2025 Operating Budget Engagement
Although you pay your property tax to the City, the donut chart to the left identifies how every dollar you pay in property tax gets allocated. Only 72 cents of each tax dollar remain at the City to fund all of the service provided, with the exception of water and wastewater, which are funded directly by your water bill.
The remaining 28 cents of each property tax dollar is passed on to Grey County and the Province. The County of Grey receives 20 cents for its programs and services, and the Province of Ontario receives 8 cents for public education.
The City is the most visible level of government in our daily lives, delivering essential services like police, fire protection, and waste management. It is governed by the Council's direction in the form of strategic priorities and approved service levels. The budget provides the financial resources to fund these priorities.
Owen Sound's Budget
Providing services to our community is much like running a business. That business is governed by Council's direction in the form of strategic priorities and approved service levels. The budget provides the financial resources to fund those priorities and provide municipal community services.
Like a business, the City must:
- Ensure that the way we invest, spend and generate revenue provides value to our residents
- Evaluate how we are delivering services and make improvements to processes and practices when necessary
- Plan for the future by forecasting service requirements and related capital investment
As a resident, the budget impacts you. Every. Single. Day. So have your say.
Get involved!
- Use the Ideas tool on this page to let us know how we can involve more people in budget conversations
- Attend a Committee or Council Meeting for a draft budget review in the Fall (see Key Dates on this page)
- Follow this page to stay updated about the project and learn about the municipal budget process
- Subscribe for more City news and initiatives at OwenSound.ca/News
Survey results will be reported on with preliminary drafted budgets, presented to City Committees in Fall of 2024. This input helps inform ongoing service delivery analysis (through the Service Review priorities) as well as inform future engagement opportunities.
About the City's Budget
Learn more about how the budget is built each year in the book below:
For a PDF version of the Key Insights into Navigating the City's Budget Book above, please email communications@owensound.ca
The image below outlines the different responsibilities and funded services each level of government is accountable for:
Who's Listening
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Director of Corporate Services
Email kallan@owensound.ca -
City Manager
Email tsimmonds@owensound.ca