If you’re a homeowner in the townships of Essa, Springwater or Oro-Medonte, don’t start planning a vacation with all the extra money you’re going to have from next year’s raise.
Odds are good most — if not all — of it is going to go from your pocket to your municipality’s pocket.
At Oro-Medonte’s last council meeting, Deputy Mayor Peter Lavoie provided an update on the Simcoe County council meeting he had attended the previous day.
“The county is proposing a tax levy of two per cent to support the provincially mandated asset management plan,” Lavoie said. “The county ended up $90 million short — or 10 per cent — of their budget based on the asset management plan, so there will be effects in this township and all other townships.
“They are also proposing a further 1.5 to 2.5 per cent for general revenue,” he added.
According to Lavoie, inflation has risen 16 per cent over the last couple of years and pushed many projects into the red.
He said that will result in a “tax levy increase higher than normal.”
Lavoie also noted that the county is forecasting a deficit for the first time in years and urged residents to review the county’s high level draft budget assumptions, which can also be found by clicking here.
In Oro-Medonte, township officials are inviting residents to provide their input to the 2025-26 budget process by completing a survey on its website by Oct. 14. The survey can be found here.
As a survey and budget primer, the Oro-Medonte site begins with some simple user identification questions and then drills down with more detailed information on the seven key areas of service the township provides — general government; operations/transportation; fire and emergency services; parks, facilities and recreation; building, planning and municipal bylaw; policing and environmental services.
For those with little experience in the world of municipal budgets, the township also includes a list of about a dozen frequently asked questions that provide residents with straightforward information on the process and the terms that accompany it.
The township held a budget recalibration session in March. The 2024 tax increase was the same as the previous year, at 4.5 per cent.
In Springwater Township, council approved the 2025 budget preparation timeline at its July 3 council meeting.
Public consultations are slated for October with a draft budget scheduled to be tabled on Nov. 6. It will be followed by one-on-one sessions for councillors Nov. 11-15.
Springwater council is expected to debate the budget on Nov. 18, 20, 25 and 27, and approve it on Dec. 4.
For 2024, Springwater council passed an overall (blended tax) increase of 1.83 per cent.
In Essa, meanwhile, there have been internal discussions about the 2025 budget but the timelines for council’s deliberations have not been confirmed.
In 2024, Essa residents experienced a 5.91 per cent increase.
