CENTRE WELLINGTON – Homeowners in Centre Wellington are likely facing a 3.49 per cent increase in township taxes after council approved the recommendation at its committee of the whole meeting on Dec. 3.
The 2025 budget still has to be formally voted on at the Dec. 16 council meeting, but with no items in the budget pulled out and no objections raised on Dec. 3, it is very likely the recommendation will pass as written.
That will add $50 to the township portion of the tax bill for a home assessed at $393,972, which is the average assessed value in Centre Wellington.
Wellington County has not passed its budget yet but is contemplating a 4.1% increase.
So the blended increase – county, township and education – is anticipated to be 3.4%.
Council gave direction to staff in June to increase the general levy by no more than 4.5%.
At that time assessment growth was estimated at 1.38%, and the termite management program would add another 0.41% to the levy, bringing the projected tax increase to 6.28%.
“Staff did a lot of work to get to this level,” CAO Dan Wilson told council as he introduced the draft budget on Dec. 3.
“In my opinion it is a huge success.”
What’s changed since June is that assessment growth came in at 6.69%, a figure Wilson called “unprecedented,” which adds $1.38 million to the revenue side of the ledger.
“To be honest, it’s something we were hoping for,” Wilson said. “This is MPAC catching up.”
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) has not reassessed property values in the province since 2016, a situation that has hamstrung municipalities that have experienced growth while assessment hasn’t kept pace.
Township policy is to take the growth allocation and apply 50% for staffing, 25% for asset investment, and 25% for operating costs. In this way growth pays for growth.
But for 2025, only 36% of the allocation will go toward staffing, 25% to asset investments and 39% to operating impacts, all of which has reduced the impact on the levy, Wilson said.
“Growth continues to be a huge pressure on the budget,” he added.
“Any further reduction would impact the level of service. We’re as low as we can go.”
The 2025 budget allows the township to maintain service levels, contribute to the asset management plan, add staff positions, and implement the new termite management plan – even in the face of reduced provincial grants, specifically the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF), “which is a prime source of asset management funding,” treasurer Adam McNabb explained.
Water, wastewater and other fees will increase by 2.5%, which essentially keeps pace with inflation.
The budget includes $56.7 million in operating expenses and $48.8 million in capital projects, the biggest of which will be the new operations centre that will eat up about 30% of the capital budget, McNabb said.
The township will take on new debt for the operations centre, the purchase of land next to the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex in Fergus and the water supply master plan.
Debt payment for the operations centre will be made from development charges and not taxation, he said.
The budget includes 8.25 new full-time positions plus four assistants, which is a new staffing category for the township.
“Assistant” positions would be full-time hours for four- or eight-month terms in jobs ideal for co-op students or people just starting their careers.
It’s a way to alleviate workload in departments with special projects or seasonal workflow pressures without making a permanent hire.
“We’re going to try this and see if it can help,” Wilson said.
The proposed assistant positions are:
- in the IT department;
- for the newly-formed diversity, inclusion and equity advisory committee;
- to liaise with festivals, events and other community development initiatives; and
- to help the planning/heritage department achieve more heritage designations before legislated deadlines.
The permanent positions include:
- bylaw clerk and licensing officer;
- GIS technician;
- engineering technologist – transportation;
- winter operator/utility locator;
- parks and roads operation;
- customer service rep;
- capital project manager; and
- landscape architect planner.
There are also two temporary parks maintenance crew members on the list of new hires.
If council doesn’t pass a bylaw regarding short-term rentals – a hotly contested topic in the community expected to return to council on Dec. 16 – the bylaw clerk position would not be needed and that would impact the budget.
Mark Bradey, manager of finance, walked council through the operating budget during the seven-plus hour meeting.
He pointed out the rise in costs for things like sand, salt and asphalt because of inflation and the larger roads and sidewalk networks in the township.
Hydro and insurance costs continue to rise, which also impacts the bottom line.
Along with the budget, staff presented the 2025 business plan, which includes work not connected to operations or capital projects.
This includes things like investigating garbage solutions for downtown Fergus and Elora, supporting doctor recruitment at Groves Memorial Community Hospital, and organizing the mayor’s golf tournament.
Councillor Kim Jefferson had to leave before the meeting ended, but the rest of council voted unanimously in favour of the 2025 budget, fees and charges bylaw, staffing strategy and business plan.
They return to council to be ratified on Dec. 16.
