Balanced budget without property tax increase
The District of Carleton North unveiled its 2026 budget at its Dec. 9, 2025, council meeting. Mayor Andrew Harvey acknowledged that the budget was a challenge this year due to rising costs and the provincial freeze on property assessments.
“Policing costs went up two per cent, and our garbage collection went up four per cent,” said Mayor Harvey. “The property assessment freeze represented about $700,000 that we would normally get and didn’t, so we had to make that up in different ways.”
Mayor Harvey said that, despite the challenges and rising costs, they were able to balance their budget without making any major cuts to services or raising property tax rates.
“We didn’t have to cut back,” said Harvey. “We’ve been going through an efficiency program and were able to budget and save money in smaller areas, and we were able to reduce the budget to the reality of the new numbers.”
The 2026 budget is set at $10,565,402, and Harvey said that saving a few thousand here and there through better efficiency “really adds up.”
Harvey said that increases in government funding programs also helped balance their budget for the upcoming year. The District of Carleton North received $341,000 from the Capital Renewal program, and its Community Equalization Program payment increased by $90,000, as well.
“We really appreciate the government having the equalization payments,” said Harvey. “That has definitely helped.”
Finally, Harvey noted that the District of Carleton North saw residential and commercial growth of approximately two per cent in 2025. “New growth is still allowed to be assessed, which represented almost $190,000 in property tax revenue,” said Harvey.
Harvey expressed gratitude that the District was able to avoid raising taxes this year and credited the staff for their hard work in developing a solid budget under such challenging circumstances.
