Taxpayers got their first glimpse of Highlands East’s draft budget Feb. 17 – so far looking at a 5.96 per cent municipal tax rate increase.
CAO and treasurer, Brittany McCaw, said it represented an overall increase from the 2025 budget of $477,666.
For homeowners, it means about a $34.95 increase per $100,000 of assessment, and does not include County of Haliburton and school board taxes.
A one per cent tax rate increase in the municipality is equivalent to just under $80,000.
This week’s meeting followed a Jan. 29 special gathering of council, in which the fate of a new municipal office building, and the extent of work on Lewis Road were hot topics.
McCaw, and senior staff, provided department overviews and capital forecasting at the meeting. McCaw told councillors the information was a road map for some of the big projects the municipality has coming up this year.
“It’s an important opportunity for us to be able to take a step back; we look wholistically at the needs of Highlands East and then we’re able to chart a clear and responsible path forward for infrastructure, as well as our long-term investments.”
McCaw added the blueprint recognized the reality of aging infrastructure and the municipality’s commitment “to ensuring Highlands East remains sustainable, and welcoming for residents and businesses, and visitors alike.”
She noted the projects have been developed in consideration of their strategic and asset management plans, roads needs study, bridge inspections, fire master plan, and municipal trails strategy,
“We all know times are tough for many households. Municipalities are also not immune to those financial pressures. With this in mind, staff have been working diligently to stretch the dollars we have as far as possible and today our focus isn’t wants, but rather needs and investments.”
She outlined two capital forecasts based on how extensive work on Lewis Road would be.
Public works manager Perry Kelly said if council went all out, they could do a Lewis Road reconstruction and surface treatment for $650,000. However, they could opt to start the project this year, but not do the full rehabilitation.
Coun. Angela Lewis felt the second option – brushing, ditching, culvert replacement, and putting calcium down – would control the dust, perhaps the number one complaint she is hearing. She said additional money for the project’s future could go into reserves.
Coun. Cec Ryall liked the idea. He suggested they could put $50,000 into reserves for future needs on the road.
McCaw broke down the numbers for council. She said doing the full road would mean an increase of $773,059, or 29 per cent, over last year’s capital forecast for all departments. A scaled back project would result in a $198,059, or nine per cent increase in capital projects and investments. Adding $50,000 to reserves would make it an 11 per cent jump.
Municipal office
McCaw’s administration forecast includes $50,000 from reserves for a new municipal office design, engineering and survey costs.
She said staff have heard council’s concerns about the cost of a new build, initially estimated at $2-4 million, then growing to $6-8 million. She said they were looking at things such as reducing the size of the building to bring costs down.
Ryall said he believes they need a new municipal office, but for him to approve it, he requires the spend capped and information on how they are going to pay for it.
“If we have to spend one-quarter-of-amillion on development to find out it’s going to cost us $6 million, I’m not going down that road.” Lewis agreed the end result cannot be an ask for $9 million, for example.
McCaw said they need design schematics to be able to tender the project to get those costs. Further, without them, she said they cannot go after other sources of funding, such as government grants. She noted they had been putting money into a reserve for years for the project.
Coun. Cam McKenzie raised the prospect of amalgamation in Haliburton County, and whether it was the right time to build.
