Image: Huron County Courthouse
As Huron County council moves closer to approving the budget for 2026, more cuts have been made in order to avoid the tax rate from increasing too much.
At the outset of budget discussions for this fiscal year, council was looking to avoid a tax rate increase above 6%, with members of council proposing a rate increase of between 4 and 5 percent.
Director of Corporate Services and Treasurer Michael Blumhagen presented a final list of items to be removed from the budget considerations, which included the Water Source Protection project, the youth recreation program for the YMCA, the Economic Development team’s SLED program, and 13 non-union staffing positions.
Council debated whether to put the non-core staff positions on the chopping block, but ultimately voted 10-5 in favour of the cuts. Removing the 13 positions saves the county $1.5 million in the 2026 budget.
Following further discussion at Wednesday’s council meeting, the projected levy increase sits at 4.55%, with the tax rate increase at 2.86%.