NF_Budget_almost_Finalised

Jeff Green | Jun 30, 2005

Feature article June 30, 2005

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A public meeting has been set for July 6, at which time North Frontenac Council intends to pass the 2005 budget estimates. After months of deliberations, the process of budgeting began last November, and culminated in several all-day meetings within the past month. Mayor Maguire said that Council had to find about $500,000 in savings to bring in a budget with a minimal increase. In the end, the increase in the tax rate will be limited to a little under 2.5%. Most of that increase came about as a result of an increase in County taxes. Township operations will account for an increase of less than 1% in the tax rate.

The road construction budget is among areas where the budget has been trimmed.

I think that we have reduced the number of road projects we have budgeted for in half over the past two years, Maguire said. This might not mean less road construction is done in 2005, however. Ron Maguire explained that two years ago the road construction budget was based on projects the road crews hoped to get completed, but many of them never were done because time and worker hours ran out.

We dont want to collect taxation for things we arent going to get to, said Maguire, so now we are only budgeting for projects that will likely get done.

Council will now take a break from budget deliberations, but only for the summer. They will begin considering the 2006 budget in September. Maguire hopes to have a draft budget in place by the end of the year, and hopes to have a multi-year budgeting process in place by next spring.