Northumberland County Council approves budget with 2 per cent tax hike

Northumberland County taxpayers will see a 2 per cent tax hike after county council approved the 2019 budget on Wednesday.

Council initially proposed a 2.5 per cent base levy increase but a further review of options enabled the base levy to drop by half a percentage point.

The $123-million county budget also includes a dedicated infrastructure levy of 0.3 per cent for investments in the maintenance and rebuilding of roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.

The estimated increase to a median household in Northumberland County is projected to be $18 — down from the $24 originally forecast. The county says the estimate is subject to change based on tax policy and information from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporate (MPAC), both of which will be finalized in the spring.

“After careful review, we believe we now have a budget in place that supports planned projects and initiatives while being ever-respectful of the pressures on our ratepayers,” stated County Warden John Logel.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "After careful review, we believe we now have a budget in place that supports planned projects and initiatives while being ever-respectful of the pressures on our ratepayers," stated County Warden John Logel.

“While council faced difficult deliberation in arriving at this outcome, this decision allows us to preserve important long-term infrastructure and programming priorities that will deliver significant value to our community.”

Council agreed to eliminate the Bulky Waste Voucher program to reach the 2.0 per cent target. Under the program, each residence could dispose of up to 100 kilograms of residential waste at no charge, one time annually (a value of $11.50).

The county says eliminating the program — which takes effect immediately — will deliver $268,000 in savings.

County CAO Jennifer Moore says a new organics collection program begins in the fall.

“With the introduction of the long-awaited organics collection program starting in September 2019, residents are likely to see off-sets in their waste disposal costs,” she said. “People will have less waste going into their garbage bags, and so will be spending less on bag tags.”

The county levy will fund approximately 50 per cent of the 2019 budget. The county will generate the remaining 50 per cent of funds required through a combination of grants and subsidies from other levels of government, as well as revenue-generating activities such as property leasing and the sale of recycled materials from the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

Other budget highlights:

• Transition to two-stream recycling and the launch of a new organic waste (Green Bin) collection service.
• Advancements in the redevelopment of the Golden Plough Lodge long-term care home.
• The launch of the detailed design for the new Campbellford Bridge.
• Completion of an affordable housing strategy, with a focus on increasing the supply of rental housing at a variety of affordability depths.
• Completion of a Natural Heritage System master plan to guide development to preserve and enhance the natural environment.
• Development of a digital strategy to guide the county’s digital transformation activities, as well as the launch of a new corporate website.
• Ground-breaking and construction of the new Trent Hills Emergency Centre.
• Surface treatment for more than 120 kilometres of municipal and county roads.
• Upgrades to county social housing.
• Workforce development, attraction and diversity initiatives.

Final budget documents will be available on the County website as of Feb. 4.

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