Owen Sound council has officially approved the city’s 2022 budget.
It includes a combined tax increase — municipal, county and school board levies — of 2.46 per cent. For the average assessed home of $235,000 in Owen Sound, this will translate to an extra $102 on annual tax bills.
Council sent the budget back to staff in January to find some additional cost savings after the proposed rate increase was higher than what was projected at the conclusion of deliberations late last year, mostly due to higher than expected insurance renewal costs.
Some of the final cuts made included $75,000 in snow removal services by third parties, $20,000 in police wage gapping, $12,000 to keep waste management level in River District and a $6,500 reduction in transfers to the capital reserve.
The city’s budget includes a $15.5-million capital program, which utilizes more than $7-million in grants and partnership funding.
In all, the 2022 Owen Sound budget includes $32.5-million in tax-supported funding.
