Late on Friday, the first draft of the 2025 Collingwood budget dropped.
Town staff have crunched the numbers and are proposing a 8.94 per cent tax increase to taxpayers for 2025. If all service requests were approved by council, this would equate to an additional $220.91 in taxes to be paid annually for the median assessed home in Collingwood (assessed at $327,000).
It’s the largest increase Collingwood taxpayers will have seen on their bill in the past five years.
“Staff workshops have identified savings, achieving a preliminary tax rate decrease of five per cent to achieve the current percentage change, with prioritized service requests ready for council consideration,” wrote the town’s treasurer Jennifer Graham in her report to councillors, to be considered at a special meeting on Nov. 13. Graham notes in her report that during a staff budget workshop this fall, they were originally faced with a 14 per cent tax increase.
“Collaborative efforts were made to identify savings across all services through a combination of increasing income and cutting items deemed less critical,” she wrote.
Significant challenges the town is dealing with in putting the budget together this year include a hike in Ontario Provincial Police costs (37 per cent or $1.9 million more than in 2024) and a $985,000 revenue reduction from reserves. There is also a $5.6-million funding gap for the renewal of existing town assets.
In 2024, council voted to use that year’s budget surplus to offset a major tax increase, with that year’s increase coming in at 1.67 per cent once the surplus was applied. At that time, then-treasurer Monica Quinlan warned councillors that such a move would, essentially, push the inevitable tax increase down the road to 2025.
Operating budget resource requests for 2025 total $2,681,766. Items included in this list are $390,000 in operating funds for the Terminals Point project, $375,000 in operating funds for both the multi-use recreation facility and arts centre projects, $306,015 to extend hours for all Collingwood Transit, $275,000 for a talent management pay policy review and $100,000 to transfer to a land acquisition reserve fund. This list includes $10,000 for a delegation to visit Katano, Japan in 2025, one of Collingwood’s sister cities.
New staff positions requested next year include a pool operator ($84,348), seasonal events and programming support ($11,411), truck driver labourer ($49,105), a seasonal digital communications student ($13,000) and an accessibility co-ordinator ($95,000). Also considered is moving the following positions from part-time to full-time: educational programmer ($20,888) and one customer service representative ($25,000).
Included in this year’s budget is $55,000 for a town council governance and structure review.
Capital spending this year is expected to the tune of $130.9 million, however only $2.4 million would coming from the municipal tax levy with the rest expected from government grants, reserves and non-tax revenue. Items supported on this list through the tax levy include $130,000 for a parks, recreation and culture master plan refresh, $100,000 for seasonal washrooms at the Collingwood Amphitheatre, $150,000 for town hall refurbishment, $800,000 for strategic land acquisition, $50,000 for trail development and $1 million for the Collingwood Terminals.
The town’s overall funding is made up of multiple income sources including the tax levy, payments in lieu of taxes, grants or government transfers, user rates, user fees, fines, investment income and development charges.
The tax levy alone, if approved, would make up $45.3 million of the town’s overall budget next year. In 2024, the entire budget accounted for $142.7 million in town spending total. Of that, $39.6 million was raised through taxes.
Budget discussions will kick off at a special council meeting on Nov. 13, which starts at 2 p.m.
Following the meeting, residents can also provide their thoughts on the budget during a Coffee with Council event on Nov. 20. Draft two of the budget is expected to be presented to council at their meeting on Dec. 2, with plans to approve the final budget on Dec. 16.
To read through the full budget, which is attached to the council agenda, click here.
