Wilmot Township council set to meet Monday to pass 2025 budget
Wilmot Township councillors will meet Monday night in the hopes of passing the 2025 budget.
In December, township staff brought forward a draft budget report that proposed a property tax increase of 51 per cent. A backlog of capital projects including a new fire station in New Hamburg and repairs to infrastructure like roads and the Wilmot Recreation Centre are largely to blame. As well, the township doesn't have much saved in reserves.
Mayor Natasha Salonen told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition host Craig Norris at the time that the number was shocking.
"This council, over the last two budgets, has been asking a lot more questions and really uncovering more financial, historical problems and this has kind of been the culmination of all that digging that council has done," Salonen said.
Since December, the township says staff and council has brought the property tax increase down to just over 19 per cent.
During a meeting on Jan. 27, councillors asked for more information from staff — including whether it's possible to phase-in the capital budget over the next four years — and it's hoped they will be able to lower the final number at Monday's meeting.
"Council is seeking further reductions to operating costs and has asked staff to reduce day-to-day departmental budgets by five percent," the township said in a media release following the Jan. 27 meeting.
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