Let’s talk Budget!
Region of Queens Municipality is beginning its budgeting process for the 2026-2027 fiscal year and this is your chance to be involved in helping to shape Council’s investments in your community!
Click here to be taken directly to the Budget Survey.
Click here to be taken directly to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Budget Survey results.
ABOUT THE BUDGET
Region of Queens Municipality’s annual budget is divided into two sections: the Capital Investment Plan (or Capital Budget) and the Operating Budget.
- The Capital Investment Plan is the part of the budget that focuses on larger and longer-term investments of built assets, including things like wastewater and water utility enhancements, and major improvements at municipally owned facilities and infrastructure. The Capital Investment Plan lists projects that are proposed to take place in the forthcoming budget year and in the following four years, estimated costs of each project, and how these initiatives will be funded. Items in the Capital Investment Plan may be funded by the tax rate, grants from other levels of government, municipal reserves, or long-term borrowing depending on the nature of the project.
Council approves the overall 5-year Capital Investment Plan annually. The plan is updated each year as projects are completed or extended and new projects are added. This provides both Council and the public with the ability to have a long-term understanding of the Region’s capital priorities and how they all fit together. - The Operating Budget is the normal day-to-day budget that provides services to the Region’s residents and businesses. It includes projects and programs that Council has identified as priorities, as well as mandatory payments to other levels of government or agencies for essential services such as education, policing, and other items.
To view the draft Capital Investment Plan, you can click here.
As the draft Operating Budget is developed in 2026, a link to the document will be added here for public viewing as well.
BUDGET SCHEDULE
The Budget Meeting schedule for both Capital Investment Plan and Operating Budgets is contained in the table below. Please note that times and dates are subject to change.
| December 19, 2025 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Preliminary Draft Capital Investment Plan (Special Council) |
| January 13, 2026 Morning Council | Anticipated approval of Draft Capital Investment Plan |
| February 4, 2026 | Budget Survey closes |
| February 24, 2026 Evening Council | Operating Budget Introduced at Regular Council Meeting, Budget Q&A Document Introduced. |
| March 3, 2026 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Review of Operating Budget/ Q&A Document (Special Council) |
| March 10, 2026 Morning Council | Operating Budget Discussion at Regular Council Meeting |
| March 17, 2026 (if required) 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Review of Operating Budget/ Q&A Document (Special Council) |
| March 24, 2026 Evening Council | Anticipated 2026-2027 Operating Budget adoption at Regular Council Meeting |
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
If you have comments, suggestions, or feedback that you would like to share with Council and staff to help inform this year’s budget process, you can do so by e-mailing Region of Queens Municipality at budget@regionofqueens.com.
You can also submit feedback by completing the Budget Survey below. The survey will remain open through the end of the business day on Wednesday, February 4, 2026.
Please note that all feedback submitted (questions and input received via the Budget Survey) will be assembled in a Budget Input Tracking document — this document and its content will be publicly available for viewing, in addition to being shared with both Council and staff, and will help Council to shape the budget.
Budget Input Tracking
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and summary of Budget Survey public input
As part of Region of Queens Municipality’s budget engagement this year, we’re collecting questions about the budget and budget-related items of interest from our communities and sharing the answers here so that the same information is publicly available to all. The table that follows below contains questions that have been received via the budget survey, as well as comments from folks who have completed the budget survey.
As of January 6, 2026, a total of 52 budget surveys have been completed. A total of 52 (100%) self-identified Queens County residents. A total of 12 respondents have self-identified as business owners.
According to survey results as of this date, the average score for quality of life in the Region of Queens on a scale of 0 (low) to 10 (high) is 6.77.
| Questions received from residents | Answer |
|---|---|
| Q: When the CIP tables reference Municipal Reserves and Municipal Surplus, do these refer exclusively to general (tax-supported) funds, or do they also include water and/or wastewater utility reserves accumulated through rates paid by utility users? | A: The Municipal reserves indicate a reserve that has been set aside by Council or a regulatory authority. The Utility has a reserve that is used to fund projects that are 100% Utility cost. The Utility reserve is 100% funded by Utility users as the amount of annual deprecation expense is paid to that fund each year. The sewer reserve was funded by the general tax rate. It has not been funded for the last few years. |
| Q: For MPSE [Mount Pleasant Service Extension] specifically, can staff clarify which portions of the capital costs and associated borrowing are intended to be: – recovered through water and wastewater utility rates – supported by the general municipal tax base – recovered from new development, such as through developer contributions or other growth-related cost-recovery mechanisms? | A: The Capital Improvement Plan that was presented to Council on December 19th has MPSE funded by a combination of provincial, federal, municipal, and Utility funding. At this time, there is no portion of the cost that is budgeted to be recovered from developers. |
| Q: For any borrowing related to MPSE, will the ongoing loan payments be paid through water and wastewater rates, or through general municipal taxes? | A: Allocation of debt payments is based on the value of each infrastructure segment in that phase. Once the project is completed, costs are allocated to each segment. For example if 25% of the infrastructure cost is associated with water supply, 25% of debt payments are allocated to the Utility. There is no current process in place to ensure that revenue generated by the users of the wastewater system covers all costs associated with providing the service. Any shortfall or overage in revenue becomes part of the general operating budget. Infrastructure segments also include roads and streets, which is part of the area rate paid by District 13 residents. |
