Council approved compromise to avoid surprise budget increase

Administrator | Jan 13, 2026 | Comments 0

County Mayor Steve Ferguson requested a “sharpie” and binder to sign and show off the officially approved budget for 2026, following discussion on a compromise to avoid a surprise rate hike after receiving the OPP budget increase from the Ontario government higher and later than expected.

Mayor Steve Ferguson made a show of officially signing the 2026 budget Tuesday night after council and staff worked to balance a surprise 11 per cent increase on the province’s OPP budget – amounting to about $390,000 – after council had settled on the increase in December.

The proposed 2026 budget funded by municipal taxes required a rate increase of 5.32, or 3.59 per cent after including assessment growth. The rate was set after three days of deliberations during the first week of December, but immediately following council setting its rate, the provincial OPP budget hike was announced to be 11 per cent, instead of the anticipated six per cent. The province sets the overall budget for the Ontario Provincial Police and directly determines the policing costs billed to municipalities.

Instead of increasing the rate to 6.08 (or 4.35 after growth), council and staff explored options to pull money from reserves, and also took into account an approximate $18,000 decrease in the final conservation authority budget line and a few other changes.

Following discussion, council agreed to make up the approximate $390,000 using $143,000 from the climate reserve, $150,000 from the Municipal Accommodations Tax reserve and almost $97,000 from the waste diversion reserve (funds discussed that evening from the dissolution of the Centre and South Hastings Waste Services Board which shared its remaining funds with its member municipalities.

The tax stabilization reserve is the fund that would normally be used, noted interim CAO Adam Goheen. However, “That reserve, which should have millions of dollars, is almost empty.”

It was noted use of the climate funds leaves that reserve empty. The MAT reserve is continually replenished and there would be more than $200,000 left in the waste diversion reserve, with more funds expected to come throughout the year.

Mayor Ferguson called the use of the funds “a reasonable compromise” and noted it was preferable to revisiting the budget line by line in any form, as official approval of the document is necessary for movement forward on several projects, over a dozen tenders, and other assorted deadlines to be met.