East Hawkesbury Township Council has approved a $5,949,407.00 budget for the municipality in 2022. Council made the budget official at its December 13 meeting.
The township will collect three per cent more in tax revenue in 2022. Property tax revenue is projected to be $2,392,611 for the year.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Luc Lalonde, the increase will represent an increase of $14.29 per residential property valued at $100,000. The three per cent increase means East Hawkesbury is projected to collect $68,911.29 more in tax revenue in 2022. Lalonde explained that with the inflation rate presently at 4.9 per cent in Ontario, the increase of three per cent to the tax levy was necessary. The tax levy increase in 2021 had been one per cent.
Unconditional grant funding from the Ontario government’s Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) for East Hawkesbury in 2022 will be $289,600.
A series of capital projects, totaling $1,993,000 are planned in East Hawkesbury for 2022. These projects include $1,518,000 for storm sewer improvements in St-Eugene, and $330,000 for a new fire department rescue truck. The purchase of the new truck was carried over from the 2021 budget due to a delivery delay.
Upgrades to the heating system and insulation at the Centre d’Action in Sainte-Anne-de Prescott will continue, with a projected cost of $100,000. The township is also redesigning its website and digitizing more operations, at a cost of $45,000.
The garbage collection rate for East Hawkesbury residents will be $170.73 per unit – an increase of 3.9 per cent from 2021. The recycling rate will remain unchanged at $58.03 per unit.
