Gananoque budget passes after amendment period expires

The Town of Gananoque’s 2026 municipal budget was not formally voted on by council but rather “deemed passed” under Ontario’s Strong Mayor legislation after the 30-day amendment period expired without a formal council motion to adopt or amend the plan. 

Mayor John Beddows said he had intended to veto the budget after council’s final draft underfunded capital reserves by roughly $450,000, which he argued would jeopardize the town’s asset management plan and long-term infrastructure funding strategy. 

A subsequent legal opinion led Beddows to allow the budget to move forward without a veto. Under the province’s Strong Mayor framework, the mayor proposes a draft budget and council has 30 calendar days to amend it. If no amendment is formally passed within that window, the mayor’s budget is considered adopted. 

The approved budget carries a property tax increase of 8.94 per cent, slightly lower than the original draft’s 9.6 per cent. For the average residential homeowner, the levy increase equates to 8.68 per cent, or roughly $12 per month for every $100,000 of assessed property value. The median assessed home value in Gananoque is $197,000, meaning the typical homeowner will see a $23 per month increase, or $276 per year. 

Beddows said the increase is needed to address long-term infrastructure pressures. Town estimates show Gananoque faces roughly $97 million in infrastructure needs over the next decade, while only about $70 million in funding has been identified. 

He framed the tax hike as a fiscally conservative measure, intended to ensure the town raises sufficient revenue to maintain services and fund obligations, noting that relying heavily on one-time revenue sources such as casino proceeds would be unpredictable. 

The budget also includes a 1 per cent increase in water and wastewater rates, attributed in part to a recently announced provincial grant. 

Beddows is emphasizing a focus on reducing future tax pressures by leveraging tools such as asset sales, service level changes, and strategic budgeting, while avoiding repeating past underfunding. 

Keith Dempsey is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Brockville Recorder and Times. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.