Norfolk County Council has completed its 2023 budget process.
This included a review of the proposed 2023 Rate Supported Operating Budget on January 11 and the proposed 2023 Levy Supported Operating Budget on January 18 and 19. Council also finalized its associated capital plan.
Rate Supported Operating Budget
The Budget Committee made only one change to the proposed rate budget; reducing a proposed service level increase to enhance capital project management capacity to one full-time equivalent (FTE) from the two proposed.
The revised net rate requirement is $26,654,200, an 11.5 per cent increase over 2022. This translates to an annual increase of $112, or 8.5 percent on the average residential bill.
“This budget continues the long-term strategy previously adopted by Council to work toward closing Norfolk’s infrastructure gap, while making meaningful investments in system maintenance and addressing project management capacity at a time when the County is embarking on the largest capital investments in its history,” said Mayor Amy Martin.
Levy Supported Operating Budget
The Budget Committee made some notable changes to the proposed levy budget; the addition of membership in the South Central Ontario Region Economic Development Corporation, approval of a curator position for Heritage and Culture, removal of the planned increase for Council salaries, supporting a service level increase to address staffing at the Norfolk County Public Library, re-prioritization of selected levy-funded capital projects, and removing the 2023 contribution to the Council Initiatives Reserve.
The revised net tax levy is $119,355,900, an 8.0 per cent increase over 2022. This translates to an annual increase of $182.14, or 5.7 percent on the property taxes of the median home with an assessed value of $240,000.
This budget approves some noteworthy service level enhancements; an investment in the planning process, adding staff to meet legislated timelines, an information and privacy coordinator to address legislative requirements, IT security services monitoring, protecting technology assets, investments in asset management and repair, and renewal efforts for social housing.
“Overall, this budget increased reserve transfers and maintained progress toward improving Norfolk’s financial outlook, while also adding some strategic initiatives in order to meet community needs, and mitigate risk for taxpayers,” Martin noted. “The final increase on the median residential home is less than the current rate of inflation and is in line with municipal comparators.”
Norfolk County’s Chief Administrative Officer, Al Meneses, said the budget process, while challenging at times, struck a responsible balance between addressing 2023’s immediate requirements and continuing to solidify the County’s financial foundation for future generations.
“The committee worked tirelessly to agree on a budget that assures Norfolk County continues to have a bright future,” Meneses added. “The decisions made benefit taxpayers in terms of services provided and the corporation’s financial health.”
Completion of the budget deliberations also confirms gross capital expenditures of $837,798,000 from 2023 to 2032, with $61,208,000 in projects planned to be initiated in 2023.
