SDG COUNTIES, Ontario – The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry has approved its 2024 budget, which focuses on mitigating inflationary pressures while also maintaining service levels.
At its Feb. 20, 2024 meeting SDG Counties council approved the necessary bylaws that set the tax rates and ratios at the upper tier.
SDG Counties Council, at its Dec. 6, 2023 meeting, put the final touches to the 2024 document which sets the budget at $86 million. The budget means a 4.36 per cent increase for an average residential property in SDG Counties.
The SDG Counties portion of the taxes for a home valued at $$220,459 will see an increase of $58.76 for the SDG Counties portion of the tax bill.
“Ontario municipalities are facing budgetary pressures that have not been experienced in decades. We are not immune to the same inflationary pressures that residents face when they purchase groceries, fill up their vehicles or complete household renovations,” said Warden Jamie MacDonald. “We have an obligation to prudently administer taxpayer investment in our region and council agrees this budget is respectful of that aspiration.
“Our council, and administration, understand the pressure being placed on residents under the current economic landscape in our country. We have all worked diligently to mitigate those influences as much as possible.”
Some large-scale or special infrastructure projects that will be completed in 2024 include:
- 46 km of road resurfacing - $11.5 million
- 10.8 km of pavement preservation (micro-surfacing) - $532,000
- Bridge rehabilitation activities (including $2.3 million for Martintown Bridge) - $5.6 million
- Lunenburg storm sewer lining - $150,000
“The 2024 budget, approved in principle, allows us to continue to offer important services and complete infrastructure projects while respecting the inflationary pressures that are impacting spending habits in homes throughout our region,” said SDG Counties CAO Maureen Adams.