Board of Health approves budget

The Board of Health approved Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health’s 2012 budget at its meeting Dec. 7.

The health unit’s total budget for mandatory and related programs is $18,813,106 - a 3% increase over last year.

Director of finance and corporate services Carole Desmeules said, “The province doesn’t release [its] budget until August of next year, so we estimated the provincial funding of $12,132,714. Municipal funding accounts for $5,775,392, with an additional levy of $900,000 for the development of new facilities in Orangeville and Guelph.”

Wellington and Dufferin Counties are responsible for 33.5% and 21.3% respectively of the municipal portion of that budget, and the City of Guelph carries 45.2%.

The percentages are based on population as recorded in the 2009 census.