Municipal Budget

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The annual municipal budget process begins in the fall of each calendar year. This process includes a review of the taxation policy, fees and charges, grants to community groups, service level requirements, 10-year capital forecast, operating and capital requirements.

Township Council approved the 2025 municipal budget on February 24, 2025. Read our media release for full details.

2025 Budget

The Township's 2025 draft budget documents are now available. View a copy of the draft budget.

Additional Budget Documents

Budget Meetings

Council discussed the budget at several meetings in late 2024 and early 2025.

Budget Questions and Answers

Below are a list of questions Council has asked regarding the budget. These answers are being shared to provide additional insight into the budgeting process.

What is the Township's financing strategy for paying off debt?

Download the Debt Repayment Strategy document to learn more.

What have the tax increases been in the Township over the last 10 years?

Download the Historical Tax Increases document to learn more.

What are the usage numbers for Township facilities?

The document linked below provides facility usage for 2024. This has been broken down to distinguish between indoor facilities and outdoor spaces (sports fields) with primary user groups. Along with facility usage, data has been provided to show actual revenues and budgeted expenses for each area. These budgeted expenses do not include staffing costs.

View the 2024 Facility Usage Chart.

The critical findings through the approved 2024 Community Services Master Plan and Service Delivery Review have illustrated:

The Township has the lowest tax levy per population for its parks and recreation services compared to municipal comparators.
With 322,000 square feet of Township managed facilities, 225 acres of parkland and 50 kilometers of trails, the Township has a higher amount of facilities per population than most municipalities.
With the substantive number of facilities under management, the Township’s full-time staff compliment is lean as staff resourcing has not been commensurate with historical expanded scope of responsibilities.
The Township’s facility assets are aging and there are insufficient capital reserves funds to allocate to on-going capital repair and revitalization.
With the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic, cost recovery as a basis of revenues over expenditures for Community Services has increased each year since 2018. (Higher than most municipalities in the Service Delivery Review).
The biggest driver for department cost recovery is at the Wilmot Recreation Complex, where demand of arena permitting and programming of aquatics are maximized in these cost centres.

How much is the Township's current firehall worth?

The insured property value for the current firehall is $1,712,300. This value includes replacement of the facility in its current condition, not including value of land or site servicing. The valuations do not reflect current construction costs of a new facility.

What is the Fire Department's approach to purchasing equipment?

A full explanation of the Fire Department's approach is available in the memo linked below.

View the Wilmot Fire Department Fire Apparatus Design Standards memo.

What is the financial impact of the Nithview Development Charges exemption? What would the impact be if the project did not proceed?

Project Benefits

Takes the 98 bed old nursing home and creates a state of the art modern 160 bed nursing home in the heart of New Hamburg.
Provides for the adaptive reuse of the existing building for any number of beneficial uses down the road which could include new seniors housing and a ‘campus’ of services for our seniors population.
Both of these support our local seniors, allowing them to stay in the community longer.

Financial Impact

The impact to the budget this year for this is in the Budget on the Operating Request Form # 2025-08.
The tax impact is $100,000 this year, as well as $40,000 for wastewater and $10,000 for water. This same amount will be added each year for the next four years. This funding is not just to fund Nithview. It will provide funding for statutory exemptions that the Township must fund based on the Development Charges Act. The breakdown is based on the relative DCs between tax funded services and water/wastewater.

For Nithview, the total DCs payable will be between $1.8 and $2 million once the DCs become payable, depending on Bank of Canada interest rates. The payments will be made over a period of five years, starting at the time the building is granted its Occupancy Permit. Based on Nithview getting their permit in December 2024, it is most likely occupancy won't occur prior to the end of 2026. The DCs will then be payable in six payments: one at occupancy and one at each annual anniversary.
The below shows how the reserve fund will work. It will accumulate funds based on annual contributions, then when the DCs are payable a grant will be provided to Nithview annually. The balance shown is if there were no other statutory exemptions, which there are a few - Accessory Units, Industrial Expansion, Non-profit Housing are the major ones.

Past Budget Packages

2014 - 2024 Approved Budgets

Current and previous municipal budget packages are available below:

Contacts