At their December 10 meeting, Huntsville councillors were informed that the Town is in the red by about $181,000 of unbudgeted funds to date for 2025.
Staff was reporting on the Town’s third-quarter financial forecast. “The forecasts prepared are based on what is known at this point and it is expected that staff will continue to monitor these overages and reduce spending where possible to reduce the deficit,” according to a report submitted by staff.
Municipal staff also noted in their report that additional savings in salaries, wages, and benefits from staff vacancies could help offset the overall deficit at year-end, but the possibility of decreased revenues from the Lake of Bays Fire Service Agreement, although not confirmed, is also anticipated. The report also notes that staff will update council on the issue once more information becomes available.
“While there are a few areas that are forecasting increased expenses compared to what was originally budgeted, I’d like to highlight that there are also a number of areas within the Town that are forecasting some surpluses as well,” said Huntsville Deputy Treasurer Suzanne Diller. “One of the key items that make up the deficit is the fire administration revenue with Lake of Bays. As we are all aware, the Lake of Bays agreement is ending in 2026, and staff is still in discussion with Lake of Bays on the amount being paid for 2025. Staff will report back on the outcome of these discussions.” Diller said the impact so far amounts to a deviation of about $195,000.
Reserves
Diller said the Town’s overall reserves amounted to $26M at the beginning of the year, and it is expected that they will be at $23M at the end of 2025.
Capital
Capital projects are projected to exceed the 2025 budget by $1.9M— with an estimated $1.6M in projects carried forward from 2024. $1.14M in capital initiatives reflects council-approved changes through the year, and of that amount, an estimated $600,000 is expected to be deferred to 2026. Project adjustments made in 2025 also resulted in a $260,000 decrease to the overall deficit forecasted.
The report also notes that despite an increase in costs and resource constraints, staff will continue its efforts to maintain service quality, community-focused initiatives, and strengthen financial management.
The report also notes that while the Town saw good returns from its investment portfolio, declining market rates are anticipated.
The report also notes that property tax receivables and interest penalties are up.
Departments with the highest overages are Council and Administration ($204,585), Roads, Sidewalks, and Transit ($292,385), and Home Property and Planning ($145,324).
Deputy Mayor Dan Armour said the same deficit for the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department would likely be carried next year as well, and asked whether any service level changes or savings were anticipated.
“We’ll be having conversations with the Township of Lake of Bays with respect to outstanding amounts after the year-end consolidation is completed,” said Huntsville CAO Denise Corry. “So we added that amount in as a placeholder because we actually don’t know that amount yet, but once we do the year-end consolidation, we’ll have a better understanding of what that deficit will be with respect to fire service.”
Corry confirmed that in 2026, the Town will see a reduction in the fire services revenue budgeted. “Staff will be bringing a report forward with respect to changes to the operation and any financial impacts that that will have on the fire department.”
You can find the staff report HERE.
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When the current administration first took office, former mayor Hugh Mckenzie commented in his column “Listen Up” how they made a.mockery of the budgetary system by not including in the 2023 budget the more than one million dollars they spent in their first nine months in office. He also mentioned that they could be considered “Loose with the purse strings” and used the word “Spendthrifts”. Looks like he was correct. Notice how they try to distract us from the fact that Council and Administration has the second largest overage by pointing out surpluses in other areas. Twice!