Wilmot Council reviews proposed 2026 budget at special meeting

Members of Wilmot Council had an opportunity to discuss the Township’s proposed 2026 budget during a special meeting held on Thursday, January 29. The budget was formally tabled by Mayor Natasha Salonen on January 9, marking her first since being granted strong mayor powers.

The meeting represented a key milestone in a budget process that began last summer, when Mayor Salonen worked with Council and staff to establish priorities. The process was supported by an evidence-based review conducted by KPMG, which analyzed past budgets and spending trends and informed the draft budget shared with staff and Council.

During Thursday’s meeting, Councillors asked clarifying questions, heard feedback from residents, and proposed amendments, including:

• Removing $65,000 from the Mayor and Council budget identified as a duplicate cost
• Eliminating the Mayor and Council cost-of-living increase for 2026

Together, these changes reduced the proposed tax increase from 9.7 per cent to 9.22 per cent.

Council also passed a motion directing staff to make line-by-line actuals and variances for the 2024 and 2025 budgets, as well as detailed line-by-line information for the 2026 budget, publicly available by February 4.

Under strong mayor legislation, Council may continue to propose budget amendments until February 9, 2026, when a second special meeting will be held. Mayor Salonen will then have until February 19 to veto any amendments. If no vetoes are exercised, the budget will be adopted as amended on February 20. Should a veto be issued, Council will have until March 6 to override it with a two-thirds majority vote.

The full budget is available online at www.wilmot.ca/budget. Residents are encouraged to provide feedback by emailing budget@wilmot.ca.

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For media inquiries:

Brett O’Reilly | Communications Specialist
brett.oreilly@wilmot.ca | 519-556-0039