Published January 14, 2025

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Ormstown’s mayor, Christine McAleer, presented a balanced budget of $8,167,136 for the fourth year of her mandate during a special municipal council meeting on December 11. The figures for 2025 forecast an increase of $257,137, or five per cent, over the previous year’s budget. Over 84 per cent of this revenue is expected to come from property taxes.

McAleer explained that the council took several factors into consideration while formulating the budget, including the general tax rate. In Ormstown, the average tax rate for all property categories is not expected to exceed an average of 4.8 per cent, while the average tax bill will increase by an average of 2.89 per cent.

The mayor noted that every effort was made to curb increases while pointing out the municipality has a small number of commercial and industrial institutions that would allow for a more diversified source of income. She announced the municipality would be working on a new approach to its economic development.

“We want to develop the municipality in a way that respects taxpayers’ ability to pay, and with a view to sustainable development,” she said. “We are committed to maintaining a competitive tax system, and will continue to work towards this goal,” she added.

A second factor involved controlling the increase in operating expenses for municipal services, including the public works department, which accounts for around 25 per cent of the municipality’s expenses, as well as administrative services, human resources, communications, and public safety.

A third significant driver revolved around investments in infrastructure improvements. “We could not ignore the many difficult realities that required solutions and sums of money in the very short term,” McAleer said, noting the municipality had little to no choice but to invest in several capital projects.

Ormstown will invest nearly $14 million in various infrastructure in 2025 alone. The mayor confirmed that over a third of these expenditures will be financed by grants, the general fund, and the unrestricted surplus.

McAleer pointed out that despite narrow revenue margins that left little room to manoeuvre, the municipality has been able to innovate despite the need to rationalize spending in all departments.

The municipality’s three-year investment plan represents over $54 million in estimated expenses between 2025 and 2027. Major investments in 2025 will include $4.71 million for a wastewater overflow plan, with a total investment over three years of $15.4 million. At least $5.78 million is expected to be spent on the water and sewer network in 2025, with additional investments of $13.6 million by 2027.

Other significant investments for 2025 include over $1.35 million in road and sidewalk maintenance, over $325,000 in recreational infrastructure (splash-pad and skating rink), and over $1.6 million for municipal buildings, including the town hall, garage and ecocentre, and recreation centre.

The municipality will delay the financing of a drinking water treatment plant to 2026, when $15.4 million is expected to be invested over two years.

McAleer said she was proud of the budget, saying she and the council were confident they would make a success of the final year in their term.

The municipal council adopted the bylaw establishing the tax rates and payment terms for 2025 during a special meeting on December 16. The bylaw was approved by majority vote, after two of the five councillors present voted against plan.

Ormstown resident Philippe Besombes, who is also the president of the Association des Gens d’Affaires d’Ormstown et des Environs (AGAO+), was the only individual present to question the council during both meetings on December 11 and 16. He expressed concerns over the steep increase in tax revenue since 2021, and the impact this may have on residents.

“Tax revenue, or what we’ve been taking out of the pockets of the municipality’s residents, whether residential, commercial, or agricultural, has gone from $3.2 million to $6.7 million. That’s a lot of money,” said Besombes, who noted this cannot be attributed to new residents as development projects have been at a standstill for the past three years. He questioned whether some residents would be able to afford the increase, and asked whether the mayor would consider authorizing payments over four installments instead of three.

Municipal tax bills will be sent out in February.

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