Bridgewater has approved its latest budget, keeping tax rates unchanged for both residents and businesses.
Council signed off on the 2025-26 operating and capital budget, holding the residential rate at $1.85 per $100 of assessment and the commercial rate at $4.07.
Mayor David Mitchell says that was a key priority, even as costs continue to rise.
“There is no change to the tax rate,” Mitchell said. “Everyone’s costs have gone up, including municipalities… but we did quite a bit of work to make sure we could hold the line.”
The budget includes nearly $34 million in operating spending and about $17 million in capital work, along with additional projects carried over from previous years.
Wastewater driving long-term costs
A major factor in the town’s financial outlook is ongoing investment in wastewater infrastructure.
Mitchell says the full scope of that work is expected to exceed $100 million over time, with a significant portion funded through borrowing.
“We are going to need to borrow… and that is going to be the challenge over the next couple of years,” he said.
He says those projects are necessary to meet environmental standards and support future growth, but they will increase debt servicing costs in the years ahead.
While the town’s current debt servicing sits at around six percent, Mitchell says that number is expected to climb closer to the province’s threshold of concern in the future.
“There is no question that tax rates are going to rise,” he said. “What that looks like, we don’t know.”
New projects and community investments
Despite holding the tax rate steady, the budget still includes new investments in the community.
That includes plans to move forward with the design of the Generations Active Park, which will feature a fully accessible playground followed by a splash pad in later phases.
The town is also continuing work tied to growth and development, including infrastructure upgrades, housing initiatives and business park expansion.
Call for changes to municipal funding model
Mitchell says the budget also highlights a broader issue facing municipalities — how they generate revenue.
He says towns like Bridgewater rely heavily on property taxes, even as they provide services used by far more people than those paying into the system.
“I have 9,000 taxpayers that pay for roads that are used by 35,000 people a day,” he said.
Mitchell says municipalities see increased costs when they attract new businesses and workers, but don’t share in other tax revenues like income tax or HST.
“If twice as many people work somewhere tomorrow than today… there’s no revenue increase to the town,” he said.
He says that model has been in place since Confederation and needs to be revisited to better reflect the role municipalities play in driving economic growth.
