Barrie’s mayor calls the province’s funding “unfair” during an impromptu speech in the House

Sparks flew in Simcoe County on Tuesday morning during budget deliberations, with Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall giving an impromptu speech in the council chambers.

Nuttall, in his address to council, had county staff explain how the individual city’s current capital financing agreement is currently structured, prompting councilors to “pay special attention.”

“What you just heard was the City of Orillia and the City of Barrie are paying for these projects for 10 years, but the rest of you are paying for them over the life of the bond,” Nuttall said. “This means that when a project occurs, the City of Barrie and the City of Orillia are overcompensating for the capital project bills for the areas we are responsible for.”

Nutall called the current structure “unfair” and warned the County Council that Barrie will review the current financing agreement.

“We’re about to go into our budget, it’s a strong mayor’s budget, which means it’s my budget,” he said. “One point I have identified is the way this agreement looks today.”

Nutall’s comments were disputed by Wasaga Beach Mayor Brian Smith, who suggested the current structure contradicts Nuttall’s claim.

“It’s high time that we take a comprehensive look at the segregated cities and how our services operate in relation to the segregated cities because I would argue that in my opinion the province is subsidizing the segregated cities in general,” Smith said. “We don’t receive development dollars, we don’t receive taxes, unless it’s something that the segregated cities want services for.”

The County of Simcoe’s shared services agreement with Barrie and Orillia expired last year and is currently being renegotiated.

Trevor Wilcox, the County’s general manager of business performance, called Nuttall’s statement “inappropriate” for suggesting the County is taking advantage of the cities, prompting Nuttall to admonish Wilcox.

Mayor Smith ultimately submitted his own proposal and directed staff to report on the mix of assets and services between the county and individual cities.

“All those services that are in the city of Barrie versus the rest of the municipalities are greater in my opinion,” Smith told CTV News. “So be careful what you ask for.”

Nuttall warned that a shakeup of the agreement is in the offing and that any budget passed by the province would be directly affected by that agreement.

“It’s about value for money and a fair deal,” Nuttall added.

CTV News asked Nuttall if a review of the agreement laid the groundwork for Barrie to fully secede from the County of Simcoe.

Barrie’s mayor did not want to make his personal views public and clearly stated that the decision is up to the province, but added that he was open to exploring all options.

“It’s not off the table to say the city of Barrie may have to go it alone,” he said.

At Barrie’s request, an audit of the service value delivered has been completed and will be presented to council on Wednesday.