Highlights from the Feb. 20 Council Meeting

Woodstock – Council had a lengthy agenda for Thursday’s meeting, including several planning applications that brought forward a number of delegations. While Council turned down two applications, they did approve several others including one that will see the creation of an additional 24 housing units once complete.   

Before hearing from the delegations, there was a presentation of the Donna Burleigh Award to the Woodstock Navy Club and Journey Well Health and Wellness. This award is given to organizations or members of the community whose actions have helped reduce or eliminate barriers for those living with disabilities. Burleigh, who passed away in 2023, was one of the founding members of the Woodstock Accessibility Advisory Committee and a passionate advocate for people living with disabilities.

2025 Budget Overview

Staff provided Council with a brief overview of the 2025 revenue fund (or operating) budget. The proposed tax rate increase for the City portion of the property tax bill is 2.81 per cent which represents an $84.75 increase on the average single family detached household bill. That number could increase to 6.67 per cent if Council approves all of the additional requests being put forward.

There are two special budget meetings scheduled for Feb. 25 and 26 starting at 5 p.m. where staff from City departments will share details of their proposed budgets and be available to answer questions from members of Council. During the regular Council meeting on March 6, the Police Board, Library Board and Art Gallery Advisory Board will present details of their budgets before final budget day on March 20. The public is welcome to watch all budget meetings in person or online and can find the proposed budget details at www.cityofwoodstock.ca/budget

HART Hub

Members of the Woodstock Hospital, Oxford Ontario Health Team and Hospital Board of Trust delivered a presentation to Council outlining their plans for how 16 Graham St. will be used as part of the HART Hub model of care. They clarified that the Wellness Centre, which will operate out of Graham Street, will be a treatment and recovery facility staffed 24/7 by a variety of medical professionals and is not a supervised consumption site or a homeless shelter. Following the presentation, Council directed staff to delete the restrictive covenants registered against 16 Graham St., requiring the property to be developed for housing, to allow the hospital to proceed with their plans for the development of the Wellness Centre.

Mayor’s Report

The agenda also included a report by Mayor Acchione with an update on the Downtown Revitalization Project and the outcome of the requested legal opinion. In a previous closed session, Council considered their options for moving forward or cancelling the contract for Phase 1 which had an estimated cost of approximately $900,000. Based on the information received, Phase 1 will move forward as planned, with Phase 2 expected to start this summer.

Community and Social Well-Being Fund

In 2024, Council approved the carry-over of the unallocated portion of the Community and Social Well-Being Reserve Fund. Funding requests for this reserve fund come through the Mayor’s Community and Social Well-Being Task Force. At Thursday’s meeting, Councill approved three requests:

• Ingamo Homes - $5,000 for the purchase of grocery gift cards
• Operation Sharing - $19,500 to expand the Sharing Table meal program
• Children’s Aid Society of Oxford County – $25,000 for their Rapid Response for Youth at Risk program

Possible Future Deputy Mayor Position

Council directed staff to prepare a report for a future meeting of Council outlining the legal framework and process for converting a City County Councillor position to a Deputy Mayor position. Currently, Council elects an Acting Mayor, typically on an annual basis, who will fill in for the Mayor when they are unavailable. Should Council choose to move forward with a Deputy Mayor, this would be an elected position for future terms of Council.

Details about all the agenda items and topics discussed during the council meeting can be found at www.cityofwoodstock.ca/agendasandminutes. Council meetings are live streamed on the City’s YouTube channel and recordings of the meetings are posted online following the meetings.

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