Haldimand County is pleased to announce the return of its popular summer camps and aquatics programs. All program details will be published on the county’s online registration portal this Friday, April 15, 2022. Registration opens Sunday, May 1, 2022.
Traditional ‘favourites’ will be offered this year as well as some new, themed camps suited to a wide variety of interests.
Program registration may be completed online starting Sunday, May 1, 2022 or in-person at the Haldimand County Administration Building starting Monday, May 2, 2022.
The county’s Spring/Summer 2022 Playbook will also be published online later this month, which contains general programming information and more local activity suggestions for the whole family to explore.
Further details about Haldimand County recreation programs can be found on the county website.
It is time to knit and purl your way back into the Haldimand County Public Library. The highly popular Knitting Clubs are back at the Caledonia, Dunnville and Jarvis branches. Participants can bring their current project and/or supplies and share in the hobby of knitting, crocheting or other yarn crafts with fellow yarn enthusiasts.
Jarvis Knitting Club runs every Thursday from 2-4 p.m.
Caledonia Knitting Club runs every second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 5-7 p.m.
Dunnville Knitting Club runs every Thursday from 1-4 p.m.
The Knitting Clubs are open to everyone, regardless of skill level. For more information, visit the adult programs section of www.haldimandlibrary.ca or call your local branch.
Haldimand County youth aged 11 to 15 can now register at the Caledonia, Cayuga, Dunnville, Hagersville, Selkirk and Jarvis library branches for the Red Cross Babysitting course. The course is a nationally recognized program designed to help participants develop the self-assurance, knowledge and skills required for not only babysitting duties, but also being at home alone. Topics covered in the course include caring for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and school-aged children as well as creating safe environments and how to handle emergencies.
The Red Cross Babysitting Course will run over five days and participants will be required to attend all five sessions and demonstrate a responsible and mature attitude in order to receive their certificate of completion.
The cost of the course is $40 per person and registration must be completed in person at the library branch. The maximum number of participants in each course is 12, ensuring student safety and success.
The dates, times and locations of the upcoming, in-person babysitting courses are:
Dunnville library branch – May 9-13, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Cayuga library branch – May 30-June 3, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Jarvis library branch – June 6-10, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Hagersville library branch – June 13-17, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Selkirk library branch — July 18-22, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Caledonia library branch – August 15-19, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
For further information on this or other library programming, please contact Katrina Krupicz, Community Outreach/Inreach Coordinator, Haldimand County Public Library at 905-318-5932 ext. 6552, or by email at kkrupicz@haldimandcounty.on.ca. Visit www.haldimandlibrary.com or connect on Facebook for information on programs, collections and more.
Residents of Haldimand County can now drop off leaf and yard waste at the Canborough Waste Management Facility (CWMF) year round, free of charge. Curbside pickup of leaf and yard waste will continue in urban areas as scheduled. Acceptable leaf and yard waste includes:
Brush, branches (bundled in bunches less than 1.2m x 0.75m of branches 7cm in diameter or less)
Flowers, plants, leaves, pine cones/needles, black walnuts, straw, corn stalks, pumpkins
Trimmings: bushes, hedges, plants, trees, weeds
The County has also announced its hazardous waste drop-off dates for 2022. Residents wishing to get rid of hazardous materials and electronic equipment that aren’t appropriate for regular garbage collection may do so at any of the four events throughout the year. All events run from 9 a.m – 1 p.m.
April 30 – Cayuga Secondary School, 70 Brant County Hwy 54, Cayuga June 11 – McKinnon Park Secondary School, 91 Haddington St., Caledonia September 17 – Public Works Yard, 710 Main St. E., Dunnville October 15 – Hagersville Secondary School, 70 Parkview Rd., Hagersville
Examples of common household hazardous waste include cleaners, paints, batteries, solvents, oil, pesticides, fertilizers, mercury items, fire extinguishers and aerosol cans. Residents can use the “What Goes Where” search tool to determine if an item is considered hazardous waste and visit the Recycle My Electronics website for a list of accepted electronic waste items. While batteries will be accepted at the events, they can also be dropped off year round at select locations.
For more information, or to ask about disposing waste items that are not accepted at the events, residents can email waste@haldimandcounty.on.ca.
Haldimand County is continuing to encourage residents and users of its facilities to have their say in the development of the County’s long-term Community & Recreation Facilities Strategy.
The Strategy focuses on facilities that support activities such as aquatics, sports, health, wellness, arts and culture and will be significantly informed by public input about recreation preferences.
To date, the public has been able to provide input through a survey and at four in-person consultation meetings. The information panels presented at the in-person session, including preliminary survey results and demographic information, are now available on the County’s website for community review and comment. Residents can share their written input or comments at RecStrategy@haldimandcounty.on.ca.
“Haldimand County received 2,000 responses to the community survey about this initiative and had further input through the in-person sessions,” says Mayor Ken Hewitt. “This is among the highest response we’ve received to any public consultation process we’ve done in recent years and confirms to Council the importance of this issue to residents and users of our community and recreation facilities and services.”
Monteith Brown Planning Consultants, who are working on the strategy, are anticipated to present preliminary recommendations to Council this June. Decisions on major investments, potential locations for new assets, and long-range capital planning will be considered during the next term(s) of Council.
The Dunnville Friends of the Library is a volunteer organization supporting the Dunnville Branch of Haldimand County Public Library through various annual fundraising events. After a 2-year hiatus due to pandemic restrictions, the Friends are once again planning for their Summer Book Sale and looking for volunteers to assist.
Friends of the Library members volunteer their time to set up, sort, restock, sell and take down the Summer Book Sale during the months of June, July, and August. This volunteer opportunity involves regular lifting and carrying of up to 30lbs.
New Friends are encouraged to stay on throughout the year and help with other projects such as the Elves Shoppe, at which unique and special toys and gifts are sold. This is an excellent opportunity for book lovers, individuals who want to get involved in their community and high school students looking to fulfill their community volunteering requirement.
Volunteer application forms may be picked at Haldimand County Public Library’s Dunnville Branch (317 Chestnut St.) at any time during regular hours. Interested individuals can also contact Lindsay Thomas, Branch Coordinator, at 905-318-5932 ext. 6118 or lthomas@haldimandcounty.on.ca for more information.
Haldimand County is pleased to announce the launch of its new, online building permit & planning application portal. Residents, contractors and developers can now submit applications, pay fees, schedule inspections and get status updates from one central location, 24/7.
The new online portal, powered by CityView, will allow registered users to access their own, customized dashboard of all past and present building, municipal enforcement and planning-related business activities. Users will also be able to submit by-law complaints and track their status through the portal.
“The introduction of CityView is one additional step the county has taken to enhance its services and improve customer experience,” said Mike Evers, Haldimand County’s General Manager of Community & Development Services.
“Not only does the portal make it easier for residents and builders to manage their construction and development-related projects, it streamlines the application intake process for staff to maximize efficiencies and save time,” Evers added.
Individuals who wish to utilize this new online portal can create an account at HaldimandCounty.ca/apply. Anyone with an upcoming building or planning-related project is encouraged to sign up and submit applications using the new system.
Haldimand County and staff from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing will be hosting a virtual Candidate Information Session for anyone interested in running as a candidate in the 2022 municipal or school board election.
The virtual session will take place on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome and pre-registration is not required. Connection details will be shared at www.haldimandcounty.ca/election/ closer to the session.
As there have been many changes enacted to the Municipal Elections Act in recent years, this session will benefit newcomers to the municipal election process, third party advertisers as well as those who have participated in past elections. Topics covered at the session will include:
Haldimand County Public Library invites residents of all ages to get creative and participate in its 9th annual poetry contest, to be held throughout the month of April.
This year’s theme is “Back to Nature”. The Library encourages entrants to express through poetry how nature impacts and inspires them, how they connect with nature, or how their actions effect the natural environment.
Entry forms, and a full list of rules and submission details can be obtained on the library’s website or at any library branch. Submissions can be made in person at any branches or can be submitted online.
Submissions will be accepted during the month of April and entered to win cash prizes in one of the following categories:
Primary – Kindergarten to Gr. 3
Junior – Gr. 4 to Gr. 6
Intermediate – Gr. 7 to Gr. 10
Senior – Gr. 11 – 12
Adult – age 18+
Judging will take place at the beginning of May by a library-chosen panel. First, second and third-place prizes will be awarded in each category. First prize will receive $50, second prize will receive $35 and third prize will receive $20. Winners will be announced in mid-May.
On March 31, 2022, Haldimand County Council reviewed and approved the 2022 Tax-Supported Operating Budget. The budget results in a total levy requirement of $76,221,100, which equates to a residential tax impact of 2.29%.
Generally, the annual Tax-Supported Operating Budget pays for day to day operations of the County, including salaries, wages, utilities, insurance and services such as running arenas/programming, maintaining locals parks and cemeteries, providing emergency services (fire, police and ambulance), the collection of garbage and related activities.
“Despite significant financial challenges related to economic factors beyond the county’s control, staff have worked hard to develop a budget that is aligned with Council’s priorities and mindful of the challenges our ratepayers are facing,” said Mark Merritt, General Manager of Financial & Data Services.
Major factors that influenced the 2022 Tax-Supporting Budget include external financial pressures (higher costs of materials, supply chain issues, increased inflation), as well as increases to costs associated with insurance, policing and contracted services (e.g. winter maintenance).
CAO Craig Manley noted that while the Operating Budget initially represented a 7% increase for ratepayers, staff conducted a rigorous review of controllable costs and only brought forward new initiatives that would negatively impact standards of service or health and safety if they were not included.
Manley also emphasized the positive impact of increased assessment from growth in 2021 – nearly $2.0 million or 2.73% – that has helped alleviate the tax burden and achieve the final recommended tax increase for 2022.
“The 2022 Tax-Supported Operating Budget represents a financially sustainable plan that responsibly manages taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars while addressing current and emergent needs of our growing community,” said Haldimand County Mayor Ken Hewitt.
“Thanks to the continued hard work of staff, we have once again been able to meet the Council-approved tax increase target of 2% annually, a goal that was established in 2018 at the beginning of this Term,” Hewitt added.
Highlights of the 2022 Tax-Supported Operating Budget include:
introducing new, permanent staffing resources to address organizational needs, respond to growth and meet service levels expected by residents (including up-staffing paramedic services to address response time standards);
proceeding with the Council-approved reorganization of the IT division to prioritize the enhancement of public-facing services (i.e. on-line and self-serve tax information), increase efficiencies and strengthen cybersecurity;
funding the continuation of successful economic development, tourism & culture-focused activities, including the successful Paddle Art Tour Haldimand (PATH) and Haldimand County Geocache Tour;
maintaining the enhanced levels of portable washroom cleaning and facilities put in place at public parks when the pandemic started in support of tourism and increased community use, and;
increasing funding for the proper asset management of existing social housing stock in the County and to financially support a new affordable housing build in Dunnville – a priority set by Council for this term.
On average, a residential property owner can expect their annual property taxes to be allocated as follows:
