Cobourg Council Approves 2023 Municipal Budget with Tax Increase of 6.6% Adopted
During the Regular Council Meeting on Monday, February 27, 2023, Municipal Council voted to approve the 2023 Municipal Operating and Capital Budgets.
Council approved the 2023 Capital Budget in the amount of $32,998,716 as well as the 2023 Operating Budget with the Municipal Levy of $28,154,601, which represents an 8.1% increase over the 2022 Operating Budget and a 6.6% net increase after allowing for New Assessment Growth of 1.5%.
This equates to an increase of approximately $178 on the Town portion of the average home assessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) at $278 500
During the month of January 2023, Council received presentations from Town staff across all divisions and departments with projections for the 2023 budget. Budget deliberations occurred
over two days, on February 7 and 9, 2023, in Council Chambers as well as livestreamed on eSCRIBE, the Town’s meeting management software.
Residents participated in two phases of public engagement on the Town of Cobourg’s public engagement portal, Engage Cobourg. The engagement process included a preliminary survey
to provide insight from taxpayers on the programs and services that are most valued, the level of satisfaction in service delivery and the issues they feel are most important for our community at this time. The results from this Phase 1 survey were presented to Council during the Monday, January 23, 2023, Public Submissions Meeting and Community Grants Presentations.
The Phase 2 public engagement survey was circulated following the release of the draft budget and asked residents to provide feedback on the budget process, including communication and education as well as the direction of the draft capital and operating budgets. The Phase 2 survey concluded on February 13, 2023, and was presented to Council during the Committee of the Whole Meeting on February 21, 2023.
Under the Municipal Act, The Town of Cobourg Council is required to ensure that the following services are maintained: Police, Fire, Parks and Recreation, Roads, Transit, Land Use
Planning, Local Government, Library, Solid Waste, Storm Water, Wastewater and Drinking Water.
The final 2023 Municipal Operating and Capital Budget as well as the Public Engagement Report can now be found on the Municipal website at www.cobourg.ca/budget.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love