Latest news with #capitalbudget
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Accessible restroom project moving forward at Ashtabula Arts Center
ASHTABULA — Several people gathered at the Ashtabula Arts Center Friday for a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate to soon-to-start construction of an accessible bathroom at the center. The accessible restroom will include a universal changing table, which is large enough to serve anybody of any size or background. Ashtabula Arts Center Executive Director Lori Starling said arts center leadership are hoping to have the restroom done by the start of indoor theater show season in the fall. 'It's not just a bathroom,' she said. 'For those individuals that struggle finding places to attend because of their mobility issues, or anything else, it is a big deal, because they actually map out the route of where they can use the bathroom.' Starling said to her, accessibility means anyone can come to the arts center and enjoy its programs. 'We want this to be an all-inclusive space,' she said. Accessing an average public restroom is often not simple for someone who has mobility issues, Starling said. 'People that are coming through the area, even if they're traveling somewhere else, can actually look us up on a map, stop here and know that we have that universal changing table,' she said. A portion of the funding for the construction, $45,000, comes from the state's capital budget. Ohio State Senator Sandra O'Brien said she has been a supporter of the arts center for a long time. 'My children grew up here in theater,' she said. 'I tell people that the quality of our arts is pretty amazing, for the amount of people we have in the county.' O'Brien said the art center's program allowed her children to become friends with people of all ages. 'Being in the same play together, they would laugh together,' she said. O'Brien presented a certificate from the Ohio General Assembly honoring the arts center. The Ashtabula County Board of Development Disabilities also contributed $20,000 to the project. Board of DD Community Outreach Specialist Angela Thomas said the board also donated a universal changing table for the project. Board of DD Director of Early Intervention Amanda Clugh said accessibility means that anyone can have a dignified space where they can use a restroom. 'With this restroom, if you're somebody that needs additional space, you could attend services, and have the space that you need,' she said. Clugh said accessible restrooms are being implemented at rest areas across Ohio. 'Our county board has a changing table, and that's the vision we hope to see for the future that any restroom would be accessible,' she said.
Mail & Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
DA slams Joburg's R89.4bn budget as politically motivated
The capital budget of R8.7 billion (R26.2 billion over the medium term) intentionally targets regions that were affected by spatial planning during apartheid, according to the statement. This includes Alexandra, Diepsloot, Kaalfontein, Orange Farm and Lenasia South. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G) The 'It's a political budget and it is just to ensure that they are putting money in areas where they know they are going to get more votes [going] to the current ruling coalition at the moment,' said the DA's Johannesburg caucus leader, Belinda Echeozonjoku. On Wednesday, Johannesburg Finance MMC The capital budget of R8.7 billion (R26.2 billion over the medium term) intentionally targets regions that were affected by spatial planning during apartheid, according to the statement. This includes Alexandra, Diepsloot, Kaalfontein, Orange Farm and Lenasia South. Echeozonjoku said one of the concerns for the DA was that huge amounts were being allocated to Region E, under which Alexandra township falls, but not much improvement had taken place there. 'Massive money is spent in Alex, you go to Alex today, do you see any of that money making a difference? We do not see where the money is going,' she said. Speaking to journalists after the council seating, Arnolds said: 'The budget reflects our resolve to drive infrastructure led-growth, accelerated service delivery and restore long-term financial sustainability; with a projected operating surplus of R4.1 billion and a capital allocation of R8.7 billion for this year alone [and] growing to R26.2 billion over the next three years. 'We are focusing our capital investment where they are needed most: revitalising the inner city … but also in different regions where we are deployed as MMC.' The key revenue drivers for this year include electricity, for which R25.6 billion is allocated, R20 billion for water and wastewater, R18.1 billion for property rates, R3.3 billion for refuse removal and R4.57 billion for the national fuel levy, according to budget documents. Referring to the underdeveloped regions, Arnolds said: We've had lots of service backlogs, it's historical, and in the underserved areas. We know that Diepsloot, Orange Farm, Lenasia South and Kaalfontein are basically the step-children of the City of Johannesburg and we are going to fix that.' Echeozonjoku said the city is allocating money to townships or informal settlements without saying what their plan is to formalise those settlements. 'It means you are throwing money into an area that is not formalised. Are you able to see the stand number? Are you able to collect revenue for prepaid meters and things like that? 'How are you going to be able to collect from those areas? You are opening the city up to challenges of illegal connection once again if you are not formalising those informal settlements. 'We are not happy with the allocations that have been done without a proper plan on how to actually collect revenue.' She added that a lot of money has been taken from transport and the DA. 'We are not happy with that either. The tariffs increase; we felt that there's a lot of money that could have been redirected as well.' A sum of R400 million has been set aside for the Johannesburg Roads Agency to resurface roads.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Burnaby's $1.2B capital reserve 'basically exhausted.' What happened and what's next?
Social Sharing Burnaby has long been the envy of neighbouring cities for its hefty capital reserves while being one of the few major cities in B.C. with zero debt — but now the city's "golden age" of surpluses is coming to an end. The reasons are twofold: skyrocketing construction costs have depleted the city's reserves of more than a billion dollars faster than expected, and provincial legislation has recently limited the city's ability to replenish the money through its traditionally successful model of density bonuses. "We added up all that investment and, by the end of 2024, it had basically exhausted a lot of our … reserves," said Coun. Sav Dhaliwal, who is also chair of the city's financial management committee. The city has approved more than $1.2 billion for almost 20 community amenity projects and affordable housing initiatives, including the Burnaby Lake Recreation Complex, Cameron Community Centre and Library and a new RCMP detachment. But construction cost increases have meant five major projects are currently $281 million over their original estimated budget, based on documents provided by city staff to council earlier this year. It means the city's capital budget won't stretch as far as originally planned. Council has already cancelled the $240-million Confederation Park Community Centre due to a lack of funding, and plans for a new city hall were pulled back in 2023 and still await a new clear direction. The city says future projects are essentially on hold indefinitely until it can generate funds through a new provincially mandated funding tool, one it has repeatedly criticized. Colleen Jordan, a former city councillor and frequent critic of current mayor, Mike Hurley, said Burnaby was in a tough spot as a result. She doubts residents are happy with the delays to major projects like the one at Confederation Park. "But it's not the city that they should be blaming, it's the province," she said. Burnaby's density bonus policy City officials have complained that the new provincial tool, called amenity cost charges or ACCs, has limited Burnaby's previous policy that generated more than $1 billion from developers over the last decade. Burnaby's stockpile came from a policy called density bonusing, in which developers paid cash to the city in exchange for the right to build taller condos in places like its growing Metrotown and Brentwood city centres. The density bonus policy was "very successful," according to Coun. Sav Dhaliwal, who noted that in some years, the city received more than $300 million from developers. The province's new funding tool requires municipalities to charge developers a certain amount of money based on the number of units built. But Dhaliwal said the tool is more restrictive and also requires taxpayer money to fund a portion of a new amenity. As a result, the city introduced a 1.9 per cent infrastructure levy on homeowners this year — on top of the regular property tax increase — in order to collect for the ACC fund. Jordan said the city will now have to decide whether to wait to build the amenities or borrow money. "And I don't think the citizens of Burnaby are particularly very favourable to borrowing money, so I guess they have to wait." Dhaliwal estimated it could take 10 years to build up the city's ACC reserves and get started on the Confederation Park Community Centre. An issue for many cities Trish Mandewo, the president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities, said construction costs are growing at three times the rate of inflation. "Local governments have to look at the projects that they have in line, and sometimes they're having to make hard choices," she said. She said municipalities had reserves and were planning for the future, but escalating costs "way beyond" the consumer price index have made it difficult to meet budget expectations. "It's going to be difficult for local governments to really meet the mandate when it comes to our infrastructure that we had planned," she said. In a statement, B.C.'s Ministry of Housing said ACCs will replace lengthy negotiations over charges with an upfront planning process that gives a "more transparent understanding of costs associated with a housing project from the start." It argued that Burnaby was already experiencing shortfalls before the introduction of ACCs. "This predictable process will improve on Burnaby's previous amenity contributions program that experienced an unexpected $175 million shortfall in 2023, which staff indicated put major projects at risk," it wrote. City promises follow-through Burnaby's chief financial officer, Noreen Kassam, said she's "very confident" the city can still complete the committed projects within the expected budgets. "We will deliver on them," she said, while acknowledging the city will be developing fewer projects than hoped. She called the density bonus program "instrumental" in funding the city's major projects over the last decade. "It is maybe a bit alarming that it is depleting, but … it is delivering on what the funds were collected for, which is all these large major amenities that are going to benefit citizens now and into the future." Mayor Mike Hurley also criticized the province's new funding plan, but he wouldn't commit to taking on debt. "It's not something that I would ever want to do," he told CBC. "I think we just have to find different ways and come up with a different business plan. Burnaby's motto has always been pay as we go, and hopefully we can stay that way."
