Budget and Finances

Council approves the Municipality of Central Elgin's budget on an annual basis. The annual budgets for the Municipality set out the projected revenue and expenditures for tax and user fee supported services including police, fire, water, wastewater, roads, parks, recreation, waste management, street lighting, and land use planning. Budgets are approved annually by Council.

Members of the public are encouraged to get involved in the budget process by:

Sharing your input below using the Let's Talk Central Elgin platform when budget discussions are happening
Reviewing the 2022 budget
Watching livestreamed meetings on Central Elgin's Youtube page

What is a Capital Budget and Forecast?

The Capital Budget allows us to plan for upcoming years. The Capital Budget consists of larger investments that help us prepare for our community's future growth.

Examples of capital expenses may include:

Infrastructure development, building and construction projects (i.e. building new roads, sidewalks multi-use paths, bike lanes and bridges)
Park and greenspace improvements
Fleet expansion and maintenance (i.e. purchasing new fire trucks and snow plows)

We use a number of funding sources to carry out capital projects, although property tax funding is the most common. Existing infrastructure like roads, bridges, sidewalks, storm sewers, water mains, and recreational facilities continue to age and require capital spending for renewal and replacement.

What is an Operating Budget?

The operating budget provides funds for the day to day operations of the municipality including:

Fire and Emergency Services
Municipal Facilities
Recreation Programs
Road Maintenance
Waste Collection
Debt payments and transfers to reserves

2022 Budget

The Municipality budget totals $31.4 million:

$25 million in operating expenses
$6.4 million in capital expenditures

Reports

Budget Deliberations

Date	Phase	Reference
November 6, 2021	2022 Budget Discussions Begin
December 6, 2021	Budget Consolidation	Agenda & Video
January 10, 2022	Budget Adopted	Agenda & Video
January 10, 2022	Budget Concluded

Past Year Budgets

Financial Statements

The consolidated financial statements reflect the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the Municipality of Central Elgin.

The Municipal Act, 2001 requires that every municipality in Ontario prepare annual audited financial statements. For more details about requirements and understanding financial statements, please visit the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

2020 Financial Statement

View the 2020 Financial Statement. The report includes the following sections:

Introduction

Management's Responsibility for Financial Reporting
Independent Auditors' Report
Financial Position Statement

Financial Reports

Operations and Accumulated Surplus
Change in Net Financial Debt
Statement of Cash Flows
Note to Financial Statements
Schedule of Segment Disclosure

Past Reports

Review the past financial reports for the Municipality of Central Elgin:

2020 Financial Report

2019 Financial Report

2018 Financial Report

2017 Financial Report

2016 Financial Report

User Fees

User fees help the Municipality keep the cost of property taxes down by making sure that services which only a few people choose to use are not paid for by everyone. Please visit the User Fee page for more detailed information on the present and past year fees.

Asset Management

Central Elgin's Asset Management Plan outlines the Municipality's asset management practices, state of the infrastructure, levels of service, and life cycle and funding plans.