2024 Business Plan & Budget

2024 Budget document cover

Each new Council term, the County's Strategic Plan establishes the goals, objectives and initiatives that individual department budgets must support. 

Oxford County's special budget meetings for the 2024 Business Plan and Budget are scheduled for:


About the Draft 2024 Budget

The Draft 2024 Business Plan and Budget puts forward a total budget of $349 million for 2024: a $244.9 million operating budget and a $104.1 million budget to fund capital projects.

The proposed amount to be collected through the tax levy—how the County collects its share of property taxes through the eight area municipalities—is currently estimated at $86.9 million after other source of funding and revenue are considered. This represents a 15% overall increase from 2023. An estimate for the final impact on the County’s portion of residential and other types of property taxes will be presented at the regular County Council meeting on November 22.

The draft budget addresses priorities that came forward in the 2024 Budget survey: housing and homelessness, paramedic services and long-term care. It includes a homelessness response strategy, equipment for the Waste Management program, upgrades to critical wastewater infrastructure, and other projects that support the delivery of County services. As part of the budget process, County Council will also consider $327,000 in community grant requests.

For more information, including presentations and video recordings of special budget meetings, visit Speak Up, Oxford! 

Download the DRAFT 2024 Business Plan and Budget (Nov 3, 2023)  

Read the news release: Oxford County launches 2024 Budget process (Nov 16, 2023) 


About the 2024 Budget survey

Budget infographic 2024The 2024 Budget Survey was the community's opportunity to have a say on municipal budgets for the coming year. This year's budget survey ran from June to August, 2023. Read the highlights

The survey results for Oxford County were before County Council on September 27, 2023. Key findings from the survey include:

  • More than 500 comments and suggestions were received through 1,009 responses to the online public survey.
  • Of those who responded, 68% said they receive "fair" or "good" value for their tax dollars.
  • The majority of respondents felt that each of the services should be at least maintained at the current service levels.

Infographic: Highlights from the 2024 Budget Survey - Oxford County results

 About the Oxford County budget and tax levy
 

Oxford County's annual business plan and budget is guided by Council’s strategic priorities as set out in the Strategic Plan. The County's fiscal year is from January 1 to December 31.

Oxford County residents do not pay taxes directly to the County. The County tax levy is added to the tax bill in each area municipality and then transferred to the County from Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll, Norwich, South-West Oxford, Tillsonburg, Woodstock and Zorra. The County's annual budget is then financed by these tax levies as well as government funding, reserve funding, and fees from development charges, water and wastewater, etc. 

Tax levies collected by the County are used to: 

  • maintain and manage County infrastructure, including bridges and highways, drinking water, wastewater, and garbage and recycling;   
  • deliver social services, ambulance, and long-term care services directed by the provincial government;
  • provide development and community planning for each area municipality and the County as a whole;          
  • maintain county-wide information systems, library services and archives; and,   
  • administer the Provincial Offences Court.