CORNWALL – SDG Counties council approved in-principle the 2025 budget which will see an estimated 4.89 per cent tax increase for residents.
The initial tax increase was pegged at 6.87 per cent, but was lowered to a starting point of 4.83 per cent due to a reduction in OPP costs announced by the province. Policing is still higher for 2025 than planned, resulting in an approximate $361,000 increase in the budget.
Council and senior administration blamed external forces for three-fifths of the residential tax increase. Staffing increases at Glen-Stor-Dun Lodge, along with adding more affordable housing through social housing added to the tax bill. Both budgets, along with OPP costs, are out of the control of SDG Council. Shared services are run by the City of Cornwall, while the OPP and the Ministry of the Solicitor General set the costs for service for policing.
“We took these pressures into account in approving a budget that is lean, prudent and forward-thinking,” said outgoing SDG Warden Jamie MacDonald. “External costs such as long-term care and policing are beyond our direct control but remain vital to our communities.”
The $87.4 million budget includes nearly 49 kilometres of road resurfacing, 11 km of microsurfacing, an already funded $1.5 million contribution to the Maxville Manor redevelopment project, $1.9 million for replacing the County Road 3 bridge in Inkerman, and rehabilitating the County Road 18 bridge in Lunenburg.
Under the community grant portion of the budget, a $135,000 ask from the United Way of SD&G for its Last Resort fund was denied. Cornwall council previously turned down the group’s $200,000 ask during its budget session. The Social Development Council of Cornwall and Area was approved for $55,000 by SDG Council, adding to the base tax increase.
The final budget with tax rates will be approved by council at a later meeting, following the release of municipal property assessment numbers in the new year.