Township of Blandford-Blenheim Council received the results of Oxford County’s 2027 budget consultation survey during the regular Council meeting on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
The county-wide online budget survey was open from June and the end of August and received 107 responses from Blandford-Blenheim residents, a 28 per cent decrease from the 149 responses received last year.
According to the report from Denise Krug, the Township’s Director of Finance and Treasurer, the survey helped illustrate how property taxes were allocated in 2026, and asked respondents to indicate whether the same services should be enhanced, maintained or reduced for next year.
Based on a home with the average residential MPAC assessment of $275,000, the survey showed participants that about $173 per household went toward parks and recreation in 2026, $261 for fire services, $193 for the OPP contract, $873 for roads and bridges, $9 for municipal by-law enforcement and $12 for building and drainage services.
“The large majority of respondents want to see all services maintained at current levels or improved,” Krug wrote in her report. “When asked about the overall value received from Township tax dollars, 65.98 per cent of respondents [64 responses] rated it fair to good, down 7.5 per cent from the last survey.”
Respondents were also asked to identify their top five priorities in the community from a list of 26 areas.
The survey results show the most common options chosen were:
- Safe Communities – Police (41)
- Infrastructure – Roads, Bridges and Stormwater (38)
- Snow/Ice Control (38)
- Safe Communities – Paramedic Services (34)
- Safe Communities – Fire (30)
Krug said that while infrastructure and police have been in the top five priorities in previous surveys, snow and ice control, as well as paramedics and fire were all new to the list.
It should be noted that respondents were asked if they had heard about the survey through a flyer, notice or bill insert; social media; news media; council meeting or updates; email; website or web ad; or word of mouth.
With that in mind, Councillor Tina Young said that 107 respondents represented about 3 per cent of the households in the township, and wondered how they could encourage more residents to participate in the future.
“This survey was sent in multiple ways. It wasn’t just online because that’s not everybody’s thing. But it was in the tax inserts, it was advertised, and it was Oxford wide, so it wasn’t just in our little part of the world. Maybe next time it comes around, we can think about how we can creatively get more people to respond,” she said. “I think it’s something for us to consider because when I go into budget time, I do really look at this. I print it out and look at what people’s comments and top priorities are, and it helps me with some of the decisions that we make here. But I have a hard time making those decisions at 3 per cent.”
When she later asked staff whether they thought the Township would get a better response if it conducted its own survey rather than relying on the County’s, CAO Josh Brick said that staff have already begun discussing it.
“I suspect that’s something that Council will see before too long,” he replied. “It would be worth trying.”
Councillor Nancy Demarest, referring to the top five priorities identified by residents, noted that 24 respondents in the 2026 survey flagged high-speed internet as a priority, marking a decrease from previous years.
“I think internet service used to be higher up on the list, but now it’s down,” she said. “It makes me think that what we’ve done in the past, is working to address that issue.”
Both Young and Mayor Mark Peterson said Demarest had raised a good point, stating they should be monitoring the results every year to see if they’re effectively addressing their resident’s priorities.
“As an example, let’s say by-law had been repeated in there ten to 15 times, and if next year it came back the same, then obviously we’re failing somewhere and need to change that.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
