Friday, February 23, 2024 7 Brooklin Town Crier The approved budget will result in a 4.4 per cent Town budget increase or an estimated 1.5 per cent residential bill increase to support Town services. This represents an increase of just over 25* cents per day, per household for the delivery of important services residents rely on every day, like waste collection, snow clearing and parks maintenance. This budget focuses on maintaining the Town's essential service delivery, reducing Whitby's environmental footprint, and modernizing municipal systems and processes to better support the community, while planning for growth. The Town's $175 million operating budget will support the continued delivery of the Town's programs and services including fire services, waste collection, parks and trails, maintenance of roads and community facilities, recreation, libraries, and many other important services. The budget also includes $84 million in capital investments like: • playground and accessibility improvements at three locations: Vipond, Sato, and College Downs Parks; • park improvements, including a new cricket pitch at Jeffery Park, renovated basketball court at Baycliffe Park, splashpad surface replacement at Cachet Park, and playground surface replacement at Oceanpearl Park; • continued construction of the Whitby Sports Complex; • Waterfront Trail improvements around Corbett Creek, including pedestrian bridge and boardwalk replacement and trail widening; • new and improved multiuse path and cycling connections; and, • environmental sustainability investments that will reduce the Town's net Greenhouse Gas emissions, including new Electric Vehicle charging stations. For the first time, Brooklin High School will host the 2024 OFSAA Ontario High School hockey championships in both the boys and girls divisions. The tournament will run March 19-21 at local arenas, the final schedule to be determined later this month. The 64 teams and approximately 1600 hockey players in AAA, AA, and A divisions will stay at a number of Whitby and Oshawa hotels. The Brooklin High Bears boys team won the OFSAA AAA title in 2018 while the girls AAA team won it last year. Admission will be charged at the entrance of each arena. Children 12 and Under: Free Adults & Students: $10/Day OR $20 Championship Pass For further information, visit: https://www.ofsaa.on.ca/ championship/hockey/ Brooklin High To Host Provincial Hockey Finals Whitby Town Council Approves 2024 Budget