West Grey has adopted its 2025 budget, which includes a blended tax rate increase of 8.6 per cent.
Council approved the budget during its meeting on Tuesday which will see residents pay an additional $120 per year on $100,000 of home assessment.
Mayor Kevin Eccles says he wishes the increase was not so high, but its legal battle with the South Bruce Grey Health Centre likely added a couple percentage points in addition to addressing local infrastructure.
“When you hire lawyers and whatnot to take it to court, there is a cost to that and that is where the cost is coming in. It will probably be a couple hundred thousand, a few hundred thousand dollars invested in that before we get it to court,” says Eccles.
The court case has been put on hold after the SBGHC tried to appeal the case last year. Eccles says they are still waiting to hear a decision if the case is moving forward.
He is hopeful the municipality will receive an update in the next few weeks.
Some of the capital projects featured in the budget includes the new police station in Durham, the new Rockwood Terrace Long-Term Care Home in Durham, a new pumper fire truck for the Durham station, and replacing a bridge in Glenelg, which Eccles says will cost around $2.2 million.
“It’s been a struggle, but I think that council has certainly and staff have done the best that they can,” says Eccles. “We will do the best that we can for our community to keep West Grey the best place to live in Ontario.”