Budget

Every time your street is plowed, your garbage or recycling bin is collected, you visit a park or arena, or your streetlights turn on, you are witnessing your tax dollars at work. Municipal budget decisions set the funding for important infrastructure, programs, services, and facilities we depend on to maintain our quality of life.

The Finance Department's primary responsibility is to manage the municipality’s financial resources in compliance with provincial and federal policy decisions and statutes. Please visit our financial reporting page for information related to financial statements and financial reporting. 

Strong mayor powers and the municipal budget

As of May 1, 2025, the Government of Ontario expanded strong mayor powers to the Municipality of Bluewater. With these powers, the Mayor is required by the Municipal Act, 2001 and Ontario Regulation 530/22 to prepare a budget for the Municipality and provide it to the Clerk and each member of Council on or before February 1st each year. This is known as the "Mayor's Budget."

The process for adopting the budget is outlined by the legislation. 

• Once proposed, Council has 30 days to pass resolutions to amend the Mayor's Budget. If there are no amendments passed within the 30-day period, the Mayor’s Budget is adopted.
• If Council passes resolutions to amend the Mayor's Budget, the Mayor can decide to veto Council’s resolutions within 10 days of the expiry of the time period for Council to pass a resolution.
• If the Mayor doesn’t veto any amendments within the 10-day period, the budget as amended by Council resolutions is deemed adopted.
• If the Mayor vetoes Council’s resolutions to amend the Mayor's Budget, council can vote to override the veto within 15 days of the expiry of the time period for the Mayor to veto a resolution. In the vote to override a veto, two-thirds of the members of Council must vote to override the veto or the vote will fail.
• If Council overrides the Mayor’s veto, the amendment passed by Council will continue to have effect.
• If Council does not vote to override the Mayor’s veto, then the budget is adopted by the Municipality after the expiry of the time period for Council to override the Mayor’s veto.

The mayoral power to veto municipal council amendments to the mayor’s budget is not limited to provincial priorities.

The legislation does not allow the Mayor to delegate their powers and duties related to the budget. The duty can only be forfeited by the Mayor by not proposing a budget prior to February 1st.