Kingsville may have received an "D" on a recent report card on the state of its infrastructure, but town council will be asked to approve a plan to at least meet its annual needs.
As of now, Kingsville would have to spend another $7.5-million a year to just maintain the status quo. As of 2012, the town would have had to pay $276.9-million to catch up all repairs and replacements, a cost of $34,239 per household. That number has grown since as more roads have fallen into poor or critical condition.
The plan being proposed to council Monday night calls for an annual 2.9% increase in the municipal levy, dedicated to the town's new lifecycle reserves. After a decade, that would give the municipality the revenue it needs to meet its yearly needs.
Deputy Treasurer Ryan McLeod says while the town's infrastructure would become more sustainable, it still wouldn't address what he calls the town's "infrastructure debt," the cost of repairing and replacing all the roads, bridges, and sewers that have been allowed to deteriorate in the past.
If the council accepts the plan, McLeod says it would only be an approval in principal. Councillors would have to reaffirm its commitment during budget deliberations, increasing the levy in times when the town grows and adds infrastructure, and decreasing it as technology extends the life of the infrastructure.
Meanwhile, councillors will also take stock of a new report card issued by the Public Sector Digest.
That report will doubtfully prompt celebration around the table. It gives the town an "F" for its roads, and its bridges and culverts. The overall grade was a "D."