(Wingham, North Huron) North Huron councillors and residents were not allowed any input or scrutiny in the 2026 budget. Taxes ares going up 3.89%, and expected to soar in 2027. According to documents, Paul Heffer is exercising “Strong Mayor” powers to ram his budget through. Click Here for a link to today’s meeting
🔥 TOP-LINE TAKEAWAYS — WHAT THEY DON’T WANT THE PUBLIC TO NOTICE
1️⃣ Strong Mayor Powers now fully control the budget
Pages 4–8 lay out the Strong Mayor regime in detail. It gives Paul Heffer unilateral control unless Council musters 5 out of 7 votes to override him (page 7).
This is a power shift away from democratic budgeting and toward a Mayoral/CAO administrative consolidation.
The public has not been told this clearly.
Why it matters to you:
- Heffer can veto Council amendments.
- Council needs a supermajority to override him.
- If Council does nothing, his budget is automatically adopted after 55 days.
This explains the stonewalling we’ve been experiencing: they no longer need to win votes; they just need to wait out the clock.
🔥 2️⃣ The “3.89% levy increase” hides structural problems
Page 2 and page 22 trumpet the “3.89%” levy.
But buried inside the tables (pages 10–12) is the real story:
Property Taxes are rising because:
- Wages & benefits jumped by $145,989 (page 12).
- Operating expenses increased significantly across many departments (page 14).
- Capital spending exploded by $1.28 million (page 16).
- They’re draining external funds (CCBF & OCIF) to avoid even larger tax increases (page 17).
This is not a stable budget. It is patching holes with one-time federal/provincial money that will not recur.
Page 17 explicitly states:
“The amounts funded from carry forwards will not represent funding that can be repeated.”
Translation:
👉 Next year will require either a massive levy increase or service cuts.
🔥 3️⃣ The Township is raiding long-term infrastructure funds
Page 17 admits they are burning through federal (CCBF) and provincial (OCIF) infrastructure funds to avoid raising the levy even more.
This is the municipal equivalent of:
“We paid the mortgage using our RRSP.”
This is high-risk budgeting and sets taxpayers up for future shocks.
🔥 4️⃣ Wages + Benefits now exceed $6.6 million
Page 12 shows a staggering jump to $6,616,288 for wages, salaries, and benefits.
This makes staffing the single largest municipal cost driver—more than infrastructure, more than roads, more than protection services.
And yet:
- Sidewalks remain dangerous.
- Roads are crumbling.
- By-law enforcement is dysfunctional.
- Service levels have declined.
The public is paying more, but receiving less.
🔥 5️⃣ Capital purchases list is bloated and inconsistent
Pages 18–20 list millions in spending, including:
- New ¾-ton pickup trucks
- Arena upgrades
- Digital signs
- Ammonia detector replacements
- Fleet expansion
- Gravel & road projects
- Water/sewer upgrades
But missing:
- A sidewalk maintenance program
- A stormwater management plan
- A winter pedestrian safety plan
- Any funded plan to address repeated injuries/deaths
This exposes their priorities:
👉 Vehicles, arenas, and equipment—not public safety.
🔥 6️⃣ The Confirmatory By-law quietly locks everything in
Page 29 contains the Confirmatory By-law (No. 88-2025), which:
- Retroactively legalizes everything done at the meeting
- Shields Council decisions from legal challenge
- Splits each agenda item into a separate confirmable item to make vetoes easier
Also note:
“This Confirmatory By-law shall be deemed to be separate By-laws for each item listed on the agenda.”
This is a procedural fortress against accountability.
🔥 7️⃣ Water & Sewer budgets show strange financial swings
Page 28 reveals:
Water capital spending shrank from $6.3M to $144,500
This is a massive contraction. It raises questions:
- Were previous water budgets inflated?
- Has a major project vanished?
- Was debt taken on last year?
Sewer capital spending also dropped by more than half
These swings deserve direct questioning.
⚠️ BIGGEST RED FLAG: North Huron will face a fiscal cliff in 2027
Because:
- Reserve contributions are too low.
- CCBF/OCIF carry-forwards will be gone.
- Wage increases compound annually.
- Capital needs are rising fast.
This budget kicks the crisis 12 months down the road.
📌 Top 10 questions for Council (and Heffer) that will never be answered.
- Why is North Huron exhausting one-time infrastructure grants to artificially suppress the tax levy this year? (page 17)
- What happens next year when these CCBF/OCIF carry-forwards are gone? What is the projected 2027 levy increase?
- Why were wages and benefits allowed to rise to $6.6 million? (page 12)
- Why are sidewalks unsafe when staffing costs and tax levies keep rising?
- Why did water capital spending collapse from $6.3M to $144,500? (page 28)
- Why are no sidewalk safety or snow-clearing improvements included in the capital plan?
- Why does the Confirmatory By-law (page 29) fragment the agenda into items that can be individually vetoed under strong mayor powers?
- Why are recreational upgrades prioritized over critical public safety infrastructure?
- Has the CAO advised of long-term insolvency risks associated with using one-time funds for recurring obligations?
- Has North Huron conducted a service-level review to justify rising staff compensation?
