Huron East budget to return to council at March 18 meeting
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
Huron East Council returned to its 2025 budget, up for final approval at its Feb. 18 meeting, but has asked staff to bring it back, complete with some suggested changes, at council’s March 18 meeting for potential adoption. The news was largely positive, however, as it came complete with $525,000 of “found” money to be allocated within the budget.
In his presentation, Chief Administrative Officer Brad McRoberts explained that, in 2023 and 2024, a 2.1 per cent levy for asset management has been hidden within a reserve transfer line under the municipality’s general revenue budget and was, until recently, undiscovered. He noted that the levy is now unnecessary, as the annual capital levy is built into the municipality’s financial strategy. This meant levies of $225,000 and $300,000 from 2023 and 2024, respectively, had been levied, but not spent and were available within the 2025 budget.
McRoberts presented council with a number of scenarios for the perceived windfall, however, council opted to use it to wipe out historic carry-forward deficits associated with the municipality’s recreation centres, predominantly in the Brussels, Morris and Grey and Seaforth and District Community Centres. Council decided to use the entire $525,000, plus an additional $21,000 to be levied in this year’s budget, to eliminate the budgets and put to rest an issue that has been nagging Huron East for many years. This will bring the centres’ budgets to break-even and any surplus or deficit will then be handled and settled at the end of that respective year.
With that albatross, as one councillor described it, out of the way, discussion continued on other aspects of the budget.
Council returned to a recommendation from McRoberts, which was tied back to the $525,000 that would create an operational reserve that McRoberts essentially described as a “rainy day” reserve for unexpected repairs or costs. He had initially recommended that $200,000 of the aforementioned funds be used to create the reserve.
In the end, however, council voted to add $100,000, down from the proposed $200,000, to the budget for such a reserve, passing by a narrow 5-4 vote.
Several smaller issues in the budget were also discussed, such as proposed renovations to the Seaforth fire hall in the amount of about $70,000 and a new tractor for the Brussels Cemetery, slated to cost $60,000. At the meeting, council, again narrowly, voted down the money for the Seaforth hall, while keeping the money in the budget for the tractor. However, since the budget has yet to be finalized, council can always reverse course on those decisions.
McRoberts also reminded council of the forecasted financial impacts of the budget in the coming years, per the approved financial strategy. That would include a 3.4 per cent municipal levy in 2025 (though that number is currently due to rise thanks to the changes recommended by council at the Feb. 18 meeting) and a 6.7 per cent capital levy this year.
Looking ahead, there should be a capital levy increase of 5.3 per cent and municipal levy increase of 5.7 per cent in 2026, followed by a capital levy decrease of 1.5 per cent and municipal levy increase of 3.6 per cent in 2027 and a capital levy increase of two per cent and a municipal levy increase of 5.8 per cent in 2028. It’s important to note, however, that those are not the tax rate increases, with which most residents would be most familiar, which would need to take into account budget increases at the Huron County and local school board levels to be considered complete.
McRoberts estimated, off the top of his head, that, with the suggested changes at the meeting and taking new assessment growth into account, that Huron East ratepayers would see a tax rate increase of between three and five per cent. That takes into account a Huron County tax rate increase of five per cent, which has still yet to be decided, and a zero per cent increase from the school boards.
Council then requested further information on several budget items, including a report from the fire chief on the turned-down renovations at the Seaforth hall, before making a final decision, which more than one council member said that they were unprepared to do at that meeting, given the number of changes approved that night.
McRoberts said staff could return with the next draft of the budget for council’s March 18 meeting, which council approved by motion.