The Municipality of Kincardine’s treasury department shared their preliminary budget report during Wednesday’s council meeting.
The Budget Plan Report is presented to council and includes information on assumptions and estimates that will impact the 2024 budget.
Some main concerns that staff had to take into account were inflation, staff wages, and asset management.
Due to inflation being forecasted to remain around 3 percent until mid-2025, the treasury team is drafting the budget with an estimated 3.3% increase in mind.
Municipal staff salaries are also expected to increase by 3.3% in 2024, in addition to the fact that as of October 1, 2023, the minimum wage in Ontario is going to increase to $16.55 per hour.
Staff also shared the results of their community budget survey, where residents were able to give their feedback about what they’d like to see their property tax spent on, including road maintenance, enhanced recycling collection, and hope for the addition of green bin collection.
