RENFREW COUNTY (Pembroke) — On Monday January 27, County of Renfrew Warden Debbie Robinson, Councillor Jennifer Murphy, Chair of the County’s Finance and Administration Committee, and Councillor Glenn Doncaster, 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 2020 budget which meets all of the targets set by Council for 2020. At today’s meeting County Council approved the 2020 Annual Budget.
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 $285 million asset renewal program over the next 10 year planning horizon.
At the September 2019 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. The County of Renfrew had the task to find savings to off-set the $887,000 in Provincial cuts that impacted paramedic services, child care, long-term care, the Renfrew County Housing Corporation, and Ontario Works programs in 2019. Council has passed a budget that will include investments in projects for social housing, long-term care, more efficient service delivery at the County administration building, and roads, bridges and culvert rehabilitation and construction.
The 2020 approved levy adjusted for growth equates to a residential property tax impact of $2.12 increase per $100 thousand value of their home. Given the median residential property value of $203 thousand in Renfrew County, a typical homeowner would see an impact of $4.30 for 2020. That means that for a very modest tax rate increase of 0.6 per cent, 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.
Warden of the County of Renfrew Debbie Robinson 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. County Council and staff are focused on quality assurance, efficiency, and transparency; with affordability being the primary focus in the budget decision process. Council along with staff worked in an engaged and efficient manner to ensure that the County of Renfrew continues to provide quality services to our community.
Councillor Jennifer Murphy, 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. A recommendation for the 2020 budget was officially adopted as a by-law immediately following the presentation.
