Quinte West has finalized their 2026 budget, with a second day of talks starting this morning.
The draft budget was approved with a 4.9% increase to municipal taxes. For the average homeowner in Quinte West, with a property value of $250,000, that would result in a yearly increase of $199.
The day began with an opportunity for public comment, where one commenter expressed great frustration with the budget process so far.
Gus Macia, a retired member of the Canadian armed forces who lives in Quinte West, spoke during public input to request the council reduce the projected tax increase. He said that himself and other residents couldn’t afford the increase, as their budget continues to get tighter after years of tax increases. During his comment he was interrupted twice by Mayor Jim Harrisson who vocally disagreed with him.
The mayor made an apology for interrupting later in the meeting.
After that, presentations from organizations funded by the municipality began. First was the South East Health Unit, which included a presentation on their current budget and plans. Currently, the health unit’s 2026 budget requires a payment from Quinte West of $1,154,000, which represents a 5% increase over the 2025 payment to the previous health unit.
While costs have gone up, there’s fears that the community could get less for it’s money. It was recently announced that the South East Health Unit was closing down several locations, including one in Quinte West, which sparked concerns among the council that the health unit won’t be able to effectively deliver healthcare programs the municipality is paying for.
After the presentation several council members took turns to express their displeasure with the health unit’s plans. Councillor Zach Card was frustrated that the health unit would not release certain details of their plans due to confidentiality concerns.
“So I have to say, I’m really disappointed just first off with the budget and some of the local media announcements with the location closings.” said Councillor Card. “It sounds irresponsible to me, to announce the shuttering of the locations before all of these plans can be presented to these councils, to these communities. I consider that irresponsible, frankly, to not come here with all of these answers, but have an announcement that these locations are going to close.
Councillor David O’Neil was also displeased with the health unit’s handling of their budget.
“I thought the whole purpose of a merger was to reduce costs. Right now it looks like our costs are going to be increased,” said Councillor O’Neil. “And to say the closing of the Quinte West location will result in increased services, I find that very hard to believe.”
Councillor Card first proposed a motion to reject funding for the health unit as presented outright, however council was informed that they are legally required to provide the funding and cannot withhold it. A second motion was proposed where the council would requests that the southeast public health 2026 budget and five year plan be referred back to the board to provide a revised submission that justifies the levy increase. That motion passed unanimously and without debate.
The mayor is expected to present the final budget in the new year.
