At the Special Council meeting on November 25, 2025, Council deliberated the 2026 Budget as proposed by Mayor Doug Elmslie under Strong Mayor powers. The $472 million budget is comprised of four parts: Operating, Capital, Special Projects and Water-Wastewater.

After reviewing motions from Council, Mayor Elmslie moved that the budget be reduced further, to 5.9% from the original proposed 6.75% (2.9% General Operations, 2% continued support for the dedicated capital levy and 1% for the special area rates of policing and Lindsay Transit). The general operations and dedicated tax levy translates to an average increase of $160 on a $267,000 average assessed property value. The impact of the area rate increases for policing and Lindsay transit are in addition to the $160 and will be confirmed once the OPP 2026 budget is known.

Mayor Elmslie commented, “What we’ve done is in the best interests of our residents, especially in a challenging economy. I’m grateful to the Budget Committee for listening closely to feedback from the public and our community partners. I’m thankful to Council for their questions and priorities, and to staff for their collaboration through the Strong Mayor process. This has been a difficult year in many ways. We’ve weathered multiple winter storms, and are still dealing with the recovery costs of the March ice storm. We had an initial $13 million gap to close to be able to bring an affordable budget to the table. Today, we’ve added another $7.5 million in savings that staff will find through efficiencies in the Operating Budget. We’ve heard our residents loud and clear: this was the year to tighten up wherever we could. At the same time, we are maintaining commitments across strategic priorities from community safety to housing to recreation.”
With this budget, Kawartha Lakes is advancing several long-term goals:

• Continuing to build up Asset Management Reserve contribution ($21.1 million) so major projects can be funded while keeping taxes stable
• Addressing a backlog of deferred capital needs with projects totaling more than $126 million
• Reducing reliance on debt for State of Good Repair assets
• Investing in a sustainable and competitive workforce to carry out over 200 services and advance strategic priorities

“Managing this $7.5 million budget pressure will be a challenge, and all departments will be working together to develop a plan to meet our targets,” said Sara Beukeboom, Director of Corporate Services. “As we continue to modernize the City’s systems, services, and operations, we’ll look for efficiencies across all business units. Our staff understand the importance of affordability. We’re taxpayers and community members too, and we support the Budget Committee and the Mayor for their commitment to this shared goal.”

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