After some delays, Bruce County Council has officially approved its 2009 budget.
Bayshore Broadcasting News Reporter James Morgan tells us that the Warden is mostly satisfied with the budget, but has some concerns.
The county will be raising over 33 million dollars this year from taxpayers in its eight municipalities.
Warden Bill Goetz says the increase in the amount of money the county plans to spend is a bit lower than originally expected, at 2.59 percent.
He says the budget is reasonable.
In April, council delayed passing the budget in order to review the costs of hiring new staff for various county departments.
No changes were made with respect to the proposed hirings, but money was cut from the Agriculture, Tourism, and Planning budget that would have been set aside in reserves for future official plan updates.
Goetz says he still has concerns about the cost of the new hirings and how it will affect next year’s budget process.
He says however now the budget is passed and it’s county council’s responsibility to make it work.
Out of this year’s budget, Saugen Shores will contribute the most, at over 6.9 million dollars.
Arran Elderslie will contribute the least, at over 1.8 million dollars.
All municipal contributions to the county budget are based on property assessment.