2025 Municipal Budget

Thank you for your feedback and question. While Council and Committee of the Whole meetings begin at 2:00 p.m. they do continue into the evening hours depending on how discussions progress. If you cannot attend the meetings to speak to Council in person as a delegation, you can still watch the meetings live online or the recordings after the meetings are over, and still submit input on the draft budget to budget@collingwood.ca, by emailing members of Council or hand delivering a letter to Town Hall. We appreciate your interest in the budget and look forward to your feedback.

The proposed Accessibility Coordinator position would be an in-house expert and portfolio champion coordinating cross-functionally to support all Town service areas in meeting our AODA requirements and supporting service excellence.  This includes a vast array of services. 

With respect to snowbanks on Hurontario Street, clearing of snow and making pathways from the parking spaces to the sidewalk, this falls under regular operational duties of our public works division, and they try to clear as many paths as feasible, in particular clearing paths from the accessible parking spaces. The Town also manages a contract with an third party that provides access from parking areas to the main street sidewalks that are cleared in conjunction with daily sidewalk clearing operations. This contract is strictly dedicated to providing access points through snowbanks.  The Town also completes full snowbank removal several times throughout the winter season when snow banks become unmanageable and create sight line issues at intersections. The ability to do full snow bank removal is dependent on current weather conditions and availability of staff. Snow bank removal must take place overnight, and requires a shift complement of at least 5 staff. This cannot be completed if winter operations are being completed during the daytime hours. 

Q3 projections showed a small surplus forecasted of $560k but this number can and will change.  The final number will be confirmed in Finance's Q4 report to Council in the new year.

Funds for legal fees to support all Ontario Land Tribunal Appeals in 2025, which would include but are not limited to the appeals related to the official plan, are $150,000.  Funds for consultant support related to the official plan appeals in 2025 are $30,000.  Staff time is not allocated to specific tasks in the budget, rather is allocated by service.  The official plan appeals may affect many services, including those related to planning, engineering, and PRC.  The official plan appeals are legislatively mandated and will need to take priority for staff time over other projects that are not governed by legislation.

The Town takes cybersecurity very seriously and has measures in place to ensure Town information is protected. The costs for maintaining a strong security posture are covered by operating expenses.

At present, there are no funds in the proposed 2025 budget to support the building of a new skatepark as this hasn’t been identified as a priority in our strategic or master plans. However, we’re always looking for community input to help guide future planning. We’d encourage you to take part in the public engagement opportunities within the 2025 budget process including Coffee with Council on November 20^th, and during the Parks, Recreation & Culture master plan update process which is earmarked for 2025 pending budget approval.

The municipal government does not have a formal responsibility for childcare. Funding for childcare in Ontario is shared between the province and the federal government. To learn about the programs available to assist with childcare costs, please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/early-learning-child-care.html

Regarding doctors in town, Collingwood Council has decided to spend $14,000 each year for five years (proposed to double in 2025) to help recruit doctors, totalling up to $70,000. One important rule is that the new doctor must mainly see patients from Collingwood while receiving this support. The doctor also needs to take on at least 900 patients within the first 18 months to help those who need care.

Collingwood is working with other local leaders to address the shortage of family doctors. The Town is part of the South Georgian Bay Regional Mayors’ and CAOs’ Forum, which recently talked to the Ministry of Health about this problem. Collingwood is also part of a team with other towns to recruit doctors, led by the South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team. Having local health care is very important for our community.

You are encouraged to attend Coffee with Council on November 20th, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Collingwood Public Library to learn more and talk with Councillors and Senior staff in an informal setting about the municipal budget.

It is difficult to predict how many trees will be removed in the next five years.  Parks has budgeted $150,000 for tree removal in 2025, which will be dedicated to dead tree removals (mainly ash). Council is dedicated to increasing our tree canopy and has directed staff to draft a policy regarding tree replacements for municipally owned and controlled properties to replace at a 2:1 ratio or using a scientific method that ensures similar environmental benefits.

The Library’s salaries and benefits are subject to the cost of living increase that is set by Council each year. Recently, the Town undertook a compensation market refresh review, which recommended increases for pay bands that included the library’s part-time staff. These increases are reflected in the Library’s 2025 budget and affect about 20% of the staff at the library; an additional 20% of library staff are affected by the annual rise of minimum wage.

Our human capital is our primary asset since it is our staff that enable our facility to stay open, offer programs and services, and support our community members. Offering competitive wages improves our retention of key qualified staff, allowing us to better serve our residents.

The Town of Collingwood does not operate housing supports such as emergency shelters, transitional shelters, or social/community housing. Homelessness and supports for people experiencing homelessness fall under the County of Simcoe's responsibilities. While the Town understands the need for housing for all in the community, the Town's role in housing focuses on moderate income households and workers who are being priced out of the renter and ownership markets. For more information on housing and homelessness supports, please check out the County of Simcoe's Website: https://simcoe.ca/residents/community-services/homelessness-system/. We encourage folks to write to members of Council (contact information available on: https://www.collingwood.ca/council) or come to Coffee with Council on November 20th to tell Council they would like to see investment in homelessness supports in the community.