Council Approves 2025 Budget to Continue Moving Wasaga Beach Forward

Council Approves 2025 Budget to Continue Moving Wasaga Beach Forward

Town staff have now delivered on more than 90 per cent of the priorities and action items Council identified at the beginning of 2023

"Wasaga Beach has worked very hard to approve a budget that will ensure we can continue to deliver the quality municipal services that our residents deserve and have come to expect. At the same time, Council understands the impact that inflation and the high cost of living is having on our full-time residents. We struggle with these same pressures as a municipality,” said Mayor Brian Smith.  "That's why we continue to be laser-focused on providing value for money, identifying clear priorities and working quickly to move our community forward."

 

"As a result, over the past 12 months Council has helped secure $57 million in provincial funding for our Town’s first high school; lobbied for and received over $1 million from the province to offset rising OPP costs; completed an inventory of surplus Town-owned land that will be listed for sale, which could contribute over $15 million to help pay for municipal infrastructure, programs and services; and made significant progress towards redeveloping our main commercial area at the beachfront, including awarding an RFP to Stonebridge Building Group and signing a letter of intent with the award-winning Sunray Group of Hotels."

 

“Town staff have now delivered on more than 90 per cent of the priorities and action items Council identified at the beginning of 2023," added Mayor Smith. "I am absolutely confident that we have the team, budget, priorities, and partnerships in place, to continue succeeding in 2025.”

Wasaga Beach – The Town of Wasaga Beach is moving forward into 2025 with a tax increase of 3.96%, more than $1 million in financial support from the province to offset rising OPP costs, and the good news that in 2024, staff have successfully delivered or made significant progress on more than 90 per cent of this term of Council’s priorities.

Highlights of the Town and Council’s actions in 2024 include:

• Building the partnerships that helped secure $57 million in provincial funding for the Town’s first high school.
• Advocating for a second high school as the #2 capital priority for the Simcoe County District School Board
• Lobbying for and receiving over $1 million from the province to offset rising OPP costs.
• Introducing new measures aimed at improving public engagement, transparency and accountability in municipal government. This includes regularly occurring Town Hall meetings, an improved public engagement portal, new "Town pages" in the town's only print community newspaper, and “CAO Office Hours” where any resident can drop-in to ask questions and chat about Town projects with CAO Andrew McNeill.
• Delivering the town’s first winter music festival, which featured Burton Cummings and Blue Rodeo. Over 6000 people attended the Breaking the Ice festival and almost half visited from outside Wasaga Beach.
• Working to complete a new Official Plan (OP), including a first-ever West Wasaga Secondary Plan. The town’s existing OP is over twenty years old.
• Nearly completing long-overdue River Road West improvements and construction 
• Installing new bus shelters throughout town
• Building more new parks than ever before, and improving existing ones
• Completing an inventory of Town-owned surplus land, which once sold, could contribute over $15 million to help pay for municipal infrastructure, programs and services.
• Making significant progress towards redeveloping the Town's beachfront commercial area, including awarding an RFP to Stonebridge Building Group and signing a letter of intent with the award-winning Sunray Group of Hotels.
• Launching a customer service review, to identify efficiencies and improve customer service across all Town departments and facilities in 2025.

This builds on the following actions that were completed in 2023:

• Re-opening Beach Drive
• Re-opening the town’s medical centre and after-hours clinic
• Welcoming the grand opening of Gateway Casino  
• Launching successful beachfront activations including a new food truck area
• Delivering a record-breaking Memories of Summer festival, with over 12,000 visitors/residents in attendance
• Delivering beachfront redevelopment workshops and public engagement sessions
• Completing and opening the new Wasaga Stars Arena and Wasaga Beach Public Library, a project that started during the 2014-2018 term of Council
• Securing partnerships and engaging in provincial advocacy to establish a new community hub
• Building new sidewalks
• Improving Town wayfinding signage
• Creating a Holiday Market
• Creating an Affordable Housing Task Force
• Launching business round tables to engage local businesses
• Completing a review of Town surplus lands and exploring higher and better uses of these lands
• Conducting an organizational review and taking steps to build a more strategic and effective organization
• Introducing progressive human resources policies and programs to attract and retain top talent

Quick facts

• Council’s 2023-2026 priorities were adopted by Council in early 2023. These priorities are supported by 84 actions to build a resilient, more inclusive and complete community.
• To support a safe and rewarding work environment and advance its bold mission to become one of Canada’s Great Places to Work, in 2023 the Town of Wasaga Beach implemented a work-your-way flexible workplace policy, and introduced an innovative new whistleblower program – two firsts, in the history of the municipality.

Additional resources

The full proceedings of today’s Council meeting can be viewed on the Town’s website: wasagabeach.com/meetings.

About Wasaga Beach

The Town of Wasaga Beach aims to be a place where people come to create memories that will last a lifetime. Budget 2025 supports this vision and Council’s priorities: to ensure that the Town is well-run, and to create opportunities to diversify the economy, create jobs and build a complete community.  This includes ensuring the highest level of transparency and accountability for the taxpayers of Wasaga Beach, striving for excellence in customer service and creating a corporate culture that will attract and retain top talent. It’s part of the Town’s plan to become a leader in sustainability, creativity, innovation and fun – a place with thriving businesses; safe, inclusive and complete neighbourhoods where we celebrate our rich history, diversity of cultures and natural beauty including the Nottawasaga River, Georgian Bay and the longest freshwater beach in the world.

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