Meaford’s council is continuing to work toward finalizing the municipal budgets for 2025. While they have made some progress in lowering the required rate increase, council is hoping to continue to find ways to reduce the required increase even further before presenting the budgets to the public for the required statutory public budget meeting.
By the end of council’s third full day of budget discussions for version two of the municipal budget, held on Friday, February 14, council had significantly reduced the 15.78 percent increase proposed in the second version of the draft budgets to roughly 6.4 percent, which would translate into a blended rate increase in 2025 of approximately 4.88 percent.
The second version of the draft 2025 municipal budgets was presented to council at their January 27 meeting.
Version two of the draft budgets for 2025 was prepared and presented by municipal treasurer and interim CAO Valerie Manning, who council noted had little involvement in the first draft budget presented in November of last year.
When the first draft of the original 2025 municipal budget was presented to council on November 4, council had expected to have approved the 2025 budgets during their December 9 meeting. However, the departure of the CAO on November 26 resulted in a delay of the budget process. As initially presented on November 4, the draft budget, which was divided into ‘core services’ and ‘elective services’, would have meant an increase of roughly 36 percent in 2025 for Meaford ratepayers, had that draft budget been approved as presented.
After three full days of budget discussions in November, council was clearly frustrated with the budget that had been presented by the former CAO. They had approved the inclusion of some of the ‘elective services’, including policing, and had rejected others, resulting in a decrease of the potential 2025 rate increase to 21.48 percent. Prior to her departure, former CAO Kymm Buckham had committed to producing a second version of the budget for council to consider, but after her departure, that task fell to the municipal treasurer.
Version two of the budgets, prepared in similar fashion to the budgets that council has been accustomed to for many years, was much easier for council to work with, and over three full days of budget discussions in February, council appeared to be pleased with their progress.
Council was able to find budget items that could be funded from reserves, or projects that could be postponed until a later date, helping to lessen the required rate increase. Before continuing with the exercise, council desired a closed session meeting in order to discuss and understand the municipal staff complement, including additions to the staff roster made by the previous CAO during her six months with the municipality.
Council had hoped to have further budget discussions during their February 24 meeting, however that did not happen, and it is not known as of yet when that meeting will take place. At the time of publication municipal staff had not yet replied to a request for an update about future budget discussions.
After council has completed their budget discussions and revisions, a statutory public budget meeting will be held prior to council voting to approve the 2025 budgets, likely in March.
All budget-related information is published on the municipal website (meaford.ca/budget).
