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Council approves Town portion of the budget at 3.86 per cent – bringing the overall increase to 4.99 per cent

Throughout the next year, the Town of Orangeville will focus on responsible governance through future planning and the prioritization of services essential to meeting the needs of our community.

While economic pressures continue, staff carefully developed a budget that was mindful of current inflation while identifying ways to keep costs low without impacting services and priority work.

Orangeville Council approved the 2025 budget on December 10, following a thorough review and staff presentations of the capital and operating budgets. The approved 2025 Town of Orangeville Budget will include a total tax increase of 4.99 per cent.

The final budget breakdown is as follows:

  • Town-run services impact: 3.86 per cent (controlled by the Town)
  • Police services (OPP): 1.13 per cent (controlled by the Province) which includes temporary relief of $1 million from the province.

For the average home, this will mean approximately $14 more per month in property taxes.

Approved investments rooted in community

  • Water services upgrades and improvements: Continuing production of a new water storage facility, rehabilitation of aging wells, and improvements to watermains will assist with the town water capacity and conservation efforts.
  • Multi-use pump track: The existing BMX park will be converted to a multi-use bike park (pump track) that would allow the use of skateboards, BMX bikes, and scooters. The redesign will be partially funded through a significant donation by the Orangeville Lions Club.
  • Website project: This redevelopment will prioritize user experience and accessibility and enhance public communications to the community.
  • Facilities structural assessments: These assessments will determine the structural integrity of our facilities, including both recreation centres, Town Hall and Mill Street Library, identify areas in need of improvements or rehabilitation, and enable funding strategies.

Easing the pressure on property taxes and funding for the capital program

The approved 2025 budget will allow the Town to proceed with reducing pressure on property taxes for several areas. This will be done by funding costs through appropriate revenue resources, such as:

  • Updates to development charges: These changes will ensure new growth pays for infrastructure needs such as parks and water system updates.
  • Adjusting non-resident fees: Non-Orangeville users of recreation programs will see an adjustment to assist with generating revenue to help cover operating program costs historically paid for by Orangeville taxpayers.
  • Asset management planning: Through development of an official Asset Management Plan, the Town will be guided by a data-driven framework to complete repairs, refurbishments, and replacements of assets at the right time, and ensure adequate funding for necessary work.

Changes to the original proposed budget

Town staff and council entered the budget process with a well-rounded document that focused on maintaining valuable service delivery while responsibly investing in and caring for our assets.

The largest budget adjustment is tied to police services. This came after successful lobbying to the Province by the mayor and council alongside our municipal colleagues. Council directed that the relief funding provided by the Province be applied as a one-time revenue source to bring the Police tax levy requirement down. With the expectation that this temporary funding will need to be replaced with tax levy funding in 2026, the decision was made to add a one-time $500,000 contribution to the Town's capital reserves. In 2026, the budget capacity of $500,000 can be transferred back to the Police budget without a corresponding tax increase. Staff noted that the overall cost of policing in Orangeville with OPP-delivered service of $6.1 million remains well below service delivery costs of a local police force projected at $9.5 million.

During the budget review, council identified two additional items for deferral or removal to help minimize the overall tax impact. These deferrals and removals further reduced the tax impact by 0.3 per cent. The breakdown is as follows:

  • Fire Master Plan: 0.06 per cent reduction to tax impact
  • Fire station furniture: 0.24 per cent reduction to tax impact

Further information

Further information, including the final 2025 budget document, will be available on the Town’s website at orangeville.ca/Budget in the new year, after year-end processes are complete.

Comments

Lisa Post, mayor, Town of Orangeville

The approved 2025 budget is without bells and whistles, it’s not made up of fancy things. We’re moving forward projects and items that were either previously approved and currently underway, work that needs to be done, and moving the organization forward in a positive way. Everyone who worked on this budget put in a lot of hard work and was willing to have those tough conversations to keep it as low as possible in the face of additional pressures this year.

David Smith, chief administrative officer, Town of Orangeville

Municipal government is a service industry; our organization is a service provider first and foremost. As demand for our services has increased as the community has grown, staff have looked at new ways to help offset costs for the taxpayers and will continue to do so in an ongoing effort to support affordability. We’re committed to responsible and sustainable governance and the outcome of this year’s budget will allow us to build on the groundwork laid in 2024.