Oxford County Council’s 2021 Business Plan and Budget process begins Wednesday, November 18, 2020 with the first of three special budget meetings. Highlights from the proposed budget include:

• Total gross expenditures of $271 million, with $68.2 million to be funded through tax levy (County share of a property owner’s municipal taxes). This marks a 2% increase over last year.
   
• A proposed capital budget of $66.3 million for infrastructure projects, including wastewater treatment plant upgrades in Tillsonburg, renovations at the Oxford County Courthouse, watermain expansion in northeast Woodstock, County housing building updates and renewals and more.
   
• $1.4 million in expenses to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget shows this amount offset through $35,000 from reserve funds and the remaining $1.3 million from grant funding, including the Federal-Provincial Safe Recovery Agreement Funding.
   
• $763,402 in modernization initiatives, with $677,222 from Government of Ontario modernization funding to update service delivery and reduce costs.
   
• Levies of $4 million for Oxford County Library for all municipalities except Woodstock and a special levy of $95,088 for court security and prisoner transportation to fund a grant for the City of Woodstock

Draft 2021 Business Plan and Budget Highlights
Council Report CS 2020-50 - 2021 Business Plans and Budget

Special budget meetings

Special budget meetings of County Council will be broadcast live at
www.oxfordcounty.ca/livestream. Meetings take place:

Please check back for updates including the final approved budget. For budget meeting presentations, Council meeting recordings, or to ask a question, visit Speak Up, Oxford! 

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. For more information, see the Oxford County infographic, "Your Tax Dollars Explained."

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.