Simcoe County’s budget is increasing by 25 per cent in 2025.
On Monday, county councillors voted in favour of a $962 million operating and capital budget for 2025, up from $774 million in 2024. This includes $694 million in operating expenses and $268 million in other capital expenditures.
“County council and staff worked hard to limit the impact of this budget on our residents while ensuring we maintain the ability to meet service demands and infrastructure needs as our communities continue to grow,” said Warden Basil Clarke in a press release. “When times are challenging, the demand for county services is greater than ever.”
The budget proposal provides for major increases to the county’s spending across several areas. While it earmarked $111.8 million to long-term care homes in 2024, it plans to spend $188 million on them next year. Much of this increase will be used to fund the redevelopment of the Simcoe Village Campus, the oldest of the long-term care facilities owned and operated by the county.
The budget proposal also calls for spending on children’s services to rise from $109.1 million to $150.8 million. A portion of this increase will fund the implementation of 698 new licensed child care spaces within the county.
The budget proposal also includes additional funding for transportation and engineering projects, which are set to rise from $80.1 million to $89.2 million. Of this, about $64 million is expected to be spent on road and bridge improvement projects.
Paramedic service costs will also rise from $72.3 million to $82.7 million. The additional funds will be reserved for hiring staff, upgrading and replacing equipment.
Allocations to other departments remained relatively stable and, in one case, decreased slightly. Spending on senior services is set to decrease from $12 million to $11.4 million.
To pay for the spending increases, the county is increasing its property taxes by about 3.625 per cent, or $108.60 per million dollars of assessed property value. During the council meeting, Tim Fryer, deputy mayor of Collingwood, described the increase as a “compromise.”
“Two per cent is for capital and asset management. Would I have liked to see [the remaining portion be] 1.5 per cent? That’s what I was supporting. But, at the end of the day, we reached a compromise. I don’t think it will be too detrimental and I think this is a solid budget, given the times that we’re in.”
“As we head into 2025, we look forward to opening more affordable housing units, creating new spaces for those living unhoused, making driving easier and safer across our road network, supporting the environment through waste management and sustainability programs, creating more transit connections, supporting more seniors in need of care and services and creating more jobs as we build up Simcoe County,” Clarke said.
While the county may be preparing to loosen its belt next year, the chief executive of its largest city has very different plans. While the full details of Barrie’s 2025 budget proposal are not yet clear, mayor Alex Nuttall announced plans for the city’s operational budget grow from $325 million in 2024 to $343 million in 2025. The city’s services budget would remain flat while it would spend an additional two per cent on capital rehabilitation projects. Councillors will vote on it on December 11.
