Pelham Town Council approves 2025 Capital and Operating Budgets

December 5, 2024

Pelham, ON – Council for the Town of Pelham has approved the 2025 Capital and Operating Budgets at their December 4, 2024, meeting of Council. The budget process begins each year in the late spring and is finalized with the annual approval.

The final tax levy increase for 2025 is 4.84% after a 2.09% assessment growth. For the average residential property with an assessed value of $377,000, this would be an increase of approximately $111 per year. The draft 2025 Operating Budget had been previously presented to the Committee of the Whole (COW) on November 27, 2024.

“The Town’s strategic plan has a priority area for improved financial health, which includes financial reserves, levels of debt and impact to property taxes. The 2025 budget continues to balance the needs of the community while working to ensure rates can be managed by the taxpayers,” said Town of Pelham Director of Corporate Services and Treasurer Teresa Quinlin-Murphy.

The municipal budget outlines the priorities of the Town of Pelham, determines the level of service provided to Pelham residents and guides decisions on spending for services and infrastructure. Each year, with input from Pelham residents and businesses, Town staff provide a preliminary budget. Then the Mayor and Council make decisions about Pelham services, programs and infrastructure and approve the final budget.

The Capital Budget invests in long-term assets for the community and includes items such as new infrastructure and maintaining roads, buildings and machinery. The Operating Budget covers the day-to-day expenses needed to deliver many programs and services provided by the municipality.

The draft 2025 Water and Wastewater budgets will be presented on February 5 and will return to Council for consideration of approval on February 19, 2025.

Property owners will receive the 2025 tax bill in the spring, which includes supporting material to show the breakdown of how tax dollars are spent within Pelham.

Taxes are calculated based on the assessed value of each property, provided by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and multiplying the assessed value of the property by the total tax rate for the class of property.