By Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Barring a major course change, East Zorra-Tavistock Township’s 2025 budget will be passed this week with a 6.95 per-cent increase for ratepayers.
EZT’s next regular council meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. where the document is expected to receive final approval. Last week’s regular council meeting included the opportunity for residents to have their say on the document. No one signed up to delegate and there was no one in attendance looking to ask questions or comment.
“We are now in a public meeting to discuss the 2025 budget. Does any member of the public wish to address council regarding this budget? Not seeing any, we will reconvene and close the public meeting,” said Mayor Phil Schaefer.
All council agendas, minutes and recorded livestreams are available on the township’s website but there was no specific communication to the public regarding the budget process through social media or email.
“Firstly, the township does post an agenda summary on social media a day or two prior to the meeting. Unfortunately, the summary for the latest meeting was not posted, and I apologize for the oversight,” Schaefer said.
In fact, four of the last seven EZT council meetings were not previewed on social media. Schaefer said while he can’t explain the lack of engagement by residents, he welcomes the public to make their voices heard.
“Obviously, more resident engagement is better than less engagement. I cannot speculate on why no public delegations were requested. As you are aware, the meetings are now livestreamed, so physical presence is not required to follow the meeting.”
From a staff viewpoint, CAO Karen DePrest explained the township has never made it a practice to launch social-media campaigns regarding the budget process.
“Instead, staff prepare a budget timeline report annually that lays out the dates and timelines for presentation, special meetings and public meetings related to the budget. This year, there were two council reports specifically providing dates and timelines.”
DePrest added there is no requirement in the Municipal Act as to how the budget process is conducted, but Section 290 of the act lays out what and how the budget is prepared.
“In fact, by holding the public meeting as an opportunity for ratepayers to comment and provide feedback, the township is going beyond its statutory requirements. All municipal council meetings are open to the public and, as the mayor indicated with EZT’s most recent move toward livestreaming, recording and hybrid participation, our meetings are fully accessible to be participated in, attended by, or simply viewed at any time by any member of public who wishes to know about the business of their township not only at budget time but throughout the year.”
The township currently has three-plus staff members who are responsible for communicating information as part of their other tasks. The Gazette asked each elected official in EZT for their thoughts on if ratepayers could be better informed on issues having major implications on ratepayers. No one responded by press time.
The mayor explained the feedback he has received to date has been mixed.
“I have spoken to people regarding this year’s budget. Some were not in favour of a tax increase, any tax increase for that matter. Some were content with the fact that the township is planning for the future by setting aside funds for our future plans and that, above all else, we remain in a strong financial position.”
The Gazette asked Schaefer if he felt the timing was right for EZT to look at hiring someone to assist with external communications to keep the public better informed.
“I think our team does a good job of communicating. No system is perfect. As you have been advocating, we could consider expanding our staffing to include communications staff, with a significant corresponding cost to the taxpayer. Whether we have a dedicated communications team or have existing staff handle it, one element that is essential is fair and unbiased media coverage.”
The budget includes some money to begin the planning stage for a new Hickson Fire Hall proposed to be built in 2026. Deputy mayor Brad Smith said he’s been getting some pushback on the proposal from residents.
“My comment to the constituent is we’ve pushed this off long enough. I’m confident this is a good thing for our community. I’m confident there is a dollar value available in selling the old building at the end of the day.”
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