UXBRIDGE: Council of the Township of Uxbridge (the “Township”) have approved their 2020/2021 Operating and Capital Budgets during the January 20th, 2020 Finance Committee Meeting, after an in-depth review and considerable deliberations by the Finance Committee over the past few months. The Finance Committee will recommend to Council it adopt the 2020/2021 Budget at the Council Meeting on January 27th, 2020. “The 2020 budget is fiscally responsible and reflects a clear focus on the needs of Uxbridge residents. Council has listened to its residents and has managed operating cost increases, while increasing spending on key strategic priorities such as road safety, traffic calming, downtown revitalization, targeted sidewalk snow removal, development of Fields of Uxbridge and planning for future infrastructure. This is the first budget to commit the necessary 2 percent of tax levy to the Township’s Asset Preservation Reserve, as recommended by the Township’s Asset Management Plan, which demonstrates Council’s commitment to investing in the Township’s infrastructure,” says Bruce Garrod, Ward 3 Councillor and Chair of Finance. The Township’s 2020 Budget consists of operating expenditures of 17.1 million dollars and capital expenditures of 9.2 million dollars, of which 14 million dollars will be funded through property taxes. This represents a local property tax increase to taxpayers of 4.58 percent (net of growth) and includes 2.86 percent for operating expenditures and 1.72 percent for capital expenditures. The 2020 Budget will result in an estimated total property tax increase of 165 dollars or 2.9 percent, for an average residential property assessed at 550 thousand dollars, of which the Uxbridge portion is approximately 69 dollars. The total property tax bill includes taxes for Uxbridge, Region of Durham and School Boards (as set by the Province). In 2019, only 26.4 percent of total residential property taxes remained in the Township to deliver local services. “I’d like to thank the Staff and Council for their hard work on the budget,” says Mayor Barton. “For me, the most critical part of this budget is our commitment to funding for long-term infrastructure needs with our changing climate. Council has committed to fund the full 2 percent of tax levy for the Township’s Asset Preservation Reserve for future infrastructure spending. We have increased our infrastructure funding from 1.47 percent in 2019 and 0.97 percent in 2018. Our Township has a lot of aging infrastructure, and Municipalities everywhere are expected to modify their infrastructure to handle the impact of more extreme weather.” The Township is committed to an open, responsible and transparent budget process, providing opportunities for public consultation for the business community and general public through a budget open house forum and public budget meetings. The Township continues to be financially stable, with competitive tax rates and strong reserve funds. The Township is committed to maintaining its healthy financial status and a sustainable level of service. For more information on the 2020/2021 Budget, contact Donna Condon, Treasurer, dcondon@uxbridge.ca.
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