Georgian Bluffs council has approved its 2021 budget.
The township’s $15-million spending plan was endorsed by council on May 12.
Georgian Bluffs CAO Al Meneses says $10.5 million will be funded through taxation, over $750,000 is coming from reserves, over $2 million from grants, and $1.6 million from user fees & other sources.
The overall combined 2021 tax increase for ratepayers, including county and education levies, came to 2.52 per cent. It’s expected to cost the average homeowner about $78 annually on their property tax bills.
Georgian Bluffs Mayor Dwight Burley says he feels this is a reasonable tax increase.
“Yes it is an increase, you certainly can’t run a municipality on a zero per cent increase, any business,” Burley says. “You must keep up and there has to be a slight increase.”
Some of the highlights of capital projects featured in the budget include:
-$1.1 million in road resurfacing projects
-the development of a new park and playground in Kilsyth
-marking funds for climate change initiatives
-making improvements to Centennial Park
-completing a master servicing plan for water and sewer services in the East Linton area
-upgrading technology to improve customer service to residents, like more online payment options, online incident reporting and implementation of a public service portal
During the meeting, council was also able to approve the recommendations from the approved Organization and Compensation Review.
The review suggests the modernization of the Township’s operational structure and staff resources to assist in providing services to the community and working towards the council’s priorities, while not having an impact on the 2021 budget.
