Owen Sound Releases 2025 Draft Operating Budget, Highlighting Commitment to City Services and Financial Sustainability

The City of Owen Sound has released its draft 2025 Operating budget for Council deliberation at Monday’s meeting.  The budget outlines the City’s commitment to balance the costs of providing important services while ensuring long-term fiscal responsibility.  The budget also continues to address and reduce the gap between Owen Sound’s property tax rate and the average residential tax rate in Grey County.  The 2025 draft budget proposes a property tax rate increase of 2.65% which works out to just less than $10 per month for the average home.

Regarding relative residential taxes in Grey County, Owen Sound has worked diligently to reduce the gap between its residential taxes and the Grey County average by 17% since 2020 while maintaining more services than its neighbours, such as Community Policing, Transit, and professional full-time Fire service.  The City's ability to continue closing the difference among the local average tax rate can be attributed to ongoing corporate-wide initiatives that focus on efficiencies, such as Service Review actions and implementing the ‘Lean’ program approach to the corporation.  Owen Sound’s leadership and hard-working staff are mindful of what expenses are required and challenge themselves every day to keep costs low.

This year’s budget process has involved a greater level of community engagement than in years past, including preliminary presentations at all City Committee meetings.  The following key dates outline the remaining part of the 2025 budget process:

• Monday, December 9, 2024: Draft Budget Review with Council
  
• Monday, January 27, 2025: Public Budget Meeting
  • A chance for Council and residents to ask questions following the draft budget from Dec. 9th
• Monday, February 10, 2025: Final Budget Review/Approval at Council Meeting

Visit the City of Owen Sound’s Council and Committee calendar to see meeting agendas when they’re available.  People interested in watching the budget meetings can do so live or on-demand through the calendar listings.  

To watch the full proposed 2025 budget presented to Council on Monday, December 9th, follow along through the City’s website at OwenSound.ca/Meetings.

For more information, please contact Kate Allan, Director of Corporate Services, at 519-376-4440 ext. 1238 or email kallan@owensound.ca

Quotes:

"City staff have worked diligently to prepare this year’s budget, striving to address the affordability challenges many in our community face while continuing to provide essential services and quality-of-life amenities that help citizens enjoy safe, healthy and thriving lives, now and in the future.”

-      Mayor Ian Boddy

Quick Facts:

• As presented, the City’s total draft 2025 Operating Budget is $48.5 million, with a tax levy of $36.3 million once different revenues are factored into the budget.
• The property tax increase of 2.65 per cent works out to less than $10 dollars a month for the average home.
• For every dollar in property taxes collected in Owen Sound, only 72 cents remain in the City while the remaining 28 cents is passed on to Grey County and the Province of Ontario.

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