Peterborough County taxpayers will see a small increase in 2021 after county council approved the 2021 budget on Tuesday morning.
During its meeting, council approved the budget and its 2.23 per cent tax increase, which includes a dedicated infrastructure levy of 2.5 per cent.
The county says the increase equates to $7.15 per $100,000 of residential assessment.
Peterborough County represents the townships of Selwyn, North Kawartha, Douro-Dummer, Asphodel-Norwood, Havelock-Belmont Methuen and Otonabee-South Monaghan and the Municipality of Trent Lakes.
“The implementation of the finance committee was pivotal to a smooth budget process this year,” said County Warden J. Murray Jones. “Staff have brought forward an extremely fiscally responsible budget this year, especially in light of the current (COVID-19) pandemic we all face.”
The 2021 budget includes funding provided by the provincial/federal governments to support direct county operational COVID-19 expenses (increased cleaning, preventive maintenance, pandemic supplies and lost POA revenues) of approximately $323,091.
In addition, county operational costs related to staff and council training and development, travel/mileage and office supplies were reduced in 2021 to reflect the current environment. The overall estimated impact of the funding provided and expense reductions approximated a one per cent ($426,000) direct impact on the budget in 2021. It does not include Peterborough city or other shared service budgets.
“Peterborough County staff and members of the finance committee have put in a lot of time and effort into modernizing the budget presentation and improving the accessibility of the budget process,” said Coun. Matthew Graham, finance committee chair. “I believe these improvements will be beneficial to council, staff and members of Peterborough County for years to come, and there are still more improvements we are working on.”
Full details on the budget can be found on the county’s website.
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