Oxford Town Council met Wednesday evening for a three-item agenda, one of which was discussion of the proposed 2025–26 budget.
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first:
- Main Street paving & water main replacement pushed to 2026
- Water rates are going up
For good news, property taxes are stable, as they have been for a few years, at
- $1.7874 / $100 assessed (Residential)
- $4.2804 / $100 assessed (Commercial)
…and while we’re facing another year of that rough road through town, other needed work is taking place, and the town is reportedly showing improved economic indicators according to the provincial government’s view of town finances. This matters significantly, as the Oxford’s overall economic situation is a key determinant in whether it qualifies for matching funds when pursuing infrastructure projects.
The timing of infrastructure work is a balance of available capital reserve funds, planning timelines, and deadlines for matching funds applications with provincial and federal governments. While the budget passed at the meeting does not allocate money for the large Main Street project (replacing the water main and paving the street from James St. to Hanlon St.), it does commit $60-thousand that will pay for the engineering plans required to make that project happen.
With regard to the tax rate, while it remains stable, assessments overall have risen, meaning a heftier tax bill for town residents. When asked whether council and staff had given any thought to reducing the rate to compensate, Mayor Henley said that option wasn’t on the table, pointing the finger at the Department of Education. Oxford’s annual contribution to the school system jumped by $60,000 over last year’s budget, just one of the necessary line items that reflects the rising cost of operating a municipality.
The fiscal services section of the budget — the bills the town must pay in servicing debt on the books, the transfer of funds to capital reserve accounts, and the annual school payment, takes up some 21% of the $3.3-million budget. Police Services — a frequent concern for Mayor and Councillors — is the second-most expensive budget item, at $621,164 (19%). Maintaining the existing infrastructure, that is, Public Works, comes third at $547,837 (16%), followed by the town’s administration costs ($533,827 or 16% of the budget).
A new expenditure in this year’s budget is funding for a part-time bylaw enforcement officer for Oxford. The position provides $15,000/year for a two-days-per-week employee to handle bylaw violations, such as dangerous and unsightly properties. The town is also partnering with the Voyent Alert! Communication service, which provides an app for smartphones that can deliver urgent messages regarding flooding, fires or other issues of concern to the public. The service has been used by the Municipality of Cumberland County for the past couple of years to keep residents informed.
The full breakdown is below (the budget documents are available for consultation at Town Hall offices or online at OxfordNS.ca).
[The following section has been updated for clarity. Until the UARB has ruled on the rate increase, the actual rates after October 1st, 2025 are not set in stone.]
Oxford’s Water Utility, where operating and some capital expenses come from the fees paid by residents and businesses connected to the system, is facing pressure due to rising operating costs and the need to sock away funds for future infrastructure work. That has led the town to apply to the province’s Utility And Review Board (UARB) for a rate hike, the first in three years. If approved, these rates will go in effect on October 1st and be in force until March, 2026, when another smaller increase is planned in each of the next three years.
While the municipality has varying service types for businesses (essentially the size of the pipe which delivers water to a building), residents are all on the 5/8-inch lines, which currently has a charge of $80.30 per quarter, or $321.20/year, plus consumption ($1.95/ 1,000 imp. gal.). Residents who do not have a meter to monitor their consumption currently pay a flat rate of $109.55/quarter, or $438.20/year (plus consumption). The current consumption fee of $1.95 per 1,000 imperial gallons will not change under the proposed new fee schedule. Consumption varies by household, but in general terms, estimated usage is approximately 10,000 imp. gal / household / quarter.
Public works is acquiring and installing meters on residential lines as quickly as they are able, the bottleneck being the public works workload. It’s believed only a couple of dozen residential customers are waiting for a meter to be installed.
The UARB will review the argument and supporting documentation compiled by outside consultants, and may agree with the proposed rates and the schedule for their implementation. The proposal calls for a significant first-year rise in rates, followed by much smaller increases in subsequent years. The UARB may also deny the suggested changes and require a recalculation or rescheduling of the proposed work.
A public hearing — required by the UARB for any application to change rates — is scheduled for July 30th at 10:30am in Council Chambers.
You may speak at the hearing. You must notify the Board by Wednesday, July 16, 2025, of your request to speak. You may make written comments by sending a letter to the Clerk of the Board at P.O. Box 1692, Unit “M”, Halifax, NS B3J 3S3, or by email at: board@novascotia.ca, or by fax at (902) 424-3919 by Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
By far the largest consumer of water services in the Town of Oxford is the Oxford Frozen Foods processing plant. Any increase in water rates will see a significant increase in the company’s water bill, despite internal measures that saw consumption drop slightly in the 2024–2025 fiscal year.
The Oxford Water Utility reported a year-end total revenue of 710,431 with expenses of $778,192: a deficit of $67,761. With the increase in service fees and consumption fees, it is expected the utility will see revenues of $821,550 vs. expenditures matching that figure.
Perhaps nowhere is there more concern at the municipal level than with the long-term viability of water utilities. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, like its counterparts around the world, authored a study nearly 20 years ago that pointed to the urgent need for municipal governments to get a handle on the crumbling infrastructure that in some cases was laid more than a century ago. The vast majority of municipalities have been watching that underground piping crumble with patchwork efforts to keep systems operating while rebuilding water distribution systems as they are able. And there never seems to be enough cash on hand to tackle the job.
This is certainly the case with Oxford, where a recently-implement Asset Management System has given town staff the tools to identify where future capital projects are most needed to continue providing water services to residents. While efforts have been made in recent years to protect the water source (including a commitment to purchase land from the province this year where the town’s wells are located), the distribution end of the system in some sections is literally a century old.
The Capital Budgets — both General Capital and the Water Capital projects — total over a half-a-million dollars for the 2025–26 fiscal year. General capital expenses ($277,085.48) include the design plans for the Main St. water and paving project mentioned earlier; upgrades to the Town Hall building, sidewalk repair and renovation; and other water system components. The Water Utility capital budget ($239,343.18) includes upgrades for the well monitoring systems; wellfield survey (pre-purchase); new fencing to protect the wellfield; maintenance on the Little River reservoir; and other needed outlays for the utility.
The Town of Oxford issued a news release on Thursday, 29 May 2025, highlighting notable aspects of the 2025–26 Municipal Budget:
Coming up on June 18th, the Town of Oxford is holding an information session to help residents understand the processes behind planning (and paying) for infrastructure projects.
