Draft South Frontenac Budget Calls For 5.69% Increase In Total Taxation

Jeff Green | Dec 11, 2024

Assessment growth offsets increase to 4.41% in 'taxpayer impact'.

At the beginning of the presentation of the 2025 township capital budget on December 3, South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal made a pre-emptive comment.

“Every year when the budget has been set, somebody likes to get on social media, call the mayor and council a liar because ''he promised in elections that he would bring in a 2% budget'... I just want to be clear and I'll say it a couple of times, I have never promised anything other than to do the best that I can and that is what I promised. I would like 2%, and in the days when we could do that, that was our target, but I have never promised that to anyone,” he said.

At that meeting, Chief Administrative Officer Louise Fragnito outlined a draft capital budget plan that called for over $16 million in spending on a large number of capital items, highlighted by equipment replacement costs and road projects throughout the township (see sidebar – South Frontenac Capital Budget).

This Friday (December 13), Council will go through the draft operating budget and will be looking at a projected increase in taxation of $1.3 million (5.69%), in the levy to ratepayers. Thanks to an increase of 1.23% in property assessment due to growth, the impact of the budget on existing ratepayers will be a 4.41% increase in taxation, if the draft is approved without changes.

The two largest increases in the draft budget are a $466,000 increase in the reserve fund for planned capital projects, and a slightly larger increase, $488,000 due to annual adjustments to wages for existing unionised and non-unionised staff. Each of these increases represents a 2% increase in taxation.

While the wage increases are out of council’s control, the increase in the reserve fund is a change. Between 2012 and 2023, this reserve fund has been increasing by 1% each year as a way to build up enough money to replace township assets as they age, but that reserve is now set to go up by 2% per year each year, because more money is needed to smooth out tax increases over time when major assets need to be addressed.

The budget also includes cost increases in OPP billing ($51,000), insurance ($68,000), and in costs for vehicle replacements in the public works and fire department ($200,000)

There are some savings in the budget as well, including $125,000 in the winter control budget as the result of the mild winter in 2024.

Almost $1 million in previously proposed capital projects have been deferred, to keep the budget increase from ballooning further. These include an $873,000 project for storm sewers and sidewalks for roads near Centennial Park in Harrowsmith.

The engineering work for that project will be completed in 2025, with a view towards including it in the 2026 budget.

The township levy makes up the largest part of the tax bill that South Frontenac ratepayers receive, but there are two other components. The Frontenac County budget, which makes up about 20% of the bill, was approved last month with a similar increase in the levy to the draft South Frontenac budget (5.48%). The provincial education levy, which makes up about 10%,  is unchanged from 2024.

The net result will be a tax increase for most ratepayers that is slightly under the 4.41% impact if the draft budget is approved by council as presented.

South Frontenac Council meets on Friday morning (December 13) at the Storrington Centre to go over the operating budget, and propose any changes that could decrease, or increase, to the total cost.

The budget is scheduled for adoption on Tuesday, December 17, the final regular council meeting of the year.