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<p>Welcome to My Port Hope, our public engagement platform. We invite you to join the conversation and share your ideas and feedback.</p>

My Port Hope

Every municipality in Ontario has a Procedural By-law that governs how Council and Committee members carry out the business of the municipality. The Port Hope Procedural By-law 60-2023 underwent a comprehensive review in 2023 and was implemented in January 2024. At the one-year mark, staff recommended a scoped review of the new Procedural By-law to determine which aspects were working well, and which aspects could be amended to better facilitate effective meetings. As part of that review, staff committed to monitoring the progress of the procedural changes, including collecting further community feedback and recommending any amendments to Council for their consideration.What is a Procedural By-law?The Procedural By-law is a set structure that guides processes for Council and Committee meetings. The By-law outlines: how Council members cast their votes, how late Council meetings can run, conduct for Council, how and when residents can speak at meetings and interact with Council, and how public meetings are communicated to residents.Why is it important?The Procedural By-law is important because it:Ensures fairness and consistency in the decision making processFosters respectful conduct and collaborative approaches to decision makingSupports an open, accountable, transparent governance process so that the public, Council and staff understand how decisions are made and what to expect at the meetingsWhat happens next?Staff have been collecting public and Council feedback on Procedural By-law 60-2023, which includes the community survey.Following the review of this information, staff will bring a report to with any recommended changes to the procedural By-law for Council consideration at a Committee of the Whole meeting.At Committee of the Whole, members of the Public will have an opportunity to ask questions to Council. A final decision with any recommended changes to the By-law will take place at the following Council Meeting. Members of the public may make a deputation to Council during this meeting if they so wish. During the review period, members of the public may also contact members of council to provide feedback, or email the clerk.

Procedural By-law One-Year Review

The budget survey is now closed, thank you to all who participated. The information gathered through the survey will be used to help Council and staff understand satisfaction with the services delivered by the Municipality, which can help us determine where to increase, maintain, or decrease funding.The winners of the draw will be announced by the Municipality soon!Municipal Budget ProcessEach year, Municipality of Port Hope staff work hard to develop the Capital and Operating Budgets that address the unique needs of our community and pave the way for a sustainable future. This process is one of the most important tasks carried out by staff and takes many months of planning before it is presented to Council for consideration.Watch this quick video on how a municipal budget is developed to learn about the municipal budget process.Budget development The municipal team has spent several months preparing a draft for the 2025 operating and capital budgets. This is one of the team's most important tasks, requiring a lot of planning before it goes to Council for review. Right now, the budgets on this website are just proposals from staff. They include recommendations for the operating budget, which covers the costs needed to keep things running and deliver services. Staff have also made recommendations for the capital budget, which deals with big projects and future needs for things like acquiring, maintaining, and replacing municipal assets.Significant budget impactsThe 2025 budget faces two main challenges. First, historical underinvestment in infrastructure by the Municipality necessitates a significant boost in funding to ensure the continued smooth operation of our services. Second, the escalation of market prices has a widespread impact on various budgetary components, including expenditures on materials, personnel, fuel, and equipment. Addressing inflation proves particularly difficult for infrastructure, where costs experience a more pronounced increase compared to routine daily expenses.The levy explainedThe Municipal levy refers to the amount of money that a municipal government raises through property taxes to fund its operations and services. The Municipality relies on various revenue sources such as grants, user fees, funding from other levels of government, etc. to cover the costs of providing services. Property taxes are a significant part of this revenue, and the municipal levy represents the total sum of money collected from property owners within the municipality.The overall municipal levy doesn't directly mean your property tax bill will go up by the same percentage. The tax base includes all taxpayers—residential, commercial, and industrial. About half of your property tax goes to cover Port Hope's needs, while the rest goes to Northumberland County and local School Boards. How much you pay depends on factors like your property's assessed value compared to others, whether you live in the urban or rural area, the services you receive (like policing), and how much our community grows with new residents and businesses.Council budget discussionsCouncil will meet for a full day Finance Committee meeting on November 19, 2024, beginning at 9:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. During this session, Council will thoroughly examine, evaluate, and discuss the proposed 2025 budget. The meeting is open to the public and will be live streamed on the Municipality’s YouTube channel.

2025 Budget

Development charges fund infrastructure projects that serve new developments in Port Hope. These projects include policing, transit, water, and wastewater services. The purpose of development charges (D.C.s) is to recover the capital costs linked to residential and non-residential growth in the municipality. These costs go beyond those typically covered in subdivision construction (e.g., internal roads, watermains, sidewalks, and streetlights). Municipalities are authorized to levy these charges under the Development Charges Act (D.C.A.).Why do we need to update the Development Charges?Currently, Port Hope applies development charges through By-law 63/2019, which covers the period from 2019 to 2024 and is set to expire this year. As a result, the municipality is now conducting a Background Study for the next period, from 2024 to 2034.Have your say!This engagement page will provide access to draft findings and serve as a platform to collect feedback. Explore this page and take note of the posted documents, meeting dates and important links. Once reviewed, please provide your feedback on the comment form.Please note: The Public Meeting regarding the Proposed Development Charges By-law scheduled for June 18, 2024, has been postponed due to the passing of Bill 185 by the Province, which includes proposed Changes to Regulations under the and Development Charges Act. This meeting will be rescheduled at a later date to allow for the Development Charges Background Study to be amended. 

Development Charges

In 2023, Transport Canada established the Program to Enhance Rail Safety Engagement (PERSE) with the aim of promoting efforts to enhance Canada's rail safety system. In February 2023, our staff applied for a PERSE grant to create a Rail Safety Program tailored for the Municipality of Port Hope. By December of the same year, we were informed that we had been granted $75,000 to aid in crafting and implementing this program, which includes developing both a Rail Safety Plan and a Continuity of Operations Plan.Now, our team, along with technical consultants from Loomex Group Ltd., will embark on the development of the Rail Safety Program. This process will involve engaging with various stakeholders, including First Nations partners, and presenting our progress to the Council.We anticipate that it will take approximately nine months to complete the program's development. Staff training and a municipal emergency exercise, aimed at practicing and implementing the plans and program, are scheduled for 2025.This federal grant will cover the costs associated with developing and implementing a comprehensive Rail Safety Program, including an Evacuation Plan and Continuity of Operations Plan for our Municipality. This initiative will enhance our ability to ensure the safety of all residents of Port Hope in the event of a rail line emergency incident.Community EngagementThroughout the development of the Rail Safety Program, we will conduct numerous internal engagement sessions involving police, fire, municipal staff, and council members. Concurrently, we will also hold external sessions with community members and First Nations representatives. This inclusive approach ensures that all aspects of rail safety are considered during the development of the Rail Safety Plan for the Municipality. These sessions will be facilitated by our technical consultants, with support from Corporate Communications to handle public engagement events and assist in plan development and the municipal exercise.In-person engagement sessionJoin us for our in-person engagement session at Town Hall on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. staff and consultants from Loomex Group Ltd. will be on site to facilitate discussion and gather feedback and recommendations to be implemented in the new Rail Safety Plan. SurveyCan't attend our in-person engagement session? We still want to hear your thoughts and recommendations! Please complete this short survey to help guide the development of this plan: Survey

Rail Safety Plan

We are creating a Community Climate Emergency Action Plan (CCEAP). In 2022, we, along with many other Canadian municipalities declared a climate emergency to officially recognize the growing impacts of climate change and to meet goals set out by the Government of Canada to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To complete this work, Port Hope is working with ICLEI Canada, a national non-profit organization whose mission is to build and serve a worldwide movement of local and regional governments that are committed to achieving tangible improvements in local sustainability and resilience. Planning for the CCEAP will follow ICLEI Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)’s Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) framework and will complete Milestones 1 through 3 of their process. ICLEI Canada will provide technical consulting, project management, and stakeholder engagement to build capacity, share knowledge, and support the implementation of climate change mitigation in the local community.The PlanIn recognition of the implications of climate change and having already felt climate impacts directly, the CCEAP will identify a path forward for a ‘resilient community’ and establish a decarbonization roadmap to attain net-zero community GHG emissions by 2050. We'll focus on mitigating the causes of climate change and preventing further contributions to global warming by: identifying and scoping strategies to reduce GHGs, improving energy efficiency, and reducing waste. As Port Hope’s population continues to grow, it will be important to understand how we can best manage future growth in a sustainable manner and mitigate potential impacts to our environment, economy, society, and infrastructure. This action plan will look at Port Hope’s energy use and emissions today and focus on strategies to reduce them in seven key areas: Buildings, Transportation, Waste, Agriculture, Land-Use, Renewable Energy, and Nature-based solutions.Development of the CCEAP will include determining our current emissions, establishing a clear vision and goals, and then deciding on strategies needed to reach net-zero by 2050. We will also consider the cost and effective implementation plan. Our EmissionsICLEI completed a 2018 community baseline GHG emissions inventory for Port Hope to establish a basis for future emission reduction scenario modelling to achieve net-zero emissions. The below chart gives a snapshot of each sector’s contribution to Port Hope’s GHG emissions: Benefits A CCEAP will benefit the community, businesses, and the local economy by: Reducing energy costs with the implementation of more energy efficient technologies and practices. This will help protect against rising energy prices in Ontario as well as help alleviate energy poverty.Reducing air pollution and improving health with active transportation, public transit, and carpooling;Better energy resiliency and energy security. With more renewable energy generation, citizens will be less affected by power outages and interruptions, and less impacted by the rising price of energy in OntarioMore economic growth in the agricultural industry as a result of more efficient agricultural practices (e.g. use of technology to support efficiency);Improved health of workers, as a result of less pollution and unsafe working conditions (e.g. heat waves);Businesses who invest in energy efficiency and sustainability can be recognized as leaders by their peers in Ontario and elsewhere;New jobs and economic growth in the building and construction industries and clean energy sector;Growing tourism industry from the expansion of electric vehicle use, conservation of our natural heritage, and investment in sustainable practices;Social and health benefits as a result of ecological conservation, better waste practices, and sustainable land-use planning. We want to hear from youIt is important to know the community priorities in order to make a meaningful impact with this action plan. By sharing your opinions and insights, you contribute directly to the development of the Community Climate Emergency Action Plan. Each unique perspective will help create strategies that resonate with the needs of our community. Together, we can pave the way for a more resilient future. To provide your feedback please complete our short survey: Survey is launching April 30 and closing May 31, 2024. We will also be holding community engagement sessions. Please watch this page for more information.

Community Climate Emergency Action Plan

Comment Form