County councillors will try to further whittle down a projected $11.1-million increase in its 2025 budget.
Two days have been set aside for budget deliberations starting Wednesday.
The proposed 2025 budget calls for $143-million in spending, up 8.4 per cent, from its 2024 spending plan.
A report to councillors breaks down the increase. It said $4-million is for contractual salary and benefit increases, which the county must pay. Another $1.5-million would be to expand roads, while $1-million is earmarked for road repairs. Social housing is looking for another $1.7-million, less than a million for increases in social services costs, and $680,000 in new hospital reserves for the new acute care hospital.
The rest of the increase, more than $2.2-million, is for inflationary pressures.
Councillors face a list of pressures during this round of deliberations, including inflation, but also expenses related to EMS off-load delays at hospitals, EMS call volumes, provincially-mandated service requirements at Sun Parlour Home, an increase in the social service caseload, municipal insurance, and other miscellaneous expenses.
As it stands, the increase would add another $34.45, or 6.36 per cent, to the average property tax bill.
Work on the county budget began last May, and the report calls the 2025 spending plan a "minimal budget with minimal room for significant service enhancements."
A preview of the budget earlier this month called for an increase of $17.3-million or an additional 11.16 per cent on the average tax bill.