The 2021 municipal budget for the Township of Alfred and Plantagenet was adopted by council on February 16.
Operating expenses for 2021 are $245,144 greater than in 2021. The 2020 operating budget was $10,729,942 and for 2021 it is $10,975,086.
The township will collect $314,410 more in taxes in 2021 than it collected in 2020. The projected amount of taxes to be collected in the 2021 budget is $8,633,645. The increase in tax revenue is equal to two per cent of $100,000 of the value of a residential home. This means that a residential property tax bill in Alfred and Plantagenet will increase by $13 per $100,000 of valuation in 2021.
Taxation will compose 62 per cent of township revenue in 2021. Grants will compose 18 per cent of municipal revenue, and 11 per cent will be from reserves. The remainder of township revenue in 2021 will come from other sources such as fees and interest.
Roads are the largest area of expenses in the 2021 operational budget, at 31 per cent. Municipal administration and policing are tied as the second-greatest areas of expense at 14 per cent each.
Grant funds that are included in the 2021 Alfred and Plantagenet budget include $1,400,000 from the provincial government’s Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund, approximately $251,924 from the United Counties of Prescott and Russell for roads, $296,569 from the provincial government’s Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, and $307,003 in federal gasoline tax funding.
A series of capital projects are planned by the township in 2021. A new sand dome for the Public Works Department will be purchased at a cost of $200,000, and a new electronic records management system is being implemented at a cost of $147,552.
Two new pickup trucks at a combined cost of $80,000, and a new tandem truck costing approximately $330,000.
Several capital projects are planned in the 2021 budget for parks and recreation facilities in Alfred and Plantagenet in 2021. The parking lot of the Wendover Community Hall will be paved at a cost of approximately $90,000, and $15,000 has been budgeted to complete the Alfred Forest Trail. In Wendover, $10,000 each has been budgeted to build phase one of the new BMX bike park and to build a new volleyball court.
