CORNWALL, Ontario – The County plans to spend over $15.3 million this year on the maintenance and enhancement of its road and bridge infrastructure, leading to an approximate increase of 1.8% on the average residential property in SDG.
Overall, the 2017 budget is expected to generate about $44M tax dollars. The budget also outlines the estimated cost of services the County shares with the City of Cornwall along with rough calculations for services provided by external agencies, including policing (OPP) and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit.
Transportation, policing, and health and social services represent 84% of all County expenditures. These capital expenses support the infrastructure that County residents rely on every day.
$3.2 million of the budget will be allocated to SDG’s roads improvement strategy, which encompasses necessary work on the municipal sector of County Road 22, along with county roads 4, 17, 14, 17 west, as well as county road 18. While these projects have been prioritized, additional budget may be used to complete work on the Long Sault roundabout and County Road 23.
“County Council worked hard to develop a budget that balances increasing service needs and affordability,” said Warden Jim Bancroft. “The County continues to place a very strong emphasis on the maintenance and rehabilitation of its critical infrastructure, by making strategic investments in roads and bridges.”
Due to the continued positive effects of implementing a new OPP billing model in 2014, the counties were able to allocate more funds to public infrastructure in this year’s budget.
“Because of that, we’re crossing off projects we’ve been discussing for years,” said North Dundas mayor, Eric Duncan. “At the end of the day, there’s good value for money there. What’s expensed is being spent wisely.”
“The level of cooperation and coordination between the County and its local municipalities continues to grow, as evidenced by the approval of several key initiatives in the areas of GIS and waste management,” said Bancroft. “These investments will pay dividends for our taxpayers in the coming years.”
