Municipality of Port Hope Proposed 2025 Budget to be Considered for Approval

Pete Fisher
1 month ago
• Categories: City Hall

Municipality of Port Hope Council will consider adopting the proposed 2025 Budget By-law at their regular meeting on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. This decision follows months of planning by municipal staff and a thorough review process by Council, ensuring fiscal responsibility and incorporating community input.

As part of the budget development process, staff delivered several presentations, including discussions on user fees and charges on October 1, Community Grants, Donations, and Development Charges on October 8, use of Hydro and LLRW reserves, and the Library Board Budget on October 22, and the Police Board Budget on November 12. The process concluded with a full-day budget meeting on November 19, where Council deliberated the proposed budget during a Special Council meeting. This meeting was open to the public and available on YouTube.

Key Proposed Budget Highlights

Proposed Municipal Levy: If approved, the total municipal levy for 2025 is $29.6 million.

Tax bill impact: For a typical homeowner, this would mean an estimated increase from last year of $178 on the municipal portion of the property tax bill, based on the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s (MPAC) valuation.
Total Budget: The Municipality’s overall proposed municipal budget for 2025 is $56 million, encompassing critical services, infrastructure requirements, and operational needs.
Funding Walton Phase 3 from Hydro Reserve: There is no increase to the 2025 tax levy for capital projects. $4 million from the reserve established through the sale of the former Port Hope Hydro will be used to offset the tax levy and utility related costs of the final Walton redevelopment phase.

Important Note
The tax bill increase only applies to the local municipal portion of your tax bill and does not include potential adjustments from Northumberland County or education taxes. The Municipality provides an estimate of the dollar impact to taxpayers at budget time. Once the other factors impacting property taxes are known, an actual final dollar and percentage amount will be communicated to avoid confusion in the community.

Proposed Budget Priorities and Considerations
The 2025 proposed budget addresses key challenges, including:

Focusing on continuing current capital projects, like improving roads and community facilities, while finishing projects from past years.

Managing inflationary pressures on municipal operations.

Maintaining continued delivery of essential services to the community.

Aligning services to community input collected through the recent budget survey.

Access Budget Information
Budget documents, presentations, and recordings from the budget meetings are available on the Municipality’s My Port Hope website. The budget documents have been online for review since November 15.

Next Steps
If the proposed budget is approved on November 26, further updates will be shared with the community through the Municipality’s communication channels.

Members of the public are encouraged to engage with Council about the Budget by presenting a deputation at the upcoming Council meeting. Deputation information is available on our website and deputation request forms can be submitted until noon on November 25.