PEMBROKE — On Wednesday January 23, County of Renfrew Warden Jennifer Murphy, Councillor Glenn Doncaster, Chair of the County’s Finance & Administration Committee, and Councillor Peter Emon, Vice-chair of the Finance and Administration Committee, led the annual County of Renfrew Budget Workshop. The trio commended Elected Officials and County staff on the delivery of the 2019 budget which meets all of the targets set by Council for 2019.
The principles adopted in the Long-term Financial Plan continue to guide the annual budget discussions, ensuring that the County of Renfrew remains focused on today and on the future. In doing so, the County of Renfrew will have the resources necessary to operate all of its programs and services as well as fund the $291 million asset renewal program over the next 10 year planning horizon.
The 2019 approved levy adjusted for growth equates to a property tax impact for a resident of $1.69 increase per $100,000 value of their home. For example: A home valued at the median property value of $201,500 would see an impact of $3.41 for 2019 in county taxes. That means that for a very modest increase of $1.69 per $ 100,000 in property value, the County of Renfrew can continue to deliver high quality services to our community such as two Long-Term Care Homes, Paramedic Services, and Social Services.
At the September 2018 session, County Council gave clear direction to the CAO and staff on how they would like the first draft of the budget prepared in order to minimize the financial impact on Renfrew County residents. Warden Jennifer Murphy shared this comment on the budget workshop, “I wish to express my appreciation to all the Standing Committee members for your hard work in reviewing the draft budgets during the past few weeks, and thank you to staff for their diligence and professionalism in preparing the draft budgets. I believe that we have a very effective and efficient budget process that allows Council to meet in January each year to debate, review and finally approve a budget that provides clear direction to our staff on delivering services to our residents in an efficient and effective manner.”
Councillor Glenn Doncaster, Chair of the Finance & Administration Committee, commended County of Renfrew elected and staff on their efforts to find savings within their respective areas of the budget. Chair Doncaster had this comment: “I am pleased to report that CAO Paul Moreau and his staff have delivered a 2019 Consolidated Budget that meets the targets as directed by Council in September 2018. On behalf of County Council, I wish to express a sincere “Thank you” to all staff involved in preparing this draft budget.”
A recommendation for the 2019 budget was officially adopted as a By-law immediately following the budget presentation today.
Additional Information for Consideration
The County of Renfrew is an Upper Tier Municipality providing a wide range of services to the 17 Lower-tier Municipalities that make up the largest geographic area of any municipality in Ontario.
Some of the additional services provided by the County of Renfrew include:
Long-term Care Homes, Bonnechere Manor and Miramichi Lodge
Public Works and Engineering, responsible for more than 800 lane kilometers of roads, bridges and structures
Planning Services
Economic Development and Business Services
Forestry and Trails Management
Human Resources
Child Care
Renfrew County Housing Corporation
Paramedic Services
Ontario Works
Provincial Offences
Finance and Administration
