During their meeting on November 19, 2025, Council:
- Received the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) 2026 for information. The grant amount received will be $1,529,400, a 9% increase over 2025, and will be included in the 2026 budget.
- Received the budget to actual report for October 2025.
- Received an update regarding the Old River Road project.
- Approved the 2026 Fees and Charges By-law. This by-law outlines the fees for a number of municipal services not covered by taxes, from planning to marriages to public skating. Where fees are increasing, they have been kept at or below inflation and/or were changed to better align with the fees of neighbouring municipalities.
- Directed staff to include a clause in a forthcoming development agreement that would allow the municipality the option to acquire lands for an expansion to the Ilderton Rail Trail should Council wish to pursue the trail’s expansion after the completion of the Active Transportation Plan (currently in development). This option enables Council to see the full scope of the plan and resident feedback before making a final decision.
- Approved two Municipal Council Support Resolutions related to energy projects:
- a proposal from Stanton Standby Energy to expand the capacity of their existing renewable natural gas (RNG) project from 2 megawatts to up to 10 megawatts of electricity on their property located at 13502 Twelve Mile Road.
- a proposal from Walker Resilient Generation 2.0/Dairy Lane. to operate a RNG facility to generate up to 10 megawatts of electricity on their property located at 10651 Gold Creek Drive.
- Heard a planning item pertaining to a consent and zoning amendment request.
Water Rates for 2026-2027
During the meeting, Council also approved the water, wastewater and stormwater rates for both 2026 and 2027. Rate increases are necessary to support the capital projects identified in the municipality’s asset management plan and long-range water financial plan.
For 2026,
- water rates will increase 4.5% over the current water rate;
- wastewater rates will increase 5% over the current wastewater rate, and;
- stormwater rates will increase 9% over the current stormwater rate.
The average rate impact across water, wastewater and stormwater fees is 5.1% for most users when weighted across the three services. The impact to each property will vary slightly depending on water consumption. For those with all three services, the increases amount to about $8.60 per month for households using 180 m3 of water per year (as an example; costs will vary depending on water usage). For those with only stormwater service, the cost increase is about $1.53 per month.
The same rate increases will be applied in 2027.
Next Council Meeting
The next meeting of Middlesex Centre Council is set for Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., held at the municipal office.
For More Information
For more details on any of these items, see the full meeting agenda or contact the Municipal Clerk. You can view the meeting on YouTube.
Meeting highlights are prepared to give residents timely updates on council decisions. The Council Meeting Minutes are the official record of the meeting.