Whereas other North Simcoe councils may host contention within their annual budget discussions, members of Tay Township council and staff shared moments of smiles and humour even while discussing heated issues.
A final 2025 budget was approved by the township on Wednesday for a municipal residential tax rate increase of 4%, which included a 4.1% increase for the municipality and a 3.5% increase related to policing costs.
The result was a 3.39% overall blended tax rate increase for the residential property tax class. As the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assessed the median single family detached home in Tay at $220,000 in 2025, the estimated increase in property taxes for that dwelling would result in $64.44 for municipal purposes, with $55.50 to be used for the township and $8.95 toward policing costs.
“We were able to exceed our goal that we set for staff. We’re coming in at a blended increase of 3.4%,” Mayor Ted Walker told MidlandToday following the meeting. “We were quite happy with that because we were concerned with a number of pressures out there that it might be higher than that.”
“We’ve got a pretty healthy reserve system,” said Walker. “One of our reserves is for a tax impact reserve that we can draw on if necessary. So if we get a sudden splurge of something unexpected, then we’ve got a little bit of leeway to provide some of that funding through the reserves.” One hurdle the township faced, along with other provincial municipalities, was an increase to OPP billing costs by nearly 21%.
Discussed were the fates of funding from Tay, as the Economic Development Corporation of North Simcoe was denied funding with several on council looking at the “value per dollar” as Coun. Gerard LaChapelle put it.
Sylvia Bumstead noted that the North Simcoe Community Futures Development Corporation organization performed a similar EDCNS role, including setting up loans.
As council watched how the EDCNS discussion played out, a similar template of ‘value per dollar’ was applied to the Severn Sound Environmental Association, and funding was approved for the upcoming year with a keen council eye on upcoming decisions toward changes for the funding formula as well as the memorandum of understanding.
LaChapelle and Deputy Mayor Barry Norris exchanged words over SSEA funding reasons at one point. While LaChapelle wondered why municipalities should fund protection of federally-regulated waters, Norris aligned and explained that it was a larger-tier issue also needing to be addressed.
On the topic of potential revenue sources, Coun. Paul Raymond requested an exploration of selling dog tags in the municipality, with several on council half-joking that they had seen an excessive number of unlicensed dogs on their neighbourhood streets.
Walker commended the treasury department and treasurer Emmie Carlson, as well as senior leadership of all departments, and even other levels of staff who could contribute suggestions throughout the year for efficiency and savings.
“It’s really a joint staff effort that was able to get us where we are today; so much appreciated,” said Walker.
The 2025 budget document can be found in the agenda page on the Tay Township website.
Tay council meets for committee of the whole meetings every second Wednesday of the month, and regular council meetings every fourth Wednesday of the month. Archives and livestreams of council meetings are available through the Tay Township YouTube channel.