# 2027 Draft Budget: A Resident Explanation **Status:** campaign planning scenario, not an adopted City budget The working 2027 scenario starts with the City's printed 2026 amount raised from existing residents: **$38,133,221**. It asks how Owen Sound can protect useful services, reduce tax pressure, and keep public compensation fair in the economic conditions residents experience. ## A fair wage rule City employees deserve fair pay. Residents also deserve a municipal budget that reflects the incomes and costs of the households financing it. The draft therefore treats automatic cost-of-living increases differently according to whether compensation is below or above the published Grey-Bruce living-wage benchmark. - Employees covered by a collective agreement, arbitration award, or other binding obligation would receive what the obligation requires. - An eligible non-union position at or above the current living-wage benchmark would receive no automatic cost-of-living increase in this draft. Its base pay would remain steady in current dollars while the City reviews service value, responsibility, resident incomes, and results. - An eligible employee below the living-wage benchmark could receive a cost-of-living increase until the benchmark is reached. When the published living wage rises, the floor would rise with it. This approach protects the lowest-paid employees, respects existing labour obligations, and reduces the risk that public compensation grows farther away from the incomes of the residents who fund it. It is a fairness and affordability rule, not a pay cut or a planned layoff. ## What the numbers show The City's 2026 budget used a three-percent staff increase as a comparison benchmark. Applied to the positive salary-and-benefit lines, that would add about **$587,824**, producing a comparison levy of **$38,721,045**. The working draft does not add that blanket increase. It adds only known contractual or arbitration obligations, then applies several specific changes: - pause **$22,500** of Sustainable Community Initiatives for review; - replace the **$25,000** resident-survey allocation with lower-cost public participation channels; and - reduce software maintenance by **$174,189**, while reserving **$120,000** for open-source transition, configuration, training, and data work; and - include **$1,945-$2,490** for the first-year Golden Broom awards and shared cleanup-equipment pool, using a **$2,218** midpoint in the working case. - fund the verified 70-area Local Representation baseline at **$52,605** per year, including **$47,355** in wages and **$5,250** in communication materials. - use a central vacant-home-tax planning estimate of about **$145,000 net** after administration, fund a **$60,000** civilian crisis-response pilot, fund a **$25,000** OSHaRE mobile meal pilot, and leave about **$60,000** for other housing or safety priorities. - set aside **$5,000 from wastewater rates** for Year Zero solvent screening, targeted laboratory samples, and short-term screening equipment rather than installing permanent sewer sensors immediately. The resulting working operating levy is **$37,881,851**, or about **$251,000 and 0.66 percent below** the 2026 existing-resident reference. The planned HRIS change also reduces the related capital allocation by **$128,000** after the transition allowance is provided. Several first-year commitments use existing authority and capacity rather than new levy lines. Clerk and staff reporting, public decision tracking, the Public Council Forum, and written Council sessions are part of existing administration and the related systems transition. Affordable Rural Communities is County-level planning work, and voluntary rural recovery is a later Phase 4 programme. The Mayor's budget preparation and service review are part of the City's existing paid administration. The vacant-home-tax amount is a planning estimate based on a 1 percent rate, an Ottawa-like vacancy case, and a 25 percent administration allowance. The working budget records about **$193,000 gross**, about **$145,000 net**, and a **$60,000** pilot allocation. Council would still set the final rate, qualifying-property rules, exemptions, collection process and administration budget. The currently priced non-union screen shows approximately **$144,005 to $148,505** of avoided growth compared with the three-percent benchmark, with **$146,255** as the working midpoint. That is a comparison figure, not an additional saving subtracted from the draft levy. ## Capital remains visible Operating and capital decisions are shown separately. Replacing the 2026 tax-supported capital transfer with the documented 2027 funded-plan range would produce an estimated capital-inclusive levy of approximately **$38,953,620 to $38,978,620**, or **2.15 to 2.22 percent above** the 2026 reference. That capital effect requires its own project, funding, and service review. ## What residents can check This is a transparent planning baseline. Residents can see which numbers are known, which are comparison figures, and which depend on contracts, bargaining, capital approvals, or better City records. The final budget should publish the position-level compensation, bargaining-unit coverage, employer costs, service results, and the reason for each increase or saving. The purpose is simple: keep essential services reliable, protect fair wages, connect public compensation with resident incomes, and make every budget choice understandable enough for residents to examine and improve. ## Related records - [2027 draft budget scenario](2027-draft-budget-scenario.md) - [Union coverage and no-COLA draft basis](union-coverage-and-no-cola-basis.md) - [Maximum non-union seat screen](maximum-nonunion-seat-screen.csv) - [Budget data index](README.md) - [Year Zero wastewater screening note](wastewater-year-zero-screening.md)