FAQs

The City's Operating Budget is the source of funding for all the day-to-day programs and services provided by the City of Owen Sound.  

It includes services such as:

• Police and fire protection
• Issuing permits and licenses
• Library and recreation programs
• Park maintenance
• Snow removal and more

Capital Budget, alternatively, outlines how the City will pay for large-scale projects and investments in physical infrastructure.  This includes projects such as:

• Road and sidewalk paving
• New streetlights or playground equipment
• Upgrades to existing City buildings and more
  
  

Each year, City Council considers community priorities, Strategic Priorities, expected service levels, and legislated responsibilities throughout the year.  It sets the operating and capital budgets for the City of Owen Sound at its annual dedicated budget Council meeting.

Over the last three years, the City has made significant strides to reduce the gap between Owen Sound’s residential taxes and the average for Grey Bruce. This budget will continue to close that gap. Council always strives to find a balance between services offered and affordability for citizens.

City Staff build a budget by implementing zero-based budget techniques. Zero-based budgeting deviates from traditional budgeting in that the budget for each new period is created starting from a “zero base.” Council and staff must justify each expense before adding it to the new budget, even old and recurring expenses. 

The City does not have the ability to simply disolve services from one year to the next, like a corporation might. This means fixed costs must be included in the budget first, such as staff wages and facility operations. Next main contracts are included in the budget (such as transit and waste management). After this, each additional cost that isn’t fixed is analyzed and considered (such as professional memberships).

In 2024, the total operating expenses were $47 million, but the total tax levy required (amount from taxpayers) was $34,899,652.

The difference between what is spent and what is required from taxpayers is offset by grants, user fees, and other revenues as City Council and staff work hard to stretch every tax dollar as far as possible.

Property tax is a regressive tax - it is not linked to one’s income. Property tax rates are uniformly applied. This does disproportionately impact lower-income residents and adds to the overall cost of housing. This is why Owen Sound continues to strive to find the best balance between services offered and affordability for citizens and continually looks to the province for other possible streams of revenue.

The City of Owen Sound collects taxes on behalf of Grey County and the Province of Ontario.

Of each dollar collected by the City of Owen Sound:
- the County of Grey receives 20 cents for their programs and services
- the Province of Ontario receives 8 cents for public education
- and the City of Owen Sound keeps 72 cents of each dollar to provide services.

The budget survey was one tool for public engagement.  All year long, citizens can engage in opportunities for feedback on city services, including projects on this online platform called OurCity.

For this Budget Engagement project, there's still time to:

• 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

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.

To stay up to date and involved in City initiatives, subscribe to news releases at OwenSound.ca/News, follow along on social media, or check out council or committee meetings, happening all year long (see the calendar at OwenSound.ca/Meetings)