A possible 12.12 per cent tax increase for Grey County will hit taxpayers in the Town of The Blue Mountains harder than in other area municipalities.
At a special committee of the whole meeting on Oct. 24, Grey County councillors were given their first glimpse of the draft 2024 budget. The initial 2024 budget figures call for a 12.12 per cent tax increase on a net (after real assessment growth) county levy growth of $8,432,278.
At the meeting, county staff also presented figures that show the impact the 12.12 per cent increase would have on average assessed homes across the county.
For The Blue Mountains, the average numbers were stark because of a significantly higher assessment average compared to the rest of the county.
A home assessed at The Blue Mountains average of $559,000 faces a 2024 tax increase for county purposes of $258.72. This is close to double the next highest municipality - Georgian Bluffs - where the average home is assessed at $298,000 and faces a county tax increase of $137.92.
Across the entire county, the average assessed value of a home is $290,000 with the projected 2024 increase being $134.22.
The Blue Mountains is the only municipality in which the average assessed value of a home ($559,000) exceeds $300,000.
This disparity in assessment between The Blue Mountains and the other eight member municipalities of Grey County means the town’s portion of the county levy continues to increase. The initial 2024 budget numbers show that The Blue Mountains would be responsible for 28.57 per cent of the total county tax levy. This is up from 28.19 per cent in 2023. The draft 2024 numbers show that only one other municipality would see its portion increase in 2024 - Southgate would grow from 6.28 per cent to 6.42 per cent.
“These numbers are very concerning, they also reinforce the fiscal heavy lifting that The Town of The Blue Mountains continues to contribute to the region,” said Peter Bordignon, the town’s deputy mayor and a member of county council, after the special budget meeting. “With the continued financial pressures on our local taxpayers, these types of increases are not sustainable.”
The Blue Mountains Mayor, Andrea Matrosovs, also a member of county council, called for more meetings as soon as possible to address the forecasted 12.12 per cent increase.
“I am as concerned about the revenue coming in as the expenditures going out. This is early in the budget process, but I advocate for extra meetings to drill down,” she said. “This is the first glance at the presented material, and from here we will have a closer look as quickly as possible.”
Bordignon agreed and said there is a lot of work to be done in the coming weeks.
“We will need to carefully evaluate, access and review where the monies are being allocated both operationally and capital projects,” he said.
No decisions were made at the meeting and county council will meet again soon to consider budget changes.
