
Southwest Middlesex Council Highlights - January 11, 2023
Council Highlights is an informal summary of selected actions taken by Southwest Middlesex council and are not an official record of council proceedings. To view official agendas and minutes, please visit Agendas and Minutes.
Afternoon Session
The afternoon session was the first 2023 budget meeting for Southwest Middlesex. Council received a budget process overview which included legislative requirements under the Municipal Act, and details about what information is used to develop the budget. The information received by council included yearly assessment changes since 2019, yearly budget changes since 2019, along with a list of capital projects completed during the same span of years.
The Treasurer explained the budget process noting that senior staff use a combination of Council Directives, historical information, departmental business plans, and the asset management plan to determine what their financial needs for the upcoming year will be. The Treasurer combines these requests with any reserve that could be utilized and funds/grants that are anticipated to arrive at an overall budget requested amount.
- Residential – 1
- Multi-Residential – 1.7697
- Farm/Managed Forest – 0.25
- Parking Lot/Commercial/Commercial Vacant – 1.1449
- Industrial/Industrial Vacant – 1.7451
- Pipeline – 1.0555
- Landfill – 1.1
Evening Session
Annual Planning Report
County representatives presented the annual report to council noting that land use planning decisions have long-term implications for the protection of resources and the growth and development of the communities within Middlesex County. Good planning leads to orderly growth, the efficient provision of services, and desirable change - better places to live.
The following image shows the number of planning applications that have been processed in Southwest Middlesex since 2016. It is expected that the number of planning applications will continue to increase in future years.

Election Accessibility Report
The Clerk reported that no issues were discovered with the Election Accessibility Plan from the 2022 municipal election. The report will be reviewed again prior to the 2026 municipal election.
Snowplow RFQ Results
Council accepted the quote of Sam Kirschner for snowplowing services at the following properties - West Lore Reservoir, Wardsville Fire Station, Wardsville Sidewalks, Melbourne Sidewalks and Elm Day Care.
Upcoming Meetings:
January 25 - Budget Meeting
January 25 - Council Meeting
February 8 - Budget Meeting
February 8 - Council Meeting
Full details of the information presented to council is available through Agendas & Minutes or you can listen to the council meeting on our YouTube channel.