Quinte West council has begun their 2026 budget deliberations.
During the first of a pair of special council meetings on Wednesday morning, council received several presentations from municipal staff on the status of the planned budget.
The new proposed budget includes a municipal tax increase of 4.99%. For the average homeowner in Quinte West, with a property value of $250,000, that would result in a yearly increase of $199.
One point of contention among council was the funds being put towards doctor recruitment and healthcare. Several councilors raised concerns that while healthcare is a provincial responsibility, the municipality is paying more and more in measures to provide healthcare were provincial spending falls short. That spending includes on the physician recruitment program, and emergency room incentives.
Councillor Karen Sharpe said that she supported spending on physician recruitment, because the alternative was people not getting healthcare.
“It’s very unfortunate that this is municipal tax increase, 1% of it is being physician recruitment,” said Councillor Sharpe. “Happy to have our in house physician recruitment, retention, person but this is not where any municipality should be. But we are all here.”
Councillor Shelley Stedall proposed a motion to have the costs related to healthcare shown on residents’ tax bill, indicating where their money is going. That motion would pass with minimal debate.
Over the course of the day, council received a report from each department, explaining their budgetary needs and how they came to the levels of funding requested.
Budget talks will continue on Thursday, with presentations from several local organizations that receive funding from the municipality. The South East Public Health unit is one of the organizations that will be appearing.
