The Municipality of Brockton's budget for 2026 was deemed adopted on Thursday.
The budget includes a total tax rate increase of 2.64 per cent, representing an $89.27 yearly increase on the average household assessment.
This was the Municipality's first budget under the province's expanded Strong Mayor Powers. The budget was subject to council amendments, which were considered and passed at a January 12 meeting. The Mayor can then veto those amendments, but Mayor Chris Peabody opted not to.
"I did make a statement about the Strong Mayor Powers that I would not be vetoing council decisions," he said. "Certainly, I did affirm my desire to, in the spirit of the legislation, to use those powers to override planning decisions to help with creation of housing... but I'm still waiting for an opportunity."
In a release, the Municipality said the budget prioritizes the renewal of infrastructure to meet the needs of the growing community. Notable projects include: significant capital projects like the installation of a fire decontamination washer and the Ridout Street Culvert; purchasing new ball diamond lighting, a portable pitching mound, and the replacement of the ice resurfacer; and long-term investment in affordable housing.
The Municipality said it achieved a balanced budget aligned with Brockton's long-term needs despite several pressures.
Along with rising costs for materials, services and labour, Brockton council said they continue to face unfair billing for the Walkerton court.
This year's budget includes an 11 per cent increase for the OPP contract, with a portion of that increase related to prisoner transportation.
Councillor Tim Elphick said despite convincing the county to split court costs, they need to do more on that issue.
"I do know we receive a grant that is here to help us deal with some of that as a result of the Walkerton jail closure," he said. "But in the meantime, we do still have a number of municipalities that are benfiting directly from the Brockton ratepayers by having their prisoner transportation costs covered by Brockton. I think moving into 2026, we need to have a very strong understanding of how the OPP are billing us for those services."
Elphick suggested withholding that portion from the annual OPP billing statement until evidence is provided that those prisoner transportation costs are directly apportioned to the Municipality.
He also suggested there was potentially help coming as Solicitor General, Minister Michael S. Kerzner, had suggested reopening the Walkerton jail.
Brockton will have a delegation with Kerzner at the upcoming ROMA conference next week (January 18-20).
The final 2026 Budget will be posted to the municipal website shortly.
