The Town of Kingsville has released its 2026 Draft Budget for community review and feedback. Budget deliberations take place on December 10, 2025 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Unico Community Centre, 37 Beech Street.

Given the financial challenges in this year's Draft Budget, Administration is recommending no new staffing positions are added in 2026. However, these steps will have an impact on service levels and future operating budgets as we attempt to right-size our staffing to meet growing service expectations from the community. Administration has also not included in this Draft Budget some requests by several departments for additional operational funding and capital projects.

The budget, as proposed, prioritizes:

• Investing in Infrastructure and Other Community Assets
• $2.6 million for road reconstruction and resurfacing
• $1.4 million for bridge replacements and rehabilitations
• $270,000 for sidewalk replacements, and
• $898,000 in increased contributions to road, bridge, facility, and park lifecycle reserves to address historical funding deficits
• Supporting Growth on the West Side
• Enhance water distribution to support development on the west side of Kingsville
• Provide an alternative traffic route to ease congestion in the downtown core
• Enhancing Community Safety
• $1.2 million to replace Engine 122, a key fire response vehicle.
• Maintaining Service Standards
• The Town will replace its aging street sweeper, also known as "Pig Pen", which is overdue for renewal.
• Preparing for Strategic Opportunities
• While no decisions have been finalized regarding the future of the school properties, the proposed budget includes a $200,000 increase to the annual Property Acquisition and Development reserve contribution. These funds will enable the Town to respond to its strategic priorities as opportunities arise.

Your feedback is valuable. Please review the full draft budget, watch our Let's Talk Budget video series, and ask questions or share your thoughts in our open forum on HaveYourSayKingsville.ca.