It was a challenging budget for Renfrew County Council to approve but it contains several important initiatives, says Jennifer Murphy, chair of the county’s finance and administration committee.
“It was a very, very difficult budget to come to agreement on. Normally our budgets come in at three per cent or less, this year it’s 5.4 per cent plus our real growth, but we did make some commitments with regard to upstaffing our paramedic service that has not had increases in better than a decade and we are also our investing in a multi-department mobile crisis hub for housing, homelessness, mental health and addictions, which we feel is vitally important,” said Murphy.
Along with the existing programs and services and the $2-million Community Well-being Program, the budget includes $54 million in capital asset renewal and an addition to the Renfrew County Housing Corporation portfolio with the completion of the new build at Lea and Douglas Streets in Pembroke (eight units featuring 12 bedrooms) and a new duplex on Cecil Street.
The approved county levy for 2024 will rise by 5.47%, which corresponds to a $20.76 rise in residential property taxes for every $100,000 in assessed value. Given the county’s median residential property value is currently $205,000, the average homeowner would spend $845 in 2024 for the county portion of their taxes.
Murphy said the county chose where to invest more money for the good of residents and that the budget allows council to maintain its provision of high-quality services, including two long-term care facilities, paramedic services, and community services.
She thanked all those involved in the process.
“Our staff, our senior leadership team, our CAO, and quite frankly, county council, deserve a lot of credit. Our first day was extremely long with a lot of numbers being thrown at us and then day two we came to the agreement that this was the right strategy for Renfrew County in 2024,” said Murphy.
She joined Warden Peter Emon in leading council through the budget on Jan. 24 and 25.
“I want to thank our CAO and senior managers for their deliberations to get us to this point and their advice throughout the process; I know there has been a lot of work leading up to today as this year has been particularly challenging,” said Emon. “This is a very thoughtful budget because it mixes current service needs with some future needs while trying to maintain a level of acceptable service within all of our divisions.”
The warden also thanked members of council for their patience and engagement in important discussions to come to a consensus on some difficult scenarios presented within the budget documents.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)
