Council Highlights February 16th, 2024

The Township of Huron-Kinloss Council meeting was held in Council Chambers at 21 Queen Street in Ripley at 9:00 a.m. Highlights from the meeting include:

Ripley Medical Centre and Family Y Update

The Director of Community Services and the Manager of Strategic Initiatives presented a report to Council recommending Domm Construction to complete the renovation of the Ripley Medical Centre and Family Y Childcare Centre. The project aims to increase licensed childcare spaces in the childcare centre and to re-open the medical centre for use by Dr. Murray and the Kincardine Family Health Team Care Providers.

Construction for the project is scheduled to start in April 2024 and be completed by July 2024. To accommodate the renovation, the Ripley Family Y will be moving their childcare programs to the Ripley-Huron Community Centre Social Room for the duration of the project. They are currently applying for a temporary license to the Ministry of Education to support the change in locations.

Budget Engagement Results

The Treasurer presented results of the 2024 budget engagement survey, aimed to help guide the development of the annual budget and ensure our programs and services continue to meet the needs of the community. Some highlights include:

• The responses continue to represent an even split between those who agree versus those who disagree that the services received for their tax dollars represent good value.
• The majority of respondents have a good understanding of what their taxes pay for and use the municipal website as a main source of information.
• The majority of respondents want to see service levels maintained across all categories. The highest support for increasing service levels was in transportation and the highest support for decreasing levels of service was in the category of economic development and tourism.
• The majority of respondents believe in the importance of saving for future infrastructure needs and own a primary residence in Huron-Kinloss.
• The highest level of participation was from Lakeshore residents, age 60 and older.

Budget Meeting

The Township has developed a digital budget booklet for the 2024 budget. The full digital Huron-Kinloss Budget Book 2024 can be accessed by using this link: Questica OpenBook

Council reviewed the draft 2024 budget and business plans and direction was provided to Staff to bring the budget forward with a 4.6% municipal tax rate increase.

The Final Budget will be considered by Council upon completion of the required notice period. 

Upcoming Meetings

The next Township of Huron-Kinloss Committee of the Whole meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on March 4^th, 2024. This meeting will be held in Council Chambers at the Municipal Office, 21 Queen Street in Ripley.

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