Perth County has officially approved its budget for 2026, which will result in an average tax bill increase of about $90.
During the meeting on Thursday morning, county councillors voted in favor of a budget that sees total spending rise by just over $2.63 million or 8.75 percent, while also accounting for an annual assessment growth of 1.76 percent within the county. The total levy to be collected is anticipated to be around $27.7 million.
This year, the county plans to invest $9.6 million into 333 capital projects, including:
Rehabilitating or replacing road network infrastructure, which includes four bridge and culvert projects, along with repaving 22 kilometres of centre-line road; Renovating the provincial offences courtroom and county council chambers at the courthouse; A $50,000 contribution toward ongoing development of the Ontario Agri-Food Discovery Centre in Listowel; and Launching a new economic development and tourism wayfinding signage program.
The county is also allocating roughly $1.08 million to help address the growing infrastructure gap, with most of that – approximately $910,000 – going into bridges and culverts capital reserves. This transfer accounts for 4.3 percent of the levy increase.
These transfers follow a report presented last month by John Mc Clelland, the county’s executive director of public works, indicating that about 30 out of the county’s 44 bridges will reach the end of their useful lives in the next 10 to 15 years.
“Both council and staff recognize the continued financial pressures and economic uncertainty faced by ratepayers and their families, as well as farms and business owners across Perth County. The county is doing its best to ensure essential service levels are maintained fairly while continuing to invest in future needs and opportunities for citizens,” Warden Dean Trentowsky stated in a release.
Before voting on this matter, Perth East Mayor Rhonda Ehgoetz expressed her concerns regarding the increase, noting that last year there were an additional 62 properties in her township unable to afford their tax bills, bringing that total to around 300.
“We have to keep that in mind. It’s too easy just to keep upping things without considering those who can’t afford it. If you have kids who need food, you’re going to feed them before paying your taxes,” Ehgoetz said.
“I worry this situation will worsen and we might need to tighten our belts here; we’ll have no choice but to make some cuts whether we want to or not because people just can’t manage it,” she added.
In this decision process, Ehgoetz was joined by Deputy Warden Sue Orr along with Couns. Walter Mc Kenzie and Robert Wilhelm in opposing the budget vote while Couns. Matt Duncan, Hugh Mc Dermid, Jerry, and Trentowsky supported it. Based on weighted votes, the budget passed with a count of 10-6. Coun. Doug Kellum was not present during this meeting.
Looking forward, staff have projected tax levy increases for both 2027 and 2028 at rates expected to be around 8.19 percent and 7.07 percent respectively.
You can find more information about the budget along with a complete cost breakdown online at perthcounty. ca.
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