Key investments include municipal infrastructure and responding to vulnerable and unhoused people

Oxford County Council approved the 2025 Business Plan and Budget this week, authorizing a total budget of $413.3 million, made up of a $288.1 million operating budget and $125.2 in capital projects. The 2025 Budget focuses on upholding health services (long-term care and paramedics), investing in roads and water and wastewater infrastructure, and carrying out special projects to meet the goals of the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.

The County share of municipal property taxes, collected from each of Oxford's eight area municipalities through a tax levy, is $89.8 million for 2025. This will result in a $80 increase for the year for the average residential taxpayer, an overall 6.6% increase to what residential property owners paid for County services last year.

The County’s $125.2 million capital plan for 2025 includes investment in water and wastewater infrastructure, roads and bridges, building upgrades for social housing and Woodingford Lodge, and other infrastructure projects.

Other investments in the 2025 Budget include:

• changes to curbside waste collection to meet upcoming provincial regulatory and policy changes;
• investment in capital reserves and asset management planning to maintain County infrastructure in the long term;
• ongoing support for emergency shelter services in Woodstock and Tillsonburg and the community’s Homelessness Response Strategy; and,
• continuing a $3.0 million annual contribution into affordable housing reserves, with 50 new affordable housing units expected to come online next year.

New projects and initiatives to be carried out by Oxford County next year include:

• work to support an Automated Speed Enforcement program;
• naturalization and source water protection work in the area of the Thornton Wellfield Water Treatment Facility in Sweaburg;
• new leadership development programs to support succession planning for staffing;
• work on an Indigenous consultation plan and an update to the provincially mandated Safe and Well Oxford plan; and,
• technology upgrades in the Council Chamber to improve sound and the quality of live and recorded council meetings. 

In the first year of the County’s new Grants Program, $31,500 will be awarded to Domestic Abuse Services Oxford (DASO), $50,000 to Oxford Connection, and $50,000 to the Oxford Small Business Center.

Oxford County’s budget also includes:

• a tax levy of $5.7 million for Oxford County Library, except for City of Woodstock, which maintains its own library;
• a grant levy of $123,430 to support court security and prisoner transportation for the Courthouse in Woodstock, except for City of Woodstock residents who already fund this service through City of Woodstock taxes;
• $4.6 million for Oxford County’s share of the Southwestern Public Health budget; and,
• $2.2 million for Oxford County’s share of its four conservation authority budgets (Long Point Region Conservation Authority, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, Grand River Conservation Authority, and Catfish Creek Conservation).

Pressures in the 2025 budget included increases to costs for long-term care; WSIB (Workplace Safety and Insurance Board) costs; and the cost of servicing, or bringing municipal services like water-wastewater and ambulance into new subdivisions or industrial areas as communities grow. Oxford County, like other Ontario municipalities, is also increasingly taking on costs associated with federally and provincially-funded programs and services, for instance in health and social services.

Oxford County-delivered programs and services include those that provide affordable housing, support for vulnerable and unhoused people, safe drinking water, traffic calming and road safety, paramedic services, long-term care at Woodingford Lodge, reliable municipal infrastructure, community planning and development, provincial offences administration, County library services, and more.

To download budget presentations or watch the special budget meeting recordings, visit www.oxfordcounty.ca/2025budget.

Comment

Warden Marcus Ryan, Oxford County

“County Council approved a budget and business plan last year that addressed head-on some of the significant pressures municipalities are facing, allowing us to move ahead with a more moderate budget increase this year. We hear the concerns of residents and will continue to ensure we’re able to deliver essential services effectively and efficiently. We will continue to advocate for provincial and federal funding that truly covers the cost of services Oxford now delivers, directly or indirectly, on their behalf.”

Quick facts

• The annual residential property tax bill issued by your city, town or township is made up of taxes for the services provided by Oxford County, your local municipality, and your local school board.
• Oxford County services that form the largest portion of County spending include water and wastewater (28%), roads (16%), child care and EarlyON (11%), and Woodingford Lodge (10%). Housing and paramedic services each make up 6% of the County’s total budget.
• Municipal property taxes fund just under a quarter of the Oxford County budget (23.2%). Other funding sources include provincial and federal funding (27.0%), reserves (20.3%), user fees and charges, including water and wastewater rates (21.1%), and other charges and debentures (8.4%). Municipal tax increases are offset by prior year’s growth in the County's municipal tax base driven by population growth.

Background

• The Draft 2025 Business Plan and Budget Plan was presented to Oxford County Council on November 13, 2024. Special budget meetings took place on November 20 and November 25, 2024.
• Community feedback from 2025 Budget Survey, open to the public between June and August of this year, was used to help develop the draft budget and was shared with County Council. Download the survey highlights

About Oxford County

Located in southwestern Ontario at the crossroads of Highways 401 and 403, Oxford County has a population of approximately 135,000 people across eight area municipalities that are “growing stronger together.” A partnership-oriented, two-tier municipal government, Oxford County is committed to 100% renewable energy, zero waste, zero poverty, and being 100% housed. Oxford County is situated in one of Ontario’s richest areas for farmland, with a diversified local economy that is home to an innovative agricultural industry, leading automotive manufacturers, and the Oxford County Cheese Trail. Oxford also offers a thriving local arts and culinary community, as well as conservation parks, natural areas and more than 100 kilometres of scenic trails. The County’s Strategic Plan puts forward a vision of “Working together for a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable future.” The Oxford County Administration Building is in Woodstock, Ontario. Visit www.oxfordcounty.ca, follow us on social media, or download our Facts and Stats to learn more.