Addington Highlands To Pass Budget This Week

Addington Highlands residents will see an increase in property taxes this year, mainly due to increases in costs to deliver township services.

But an over 7.7% increase in the levy to ratepayers for local services, to $4.6 million, will be mitigated by growth, a lower increase in the county rate, and no increase in the Education rate.

Growth, expressed by an increase in property valuations from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) of 1.2% for the year, brings the local tax rate to a 6.5% increase.

The tax rate for Lennox and Addington County taxes is up by 4.6% this year, and there is no increase in the education portion.

When all three rates are combined to make up the tax bill, most Addington Highlands residents will see an increase of 5.1% in municipal taxes in 2026.

While Addington Highlands will collect $4.6 million from local residents, they will spend a fair bit more than that on services and capital projects, a total of $8.7 million. A $2.3 million grant from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund helps, as do non levy revenues total $1.8million. These include a $240,000 road grant from L&A County, $400,000 from North Frontenac for their share of the Kaladar-Barrie Fire Department budget, and $300,000 in late fee penalties and bank interest.

The budget includes capital spending of $2.13 million, including $630,000 for two tandem trucks, $220,000 for the Denbigh roof, $120,000 for a Seacan building at the Northbrook garage, and $76,000 for the Syman's bridge design, which will only be spent if a grant for the project as a whole, comes through.

Council looked in detail at the budget in late March over two days of meetings, and provided staff with instructions.

The formal budget meeting this week will therefore not likely bring substantial, if any, changes to the budget.

Repayment Limit

In an indication of the relative financial security of the township, the Province of Ontario provided Addington Highlands with an accounting of its annual debt limit. The township would be able to carry $1.2 million in debt payments this year without informing the province of its circumstances. The actual debt payments made by the township in 2025 was $170,000