By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Collectively, property owners in Wellesley Township could pay nearly nine per cent more in taxes in 2025 over this year after township staff recently introduced a draft 2025 budget with a proposed $8.14-million tax levy.
Township staff and councillors officially dug into next year’s draft budget at their first, marathon budget meeting Nov. 28. The proposed tax levy is nearly $672,000 more than what was collected by the township this year. However, the township also saw roughly 3.7 per-cent growth, representing an increase by roughly $304,000 to the tax base. That growth will lessen the burden of next year’s levy increase on ratepayers, leaving it at just over 4.9 per cent.
“The draft budget aims to continue with the mission and vision of council with no proposed service-level reductions,” said CAO Rik Louwagie, introducing the draft budget. “Inflation has declined throughout 2024 largely due to the decrease in fuel cost … but some of the major costs the municipality incurs such as aggregates, construction materials and equipment has continued to increase at a higher rate.”
Louwagie noted this year’s budget once again includes a proposed 0.75 per-cent greening levy amounting to just over $60,000 to be collected from ratepayers to combat climate change and support greenhouse-gas-emission reduction efforts locally, as well as a proposed one per-cent infrastructure levy amounting to just over $80,0000 to help the township replenish its capital reserves and tackle its long-term infrastructure deficit.
If passed as is, the draft budget will result in an increase to the township portion of the yearly property-tax bill by just over $72 for an average-assessed home in the township valued at roughly $397,000.
“I have a tremendous amount of confidence in all those folks that are sitting across the table here,” Mayor Joe Nowak said, thanking staff for their hard work preparing next year’s draft budget. “I know they have the best interests of our community at heart.
“When it comes to the starting point – if it is a starting point, I don’t know, maybe it’s a final point – 4.9 per cent; having personally gone through this, I know it’s going to be difficult to make any significant changes to that to move the needle. … I’m looking forward to the discussion. Maybe we can see what we can do.”
The 2025 draft budget includes roughly $2.9 million in capital projects for the year. Broken down, nearly three-quarters of that spend will go to public-works projects for the maintenance and rehabilitation of roads, bridges and other infrastructure, including several projects carried over from this year, and 16 per cent will go to the recreation department for projects including the construction of a recreation maintenance shed as well as windows and dressing-room doors at the St. Clements Arena.
From the remaining capital budget next year, if approved as is, 5.6 per cent of that $2.9 million will go to the planning department for the township’s official plan update; 1.8 per cent will go to the Wellesley Township Fire Department for the purchase of major equipment; 1.5 per cent will go to the township’s IT department; and 0.4 per cent will go to the building department for the purchase of furniture and equipment at various township facilities.
“We utilize long-range capital forecasts as a tool to ensure consistent contributions to all reserves year over year,” Louwagie said. “The asset-management plan is also a critical piece in securing funding from upper levels of government. But even with funding from provincial and federal government, there’s still a significant deficit to meet all of our infrastructure obligations, and this is why we’re continuing with the infrastructure levy for 2025. We will continue to monitor all funding avenues to ensure our infrastructure is properly maintained.”
As each of next year’s proposed capital projects will be funded through a combination of township reserves, provincial and federal grant funding, and private donations, the capital budget does not have an impact on the overall proposed tax levy.
Following the presentation of each department’s capital budgets next year, township council began digging into the departmental operational budgets at the Nov. 28 meeting.
“For the operating budget, our intent is to go through the budget lines and highlight any significant changes,” Louwagie said. “You will hear about some additional staff members as a result of some changes to provincial legislation, workloads and increased revenue opportunities.”
There are two more budget sessions scheduled for Wellesley Township council, one on the day this paper comes out, Dec. 5, and the other on Dec. 17. Both are scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will be livestreamed on the township’s YouTube channel, IT Wellesley.
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