Photo By Claire McCormack
West Grey got its first look at the 2026 budget, which includes a proposed 3.7 per cent tax rate increase.
Council reviewed the draft budget during a meeting on Tuesday, but Mayor Kevin Eccles says he did not have the numbers on how the proposed tax rate increase will impact home owners.
Eccles says he was hoping to get the tax rate increase to 3.7 per cent.
“Would I like to see it at negative numbers, for sure, but that is not reality, that is just kind of a dream,” says Eccles. “With where the economy is going, I am very pleased with it being at 3.7 per cent.”
The budget features a number of capital projects. These include funding for safety gear for the fire department, road reconstruction and resurfacing, and repairs to the Neustadt Library.
“Continuing to work on the bridge replacement schedule. Although, there isn’t a replacement bridge in the budget for 2026, but getting everything in line, being able to do at least one or two bridges in 2027, one for sure and that takes a lot of negotiating whether through conversation authority, environment, all the necessary hoops that you have got to go through to be able to replace a bridge,” says Eccles.
Eccles hopes to have the budget passed by early December.
“We are slightly ahead of the curve over some of our other municipalities, but I am pleased that we have been able to meet the regulations, and hopefully meet the expectations of the residents of West Grey,” says Eccles.