I am pleased to share that on December 16, 2020, Halton Regional Council approved the 2021 Budget and Business Plan, the Region’s roadmap for investing in critical programs and services to support our residents and businesses.

Without a doubt, this year has been unprecedented, as our community has faced the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Region continues to invest in the resources and services required to respond to the pandemic and keep our residents safe, we have continued to look ahead and make strategic investments in the core services and programs that our community relies on.

This year’s Budget also achieves Council’s objective to keep property tax increases at or below the rate of inflation, with a 1.5 per cent property tax increase for Regional services. When combined with a 2.5 per cent tax increase for the Halton Regional Police Service, the overall Regional property tax increase is 1.8 per cent. The Budget also includes a rate increase of 2.6 per cent for water and wastewater services. In keeping with Halton’s fiscally responsible approach to financial planning, the Budget continues to include a commitment to continuous improvement, and identifies savings and efficiencies to provide value for taxpayers.

Some of the key investments include:

• COVID-19 Response: $12.3 million for additional costs in Public Health, Paramedic Services, Long-Term Care and Housing, as well as facility and technology-related costs, with strategic investments to meet ongoing staffing requirements. The majority of this investment is funded by the Federal and Provincial Safe Restart Agreement and additional Provincial funding, resulting in a net cost to taxpayers of $1.2 million;
• State-of-Good-Repair program: $8.0 million increase in transfers to support the water and wastewater state-of-good-repair capital program;
• Strategic Investments: $2.5 million to support the objectives, outcomes and actions identified in the Region’s 2019–2022 Strategic Business Plan, and address pressures driven by growth and increased demand for services;
• Children’s Services: $1.0 million to maintain the current number of subsidized child care spaces as a result of provincial funding reductions; and
• Halton Region Community Investment Fund: $500,000 to meet new and emerging community needs, pivot to virtual service delivery models, respond to public health directives and address Community Safety and Well-Being issues.

To learn more about the Region’s 2021 Budget and Business Plan and the investments we are making to keep Halton a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire, please visit halton.ca