• Stouffville reported a $2.5 million mid-year operating budget surplus as of June 25, 2025.
  • Investment income of $1.2 million exceeded expectations, boosting revenues.
  • Automated Speed Enforcement penalties appear to have significantly contributed to growth in fine revenues.
  • Continued development slowdown led to reduced fees and unfavourable department variances.
  • Capital funding from development charges also lags well behind forecasts.
  • $7 million has been spent on Stouffville’s $78.8 million 2025 capital program.

 

As of June 25, Stouffville is reporting a $2.5 million favourable variance in its tax-supported operating budget, with about half of the Town’s annual budget spent at the mid-year point. The second-quarter results were presented in a report to Council on Sept. 3, its first meeting after the summer recess.

The surplus was driven largely by $1.2 million in investment income. Those revenues “significantly exceeded budget expectations,” the report states, with realized gains reinvested into Stouffville’s portfolio. “It is important to note that these results were largely influenced by current market factors and are not anticipated to reoccur at the same level in future quarters,” Staff wrote.

Additionally, Stouffville reported an expected rise in fine revenues following implementation of its Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) program. Municipal fines also include ticketed by-law infractions and are recorded under the Corporate Services department, which showed a favourable variance of nearly $2 million.

The Town declined to comment on specific fine amounts, noting ASE revenues will be disclosed in a mid-year report coming next month. Corporate Services includes the By-law, Information Technology, Legislative, and Adjudication Services divisions, where reduced salary costs from vacancies and delayed hiring contributed to the positive variance.

Progress has also been made in collecting overdue property taxes. In the first two quarters, Stouffville recovered $4.53 million from 2024 levies and $4.75 million from 2023 and prior years. About $10 million in arrears from 2024 and earlier remain outstanding.

Stronger-than-expected results were partially offset by a slowdown in development and related construction activity. Associated user fees came in below budget, with Development Services, Building, and Engineering and Public Works showing unfavourable variances of $484,400, $410,000, and $641,600, respectively.

Stouffville is also contending with deficits in its Water and Wastewater departments, where costs continue to exceed current user rates. According to the report, the concern remains “under review” and Staff are developing options to address the imbalance.

Weaker development activity is further reducing the Town’s ability to collect development charges (DCs), which help fund capital projects. Stouffville collected $1.35 million in DCs through Q2, including $1.194 million from nearly 135,000 square feet of new non-residential floor space. That represents just over half of the 241,243 square feet expected through 2025.

Only seven new residential units were built through Q2, bringing in $156,000 in DCs. The Town’s most recent DC Background Study, drafted before the current housing slowdown, had forecast 578 units and $17.6 million in residential DC revenue for 2025.

The 2025 $78.8 million capital program includes $39.2 million in new projects and $39.6 million carried forward from previous years. Just over $7 million has been spent so far this year, the report noted, though “$20.7 million of the carried forward projects are related to either front-ended agreements or outstanding payments for developers’ claims.”

“These [financial reports] are simply figures at a very specific moment in time,” Ward 2 Councillor Maurice Smith highlighted during Council’s meeting, noting that numbers can change the day after quarterly reports are issued.