Oxford Faces Some Heavy Lifting as a Town
Oxford Town Council continued their look at the community’s overall financial health, with an eye toward the kinds of challenges the town may be facing.
As part of the town’s Financial Condition Index Action Plan, council received a presentation by Kathy Cox-Brown of the Department of Municipal Affairs that showed the town has various medium and long-term concerns that will affect budgets and planning.
Oxford gets good marks for effectively collecting taxes, but needs to address shortcomings in operating reserves and in paying off existing debt.
The town is still feeling the repercussions of non-budgeted expenses relating to 2018’s sinkhole disaster and the current coronavirus situation, which is hitting the local economy hard.
Adding to the fiscal stress, a few weeks ago council received an assessment of the Town Hall building that highlighted very expensive repairs that will need to be carried out in the near future.
A large red flag for Oxford is its dependency on one businesses for commercial taxes — that is, Oxford Frozen Foods Limited. Should anything jeopardize that company’s fortunes, the results for Oxford would be catastrophic. This could lead to efforts by the Town of Oxford to diversify local commercial activity.
Oxford’s situation isn’t unusual. Many towns across the province have a similar financial outlook. The Action Plan now moves to crafting strategies to mitigate the identified risks and move the town into a position where it is prepared to handle possible economic problems in the future.
COVID-19
The coronavirus crisis was also on councillors’ minds last night. Deputy Mayor Rick Draper called on his colleagues to approve a donation to the Oxford Food Bank. Town Council directed staff to cut a cheque for $500 toward helping the Food Bank stock its shelves for those in need.
Fire Department is Hurting
Meanwhile the Oxford Fire Department is facing its own difficulties. The department’s report to Council noted that the town’s Fire Trucks are sorely in need of maintenance and replacement.
One of the town’s two tankers has been towed to Dartmouth for specialized repair. It should be back in service in about a week. The other, well past its serviceable life, will also have repairs done to extend its life for a few more years, until the Town can find enough funding to replace it.
Adding to the Fire Department’s difficulties is the requirement of social distancing, which has seriously affected fundraising activities that are used each year to purchase equipment and cover maintenance costs.
A Tax Cushion
Oxford Taxpayers may have some relief when it comes to paying their taxes this year.
The provincial government is preparing a loan programme that would allow municipalities to borrow money to cover the cost of taxes that residents may have trouble making on time.
The plan would allow eligible taxpayers to present proof of financial difficulty and be given a grace period on payment, with payback amortized over a two-year period.
Town staff are working on a policy that would tie in with the provincial plan, and hope to have something to announce in the coming weeks.
Mayor Trish Stewart says this initiative would enable the town to continue receiving an uninterrupted income from taxes while providing relief to residents affected by business closures and employment cutbacks due to the coronavirus.
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