After five hours of discussion during two days, Hawkesbury town council agreed that a 4.9 per cent taxy levy increase is likely in the 2026 municipal budget.
When budget discussions began on Monday, January 26, the levy increase in the draft budget was 5.7 per cent. However, by the end of discussions on Wednesday, January 28, modifications by staff which were agreed upon by council brought the projected levy increase to 4.9 per cent. In 2025, the town collected $13,398,558 in property taxes. With a 4.9 per cent increase, it will collect an additional $656,529 totaling $14,055,087.
When discussing the initial projected levy increase, Councillor Yves Paquette said it would be a challenge for residents already experiencing financial challenges, and that it could affect their lifestyles.
“This isn’t going to be fun for people on a fixed income,” he said.
Councillor Tony Tsourounakis said the best way of increasing tax revenue is through development. Councillor Julie Séguin agreed.
Mayor Robert Lefebvre and Tsourounakis expressed optimism about the recently reached memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Champlain Township which will lead to an agreement to set terms for Hawkesbury to acquire more development land from Champlain and for Hawkesbury to provide sewer and water services to land in Champlain.
“This is going to be the economic hub for the Town of Hawkesbury for years to come,” Lefebvre said.
Timbers said he was hoping to present council with a draft budget containing a 5.1 per cent levy increase. He emphasized that department heads did not have extravagant demands and noted 1.5 per cent of the increase is for OPP services.
Lefebvre read from the municipal Asset Management Plan adopted in 2025 which identifies that the Town of Hawkesbury as average capital spending requirements of $9 million per year, but an average of only $3.7 million per year is being allocated for capital projects. In December 2025, council decided to add a two per cent increase to the capital budget each year to catch up with the required expenditures. Council and staff recently met with the provincial Minister of Infrastructure to explain the town’s capital needs.
Timbers said the town currently has financing, either with grants, reserves, or tax revenue for about half of the projects which should be undertaken during the next five years.
Fire department needs were a significant part of the budget discussions. A new roof will be installed on the fire station in 2026 at a cost of about $500,000 using funds which were already allocated in 2025. The department also plans to replace a 12-year-old vehicle used by the fire officer on duty to respond to calls. Seguin questioned if the $88,000 in the capital budget for the vehicle is necessary.
“We’re starting to run into some maintenance issues with it,” said Fire Chief Brian Wilson.
Wilson also mentioned that a new fire pumper truck is needed because a 1996 model the department currently owns is having issues. He is hoping to purchase, using existing reserve funds, a used pumper truck from Pearson International Airport in Toronto to use as a bridge measure so that the town does not have the financial burden of replacing both of its pumper trucks with new ones at the same time. The used truck will cost about $200,000 instead of about $800,000 for a completely new one.
The 2026 capital budget includes $6 million for the reconstruction of Main Street West. Out of that amount, $5 million is available through grant funding. Spence Avenue will also be resurfaced between Cameron Street and Tupper Street at a cost of $150,000 and $70,000 will be spent on design work for the reconstruction of Tessier Street between Spence Avenue and Cameron Street.
The January 26 session ended with council recommending staff to find further savings and bring the levy increase down further. On January 28, a series of changes were presented which reduced the potential levy increase to 4.44 per cent. However, some of those changes were not acceptable to council. Among them were eliminating weekend sidewalk clearing, not plowing streets until a minimum of 15 streets, snow has accumulated instead of the current minimum of 10 centimetres, and that instead of applying salt to secondary streets, they instead be plowed and applied with sand over the snowpack.
Another change is to close the indoor pool at the Robert Hartley Sports Complex from April to September while further necessary equipment upgrades are made at the facility.
The reductions in winter road and sidewalk maintenance were rejected. Council adopted reception of the changes, and final adoption of the budget is expected on February 9.
