Heather Wright/The Independent

Reconstruction of some streets in the Village of Warwick and improving drainage in Watford in case of heavy rainfall are some of the highlights of the 2026 budget for Warwick Mayor Todd Case.

Council approved the $14.55 million operating and capital budget during a special meeting Jan. 22. Homeowners will face a four per cent tax increase, adding about $28 to their bill for every $100,000 of assessed value of their property.

The $4.9 million capital budget includes drainage projects in Watford, where in 2023 and 2024 homes flooded after massive single-day rainfalls of more than 10 inches.

Case says the township has developed a plan “to get water away from town” a move he calls “very important” considering the changeable weather.

Three streets in the village of Warwick are also on the capital works project list; Kelly, William and Guy. “There hasn’t been much road work done in the village for quite some time,” said Case. “Council wanted to make sure that we took a good look at Warwick village itself to see what projects could be done there.” There are also plans in this budget to upgrade playground equipment there.

The township also put money aside for the reconstruction of Churchill Line. 

“Churchill is actually in very poor condition and it’s a road that we own with Brooke-Alvinston, so we’re being responsible and starting to fix that is very important,” the mayor said.

There is also plans for a new accessible playground at Centennial Park in Watford, new netting, lights and concrete polls at the Watford ball diamond and upgrades to the Watford fire station.

Case says money to create the accessible playground was taken from the hydro reserve. Since Watford sold its utility to Bluewater Power, it has received dividend payments. Case says there is over $670,000 in the reserve and is glad to see it used. “We thought that money really should be used for community projects. So council decided to utilize that for the ballpark and for the playground equipment as well, and that way, it’s not a burden on the taxpayer.”

The township also uses some of the revenue generated by tipping fees from the Twin Creeks landfill for capital. This year it was about $2.5 million.

A couple of projects planned for this year will cost less than anticipated. Work at the Watford library will be $80,000 than estimated and a consultant to look at staffing will cost $20,000 less than expected.

Case says those changes will help cover increase in other projects including the reconstruction of the Nauvoo/Confederation intersection, which is expected to cost $80,000 more than estimated. That project will include the infrastructure to add traffic lights in the future.