2025 budget process begins in Huron East
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
In the absence of a full-time treasurer at the moment, Huron East Chief Administrative Officer Brad McRoberts presented the first draft of the municipality’s 2025 budget, which aligns with his multi-year budget projections, approved as a financial plan by council in recent years.
McRoberts’ draft, per the approved financial strategy, aimed at keeping a consistent municipal levy increase over five years, calls for a municipal levy increase of 8.5 per cent, which includes a 2.6 per cent capital levy, another approved aspect of the aforementioned financial strategy.
This increase to the levy would be for municipal purposes only. The full tax rate increase will incorporate taxes paid not just to the municipality, but to the county (an increase to the county levy is currently estimated to be 8.59 per cent, though the county’s budget is not yet approved) and the school boards, whose budgets are expected to remain consistent with 2024. Assessment growth in Huron East will also help to offset the municipal levy, which McRoberts estimates at an additional $200,000 in revenue.
While certainly not binding in any way, McRoberts said he estimated that the total tax rate increase will land somewhere between six and eight per cent.
In his presentation, McRoberts also made note of the proposed capital and municipal levies for 2026, 2027 and 2028, per the approved financial strategy. In terms of a capital levy increase, the municipality is anticipating a 2.6 per cent increase in 2026, a 9.5 per cent increase in 2027 and a 1.6 per cent increase in 2028. The municipal levy is expected to increase by 6.5 per cent in 2026, 7.2 per cent in 2027 and 8.1 per cent in 2028. Again, those are the proposed municipal levy increases, not the full tax rate increases that will include, when the time comes, increases from the county and school board levels.
He then outlined a number of purchases under this year’s capital plan, including $939,113 for Sawmill Road resurfacing, a roof replacement at the Brussels waste water treatment facility for a cost of $64,890 and four municipal drain assessments for a total of just over $300,000.
At its public works buildings, there will be a roof replacement at the Newry Road old office and a heater replacement at the Front Road shop, both for just over $30,000 each, in addition to over $600,000 in public works equipment, much of it deferred from 2024.
Extensive repairs and upgrades are planned in the municipality’s recreation department. At the Seaforth and District Community Centre, the municipality is planning on a chiller replacement ($103,000), header repairs ($51,500), security upgrades ($11,500), shower upgrades ($10,000), ceiling beam refinishing ($51,500), exterior paint ($100,000) and parking lot gravel ($10,000). There are also upgrades planned for the Seaforth tennis courts in the amount of $60,000, pending 100 per cent donation funding.
At the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, a new brine pump is needed ($51,500), along with a new electrical panel ($128,750), exterior paint ($30,900) and a new ice resurfacer ($169,950). In addition to field grading at the Brussels ball diamonds for $50,000, there are also over $100,000 in repairs planned for the Brussels pool.
There is $60,000 planned for a new tractor at the Brussels Cemetery, $30,000 worth of carpet and paint at the Seaforth Library, $18,000 for the HVAC system at the Brussels Library and $50,000 for the roof of the Cranbrook Hall.
At the municipal office, $75,000 is being set aside for a roof replacement, $15,000 for furniture replacement and $65,000 for further renovations. In the information technology department, Huron East is spending $10,000 for computer replacement, while Phase 2 of the wayfinding signage will cost $75,000 in the economic development department, in addition to $5,000 for street decorations.
For the municipality’s fire departments, Huron East is spending $60,000 on personal protective equipment, $30,000 on upgrades to radio equipment, $30,000 on lifting bags, $4,500 on accountability boards and $70,000 in upgrades to the Seaforth Fire Hall.
McRoberts then noted a few other aspects of the budget that have to be addressed, such as the carry-forward deficits associated with the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre ($178,000), the Seaforth and District Community Centre ($120,000), the Brussels Cemetery ($200,000) and the Seaforth Fire Department ($67,000). The municipality has deferred paying these off for the last three years in an effort to limit the impact on the levy, McRoberts said in his presentation.
He said council could simply opt to bite the bullet and pay them down all in one shot, but he also offered a handful of additional options, such as recording them as drawn from the working capital, using an annual surplus to reduce the balances or begin reducing them through the taxation levy, in addition to the do-nothing option of continuing to defer them.
He also noted a handful of remaining deficits, such as $568,000 of deficits that are already being funded through working capital, a remaining $1.3 million associated with the Brussels subdivision construction and $500,000 in outstanding pledges for the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre project for a total of $2.4 million.
This is notable, he said, because the municipality’s working capital is already at a “critically low level” and cash flow is short as a result.
One change McRoberts sought direction on making was increasing waste bin fees for the municipality, telling council that to fully cover Huron East’s waste management costs, bin fees would need to increase by about 10 per cent. McRoberts said that waste management costs between 2025 and 2029 are estimated to have an impact on the levy of between $50,000 and $150,000 and that an increase to the bin fee could help reduce or even eliminate the cost to the municipality.
Council voted to move ahead with the fee increases, though the budget itself has not yet been finalized, so this decision is tentative at the moment. This means that a small bin will now have an annual fee of $120, up from $110, a medium bin will cost $200, up from $185, and a large bin will rise from $270 a year to $300.
In terms of the operational budget, McRoberts also noted a number of major influences on it, including a 2.1 per cent to wages due to the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), a seven per cent increase to the fire administration budget, a 14 per cent increase to benefits and a five per cent increase to the municipality’s insurance coverage, in addition to a modest one per cent increase to the Ontario Provincial Police costs for the year.
Council only directed staff to report back on a handful of things ahead of its next budget meeting, including potential sharing options for the new tractor for the Brussels Cemetery, a report on budgeting for future policing cost increases and a report on any changes to insurance rates for parades in the municipality.