The Township of North Glengarry is set to collect 5.46 per cent more in property taxes in 2026 than in 2025.
Township Council adopted the 2026 municipal budget on Monday, January 12.
An estimated $7,536,593 in property taxes is to be collected by the township this year. Initially, the levy increase was supposed to be 5.91 per cent, but at a special meeting of council held on Thursday, January 8, amendments were made to use $130,000 of reserve funds for a project, instead of using tax revenue, and to maintain the waste collection fee at $180 instead of increasing it to $200.
Water and sewer rates are to increase by two per cent. An additional $23,944 in additional tax revenue is anticipated in 2026 due to growth from development.
On January 8, Treasurer Zoe Bougie said regular yearly provincial government grant funding from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) has been confirmed at $2,648,300 for 2026, which is an increase of $217,200 from 2025. Funding from the province’s Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) for 2026 is $669,329, which is a decrease of $74,000 from 2025. For 2026, funding from the federal Canada Community Building Fund is $331,399.
The 2026 capital budget for North Glengarry is $19,924,156, which is a significant increase from $5,554,725 in 2025. The significant increase in capital spending is due to the $15,850,725 project for the expansion of the Alexandria sewage lagoon. The township has already received confirmation of provincial grant funding for the lagoon project.
On January 8, Mayor Jamie MacDonald said staff went to a lot of effort to arrive at the council had previously instructed them to reach, and the initial meeting went well because of the quality of the budget presented.
Councillor Michael Madden said the budget largely focused on maintaining the services and infrastructure the township provides.
“This is the cost of maintaining services that we have,” he said.
“It’s crazy that five per cent doesn’t get us anything extra,” Madden added.
On January 12, Deputy Mayor Carma Williams said it was a tight budget in a difficult year and expressed appreciation to efforts made by administrative staff.
