​Bruce County council gets first look at draft 2025 budget with 6.81% tax-rate increase

Bruce County council had a first look at the draft 2025 capital and operating budget, Thursday, which includes a 6.81-per-cent tax-rate increase.

This budget is an important step to realizing the vision set out in the 2023-26 county strategic plan, the Indigenous Reconciliation Framework, and the implementation of other council-endorsed initiatives that are foundational in realizing the strategic vision.

The current municipal budget environment, across the province, presents challenges. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities shows that only eight cents of every tax dollar goes to municipalities, the rest going to the provincial and federal governments. However, municipalities are responsible for much of the infrastructure and services that people use in their daily lives.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) has called for a renewed funding model for municipalities through the request for a social and economic prosperity review. The initial work showed that municipalities are subsidizing areas of provincial responsibility. In fact, in 2022, Bruce County provided over $37-million in additional funding for housing, health services, and social services, beyond the provincial funding for these programs.

While the pressures outlined above are real, the draft budget keeps levy increases moderate while focusing on keys strategic initiatives, including:
 

• Investing in health care and wellness across the county, such as expanding the community paramedic program, investments in Brightshores mental health centre, Community Safety and Well-being, and primary care recruitment ensuring the county has access to quality services.
• Funding for an additional residential unit pilot program to address housing affordability across the county.
• Implementation of the Bruce County Indigenous Reconciliation Framework, and Bruce County’s Saugeen Anishnaabek Reconciliation Pathway and Action Plan, acknowledging the Saugeen Ojibway Nation as knowledge-keepers in the traditional territory, and recognizing the county’s unique government-to-government relationship with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
• Developing services to support innovation and resiliency in the county’s agriculture sector, including funding for the Agri-Food Innovation Grant and providing direct support to producers to access federal and provincial support programs.
• Leading the creation of a Clean Energy Transition Cluster, ensuring local businesses are supported to transition to clean sources of energy.
• Implementation of a Rural Homelessness Response program to reduce chronic homelessness across the county.
• Development of an Age Friendly Community strategy recognized by the World Health Organization, to ensure all are welcome in the county.

Importantly, the draft budget invests in the county’s Asset Management Plan. This provides for a 2.5-per-cent investment in the maintenance of county infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, paramedic stations, etc. This investment ensures the long-term sustainability of these assets.

This year’s proposed 6.81-per-cent levy (tax) increase is made up of two parts:
 

• 4.04 per cent of the increase is to maintain services. This is the investment needed to continue to deliver the services and infrastructure that exist today.
• 2.77 per cent of the increase is for new initiatives or assets. This increase pays for the development of new services or assets that are outlined in the strategic plan.

County council will conduct budget review, discussion, and direction into November, with the potential for budget approval and adoption in December.

“Council has worked diligently over the past two years to set the strategic direction for the county,” said warden Chris Peabody. “We appreciate staff tabling a 2025 draft budget that aligns to that strategy. Council will discuss this budget over the coming weeks, balancing investment in needed infrastructure and services, with fiscal responsibility.”

Discover more about the 2025 draft budget at www.brucecounty.on.ca/budget.

For more information about the budget, contact director of corporate services Sam Dinsmore at sdinsmore@brucecounty.on.ca.