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Happy New Year.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas
and a safe and happy holiday season.
Over the last few months Halton Regional Council and our staff
have been working on our 2012 budget and business plan.
On December the fourteenth,
I'm pleased to announce that Regional Council
passed our budget
delivering a zero percent tax increase for Regional programs and services.
In the past six years,
Halton Region has one of the best records in all of Canada
for keeping taxes low
on our regional programs
and services.
Halton Regional Council is conscious of keeping taxes low for our residents.
Even though there are a number of levels of government that tax,
we realize there's only one taxpayer.
That's why we want to keep taxes low,
while maintaining the services for our residents.
The 2012 budget
delivers one of the Region's largest infrastructure spends
with an investment of six hundred and seventy eight point nine million dollars.
Funds in the 2012 capital program
will help the Region begin the work identified
through the approved transportation
and water and waste water master plans.
The infrastructure spending
will be used to upgrade, expand
and rehabilitate Halton's infrastructure,
including roads,
water and waste-water plants, and distribution systems,
and waste management programs,
ensuring Halton continues to provide safe and efficient roads, and water
supply,
to meet the demands of our growing community
over the next twenty years.
The 2012 budget
continues to invest in social programs to help the residents of Halton Region.
Four point nine million in savings will be reinvested into social service
programs
including
one point six million for rental assistance programs that will provide
approximately
two hundred to two hundred twenty rental supplements.
One point eight million to deliver between eighty to one hundred new
affordable housing units
and two hundred fifty thousand dollars for increased supports to low-income
residents in the form of food assistance and transit passes.
If you'd like to find out more information about our budget
you can go to www.halton.ca/budget
or call 311.