JASON -SETNYK
City staff hosted a -Resident -Café at the -Benson -Centre, inviting residents to ask questions about -Cornwall’s draft 2026 budgets. It was a snowy evening, and while -Mayor -Justin -Towndale and several councillors attended, only a small crowd turned out.
Asked about “-strong-mayor” powers referenced in the budget documents, -Towndale said the city is under “significant financial pressures” and that “we’re not immune to inflation.” -He said he directed staff to target a four percent levy increase, excluding the -Cornwall -Police -Service, after an earlier report suggested an unchanged police budget could have meant a levy hike of about “15 percent.” “I don’t think we can really put a price on public safety,” -Towndale said.
Administration reports the draft meets that threshold for municipal services at 3.89 percent before policing, rising to 5.32 percent once -CPS is included. Towndale said he expects more feedback as deliberations continue, with residents watching rising costs and major files such as universal water metering. He said some frustration is tied to large infrastructure costs, but argued the work is expensive and necessary. “If we sit back and don’t build, our infrastructure decays,” he said, adding that without investment, “we don’t grow” or improve.
Towndale also addressed questions about -Brookdale -Avenue, saying some residents have focused on a proposed roundabout at -Seventh -Street, but stressed the roundabout itself is not budgeted this year, and the project is larger than that. He described the overall rebuild as roughly a $-50-million reconstruction from -Seventh to 14th -Street to improve traffic flow, address a deteriorating road surface, and unlock land for development.
Under the draft water and wastewater budget, utility billings would rise 6.81 percent overall, with -flat-rate customers seeing a 5.49 percent increase.
L’article Sparse turnout at city’s -Budget -Café est apparu en premier sur Cornwall Seaway News.
