Lincoln hiring freeze part of 2023 budget plan

Delivering services, while controlling expense is the goal of every municipality and Town of Lincoln is freezing hiring for 2023 in an attempt to do that.

Despite that move, a 7.5 per cent increase on the Lincoln portion of the 2023 tax bill was approved Monday, which is an overall impact of 2.77 per cent to Lincoln’s residents. The impact on an average assessed home of $378,000 is $132.82 annually or $2.37 per week.

Broken down further, the 2023 Proposed Budget includes:

• 1.3 per cent capital levy increase

• 6.2 per cent operating increase (below inflation increase)

Staff revised the overall levy impact based on the adjustments and changes approved by Budget Com- mittee of the Whole on Feb. 15, and reduced the overall levy impact from earlier projections.

The estimated overall per cent impact on the tax bill, excluding regional transit, is 6.57 per cent.

“A municipal budget needs to go beyond the numbers and understand community health and well-being, and I believe the Town’s 2023 budget achieves this goal,” said Mayor Sandra Easton.

“Council recognizes the importance of having the budget reflect the needs of our community, while remaining respectful of taxpayer dollars. I’m pleased the hiring freeze will help keep staffing costs in line with the overall goal of maintaining a budget that balances affordability, while delivering on the high-qual- ity services our residents expect of us.”

Among the 2023 capital expendures planned are:

• Lakeshore Road and Shoreline Protection Project to mitigate the effects of climate change and lakeshore erosion;

• Durham Road, Lincoln Avenue and Greenlane Road (Lincoln-Bartlett) reconstruction in the west side of Lincoln, to upgrade essential infrastructure and support resident and business traffic

• King Street Road Reconstruction (Vineland), and;

• Investments in the 2023 Road Rehabilitation Program to keep roads in a good state of repair.

• Roadside Safety Program, continuing to invest in traffic safety measures to protect residents and visitors.