North Grenville has given the green light to its 2021 Capital and Operating Budget.
The Operational Budget was approved back on February 2nd, while the Capital Budget got council approval on Tuesday.
According to Mayor Nancy Peckford, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the local economy.
“Our staff have been well prepared and I think correctly anticipated North Grenville’s appetite for a zero percent tax rate increase,” Peckford said. “That of course is in recognition of the extremely challenging year it’s been on members of the community and on our business leaders.”
The budget includes significant investments supporting smart and sustainable growth, road safety, improved sidewalks and trail connectivity, as well as additional recreational amenities.
Peckford says a significant portion of the proposed roads expenditure will oversee the rehabilitation of Wellington Road, which will cover underground water and sewer and road realignment.
“There’s an urgent need for paving, there’s some long-standing and historic underground water and sewer work that needs to be done,” Peckford said. “Not just for the residents of that road but this work will create connectivity and better flows for many residents and businesses in that area.”
The budget will also include Municipality’s $2 million cost-share of the CR43 expansion project which has a total value of approximately $37.5 Million.
North Grenville also saw significant changes with a renewed senior administrative team at the municipality.
With this new leadership, the municipality was successful in acquiring almost $1 Million in provincial funding to help offset lost revenue as a result of COVID-19.
The grant will go a long way in allowing the Municipality to begin executing some of the larger capital projects for 2021.
Peckford says it’s imperative that during a year like this, the town does all it can to improve our long term outlook.
“Whether it’s parks and recreation, a high-functioning department of finance, roads, sidewalks, and multi-use pathways – that we’re doing everything we can to provide a high quality of life for businesses and residents,” Peckford said.
The 2021 Budget can be found on the North Grenville webpage.
Here are several other highlights of the budget:
- Expansion of the water and wastewater treatment plant that will be financed exclusively from development charges and user fees from residents and businesses on town services (shovels expected to be in the ground sometime in 2021.)
- $2.4 million to the North Grenville Police Services, $478,000 to the North Grenville Public Library, and $26,800 to the Downtown Kemptville BIA.
- Approximately $3 million for the rehabilitation of several rural and urban roads, including Wellington Road, Bolton Road, Crozier Road, Tompkins Road, Sanderson Road, Pelton Road, Scotch Line Road West, Latourell Road, Van Buren Street – from County Road 43 to French Settlement, Irishtown, Stone Road, and Townline Road.
- Accelerated sidewalk rehabilitation, new crosswalk, and improvements to the Rail Trail.
- Bridge construction, including sidewalks on both sides, as part of the preliminary work to support the first phase of the County Road 43 expansion project.
- A one-time investment over 2 years in Riverside Park, to establish a dual-purpose outdoor ice pad/splash pad, as well as a fully rebuilt year-round access change rooms and washrooms that meet accessibility standards.
- Continued service improvement and customer service standards – which includes permanently relocating the customer service desk to the main floor of the Municipal Centre.
- $125,000 to fulfill several Community-based grant requests.
- Investments in Maplewood Hall and Bishops’ Mills Community Hall.
- Preliminary investment in implementing North Grenville’s newly established Tourism Strategy.
