Work continues on Wasaga Beach’s 2022 municipal budget.
Members of council and staff met Thursday to review the proposed operating and capital budgets for each town department in detail as part of finalizing the first draft of the budget.
Jocelyn Lee, treasurer, began the meeting by providing a review of the budget process to date. She noted the proposed tax rate increase is 2.15 percent. For a home assessed at $450,000, this translates to a $56 increase over 2021. The town’s tax rate remains at the lower end compared to municipalities that deliver similar services.
Following the treasurer, department representatives presented highlights of their proposed budgets to members of council and answered questions from council members.
Review the slide deck from the meeting.
Watch the presentations.
The proposed departmental budgets include a number of significant investments in the following areas for 2022:
- Facilities (including the new arena and library)
- Roads
- Physician recruitment
- Policing
- New aerial fire truck
- Special events
- Replacement playground equipment
- Glendale Park redevelopment
- Pridham Park Pedestrian Bridge replacement
- Library services
- Wayfinding signage and municipal branding
- Vehicles that support town operations, including two plow/sander trucks
- Planning studies that support community development
- Public Works studies that support infrastructure needs
- Beach Drive reconstruction, design and phase 1 of construction
- Water and wastewater projects
- Drainage projects to manage storm water
- New bus transit shelters
Staff will consider the questions and comments received from council members today and incorporate requested changes into Draft 2 of the budget. Requests for new staffing will also be reviewed leading up to Draft 2.
The following are the key dates in the coming weeks regarding the budget process:
Nov. 10 – Draft 2 of the budget, plus public meeting on proposed rates and fees for 2022
Dec. 2 – Draft 3 of the budget, plus final forecast
Dec. 14 – Public meeting on the budget
Dec. 21 – Final budget and forecast are presented to Council for consideration
For more details, please click here.
Today, members of council and staff met to review the proposed operating and capital budgets for each town department in detail as part of finalizing the first draft of the budget. More here: https://t.co/V5W3DXv8FF #MovingWBForward #WasagaBeach pic.twitter.com/uPL4jYy1MZ
— Town of Wasaga Beach (@WB_Media) October 21, 2021