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IB NEWS REGION SETS TAX RATE INCREASE TARGET COUNCIL APPROVES BUDGET DIRECTIONS ton regional couneil approved the budget tions report for the region's 'S 2024 budget on July 12, set- ting a target to keep taxes at or below the rate of infla- The report — which identifies priority invest- ments in critical services and pl 1024 budget dire velopment process as it guides our work on the next budget and business. plan," said Halton Regional chair Gary Carr in a press release. “This report helps us to preserve our strong finan- cial position and keep prop- taxes low while deliv- ering high-quality pro- grams and services that support all members of the Halton communi Some of the challenges include high inflationary cost increases, develop- ment funding changes as a result from Bill 23, and shortfalls in provincial commitments, naeie icularly for Public Health and long-term care. The key priorities for the 2024 budget and busi- ness plan include: * Public Health — sup- porting Public Health's pandemic recovery which includes the revitalization of Public Health services that have been suspended or modified during the pan- demic based on emerging community needs. + Paramedic services — enhancing paramedic re- sponse times while ad- dressing increased costs associated with inflation, population growth pressures. + Delivery of new assis- ted housing units — in- vestments in rent subsi- dies and capital reserve contributions to support the delivery of new assis- ted housing units that will be created through con- siderable capital housing projects currently under development. . Services for seniors — continuing to increase the direct care hours for resi- dents of the Region's Long- rm Care Homes, as part ot the Province's commit- ment for ensure nate resi- dents four hours “of direct o care reby 1024-25. + Infrastructure and growth — investments to maintain Regional infra- structure “a a_state-of- air and to support the acceleration of infra- structure to support growth. + Digital strategy — con- tinuing to invest in expand- ing the delivery of digital services to the ct This includes investments in technology to support decision-making and delivery of the most re- quested customer-facing services digitally. Regional staff will con- tinue to focus on finding cost efficiencies a across all program areas to achieve the targets. The 2024 budget and business plan is Scheduled to be reviewed by ncil on Dec. Gandconsideration of approval is scheduled for Dec. 13. IB CRIME KNIFE ALLEGEDLY PULLED DURING LCBO THEFT fon police are looking for two Suspects following e repo! armed robbery of an One ville HOB 0 on Thursday, July 2 Sho! retly before 9 p.m., two men entered the LCBO at 321 Cornwall Rd.and grabbed multiple bottles of scotch/whisky the shelves, police said. The suspects reportedly SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM walked past the cash regis- ters without paying and were confronted by an em- ployee. It's alleged that one sus- pect pulled out a box cut- ter/knife and pointed it at the employee before leav- ing the store. No one was injured dur- ing this incident. No suspect descriptions are available. Anyone with informa- tion about this robbery is asked to contact Halton po- lice at 905-825-4747 or Crime Stoppers at )- 222-TIPS (8477) or through the web at www.halton- crimestoppers.ca. *TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY 7100 IN REBATES* {Carrier Turn to the experts HEATING & COOLING www.aireonewest.ca Peter Watson. MBA, CFP, CIM, RFP, FCSI MBA, CFP, CIM Watson Investments m info@watsoninvestments.com BOOK A MEETING Watson Investments can help you. €Z0z ‘e ysNBny ‘Aepsuny, | seaveg eAxeO | ¢ to learn more about how (905) 842-2100 woo-uoyeyepIsu!