that plan.”

On October 30, 2020, The Windsor Star revealed that losses incurred by the city-owned tunnel and airport will total almost $10M by year’s end. How much extra tax load can Windsor residents bear? Major climate change-related flood risks In July 2020, Windsor City Council approved a $5 billion Sewer Master Plan (the $27M project above is just a part of this plan) to protect the city against climate change-related flood risks. While it could be argued that the Celestial Beacon project involves discretionary spending, the Sewer Master Plan costs are significantly greater and the project fills a very real and urgent need. We don't believe anyone would think it wise to forgo this investment. Yet without the assistance of the federal government, Windsor taxpayers will be left paying the whole very expensive bill:

CBC footage from Windsor's 2017 flood

Accelerating municipal spending at a time of stalled population growth As we wrote in our October 18, 2020 email, the City of Windsor has uncertain future population growth, while continuing to plan for the 990-acre Sandwich South expansion adjacent to Windsor Airport.

Higher taxes or reduced amenities? Expansion costs money, a lot of it. Without population growth, the only way to pay for it is through higher taxes and/or reduced amenities in established neighbourhoods. As reported this week, the municipal budget is already constrained by financial commitments that will not be covered by federal government grants.

No employment growth in two decades In the past two decades, the Windsor-Essex employed labour force has shown no discernible growth. Covid-19 significantly impacted the region's employment this year: In September 2020, 1,300 fewer people were employed than in March 2001!  After the large Covid-19-related drop in employment and an uncertain economic future, there is unlikely to be any appetite or ability to pay much higher municipal taxes.

76% more retirees Looking forward, Ontario's Ministry of Finance population projections show a rapidly aging Windsor-Essex population. By 2036, the number of seniors aged 65 and over will have grown by 76% or 53,500 persons since the 2016 Census. Retirees on fixed incomes are not going to be enthusiastic about higher local tax bills and/or reduced essential municipal services:

Why is Windsor's municipal leadership so eager to develop Sandwich South? Given the existing data, it makes no sense at all. So why exactly are these individuals so gung-ho about financing a short term windfall for construction companies, at the long-term expense of Windsor taxpayers? We'll be paying their bill in perpetuity, with our taxes and our lives.

In their own words: Members of our community comment on the issues this week

"Kind of strange to close down the hospital and move it all out to the edge of the city and then look to the library to anchor downtown development."

"Every hospital is a regional hospital. It's being used as a marketing ploy in the case of the 42 location. Let's remember that City taxpayers are paying two different bills for the new hospital (hospital levy and infrastructure improvements). County taxpayers are only paying one (hospital levy). If the hospital was built where sufficient infrastructure existed, that infrastructure improvement amount would be minimal."

"Perhaps the question should have been framed as: hospital in core means more money to fix sewers in your neighbourhood versus hospital in beanfield means: less money to fix sewers in your neighbourhood. Which one do you pick?"

"I think there is a fundamental disconnect between the identified issues that matter and the plan to proceed with Sandwich South expansion. It embraces urban sprawl at a time of climate crisis and when the science connects climate change to urban sprawl, carbon-based transportation systems, reduction of green spaces and more."

"If folks in the county need ER capacity then they should have it. I'd be willing to fight for it, but not at the expense of having NO ER capacity in the whole core of the city and most of the rest too."

"If transfer between hospitals is an issue, then transfer of a sick/injured person from a home in town out to the boonies just to get any service at all is obviously a huge hazard."

"why not build an urgent care in the county. A mega hosp out there will cause major problems."

"I'm one of those "frequent flyers" ... When it's 4 in the morning and I have to go to ER that location will take me almost 20 mins to get to compared to less than 5 now. We bought this house near 2 hospitals and a 24 hour pharmacy for a reason. Who ever heard of a city this size with no ER? Absolutely foolhardy."

"I am getting angry that tax payer money is used to fund the campaign of sponsored Facebook posts and signs"

"Cheerleading and slogans will never replace a worthy, well written, and complete application. Our hospital application has been stalled at Stage 1. There is a Five Stage Ontario hospital application process. Our W.E. planning committee needs fresh faces, fresh thinking and greater willingness to look for solutions with Queens Park to get our application completed."

"The mayor, various developers, and other big shots are determined to have their way. That’s how we ended up with the shangri la pool downtown that none of us in the west end/core wanted, especially since we have a perfectly good and well used pool in the neighbourhood. No one I know wants a 7 million dollar pavilion at the waterfront and most people want the refurbished streetcar downtown or near the art gallery... ...It’s very frustrating and I wish we could finally elect a leader who listens to and genuinely cares about all the residents in this city."