Wellington County Warden and Mayor of Wellington North Andy Lennox says with 2025 on the horizon, there are some major priorities being laid out for next year.
He says they of course want to maintain service levels in the county and his municipality, but there he notes are a number of hot button issues to pinpoint heading into next year.
"We work with the City of Guelph on issues like homelessness and housing, we continue to work on maintaining good arterial roads. We're trying to do some new things to extend the lifespan of our landfill sites, because landfill capacity is a huge issue in Ontario," Lennox shared.
Lennox says maintaining service levels and good roads are always a key concern around budget time. Additionally, ensuring that communities can accommodate the growing demand for housing will also be critical next year.
"I think the biggest thing is to have the infrastructure in place to support the housing. Here in Arthur, in particular, we're now short of wastewater treatment capacity to continue to grow. So, those type of infrastructure investments, while that may not be a county responsibility, it is all part of the package," said Lennox. "Making sure we have appropriate roads, making sure we have all the pieces in place, so that when people wanna move to our communities, they can, and they can integrate into a community and not just be in a house in the middle of an open field somewhere."
Lennox adds working to reduce homelessness and the shortage of housing is key, as well.
