Bruce County was able to hear questions and concerns during a recent public meeting on development charges.
County Treasurer and Director of Corporate Services Edward Henley says the county had no choice but to consider adding development charges for companies looking to build within the county.
“Essentially funds are needed for growth-related infrastructure, otherwise services levels will decrease without growth-related improvement,” he says.
Henley says the need to introduce development charges is because the county doesn’t have sufficient funds to pay for the replacement or refurbishment of large infrastructure, such as bridges and roads.
Without development charges, the county would need to increase property taxes and levies to manage growth, including a levy increase that was part of the 2023 County Budget.
During his presentation during the most recent county council meeting, Henley reminded council for this fiscal year “Council had approved the strategic plan with outlined that one of the goals financially was to reduce the county’s reliance on property taxes for the cost of operating the county. This is addressing one of those goals.”
According to the report from staff, the maximum allowable development for the County is $7,665 for single detached dwellings and $2.94 per square foot for non-residential buildings.
Development charges would only be assessed on developers.