Bracebridge council has passed a zero per cent tax increase in the 2021 budget.
“Council wants to support people and businesses during these extraordinary times. That’s why we passed
a 2021 Municipal Budget and Business Plan that freezes the tax rate, while maintaining an ambitious capital
program, including initiating construction of a new Multi-Use Community Centre, to support high quality
services and economic prosperity into the future”, said Mayor Graydon Smith.
The Municipal Budget and Business Plan focuses on maintaining existing service levels; funding initiatives
recommended in the Town’s Strategic Plan and Recreation, Parks and Trails Master Plan; preserving and
rehabilitating existing infrastructure; supporting local businesses; managing the financial pressures arising
from COVID-19; and planning for costs associated with development of a new Multi-Use Community
Centre.
Highlights of the approved 2021 Municipal Budget and Business Plan include:
• $8.75 million to begin construction of a new Multi-Use Community Centre, funded largely by
redeploying the Town’s annual allocation to the Major Maintenance Reserve to support new debt
that will be issued at historically low rates;
• $750,000 to complete the final stage of the $2.8 million Black Bridge project, of which $2.1 million
will be supported by Federal and Provincial government grants;
• Additional capital spending to undertake a variety of Public Works projects that were delayed last
year due to COVID-19, including $370,000 to complete the extension and widening of Salmon
Avenue;
• Full use of the Town’s Safe Restart Agreement funding received from the Federal and Provincial
governments to address pandemic-related operating budget pressures; and
• Approximately $307,000 drawn from the Tax Stabilization Reserve in order to hold the line on the
Town’s tax rate in 2021.
For more details, please click here.
Media Release – 2021 Budget Supports and Strengthens Bracebridge – https://t.co/e8HdT1VCaa
— Town of Bracebridge (@townbracebridge) March 4, 2021