2025 Plan and Budget

The Region of Waterloo’s Plan and Budget is how we will support what matters most to the community. Council is in the second year of implementing its new Strategic Plan: Growing with Care . The Plan provides a shared vision for the community as it navigates unprecedented population growth.

Our four priority areas are:

• Homes For All: We will invest in affordable homes and economic opportunity for all that are part of inclusive and environmentally sustainable communities.

• Climate Aligned Growth: As we grow, we will support a healthy environment where communities can thrive. Through intentional collaboration and creativity, we will support sustainable community growth.

• Equitable Services and Opportunities: Through collaboration and innovative design, we will provide equitable, accessible services across Waterloo Region that support the social determinants of health, safety and complete communities as we grow.
• Resilient and Future Ready Organization: The Region of Waterloo is a great place to work, where everyone is valued, feels they belong and where they have the supports and tools they need to do a great job. We will be prepared for the future by providing a safe space for bold ideas and experimentation, based on data and other ways of knowing.

The annual plan and budget process allows Council to identify and allocate investments across each of the four integrated priority areas, balancing the need to maintain existing essential service delivery, with affordability for residents and service growth. Residents and businesses continue to face extraordinary costs of living and doing business, and it will be important for Council to build the budget within the context of this reality. Each plan and budget process builds upon the decisions made in previous years. As new services or service expansions are implemented they increase the bottom line for years to come. This, in addition to the increasing cost of doing business, and shifting expectations on the role of municipalities by other levels of government,. Although increasing or enhancing levels of service are often inevitable, particularly in one of North America’s fastest growing communities, the pace for change must be skillfully managed in the context of the community’s ability to fund it.

Despite this challenging context, the Region continues to achieve high levels of service for the community and respond effectively to community calls to action regarding some of the most pressing challenges of our time including responding to the climate crisis, increasing affordable housing, addressing the root causes of chronic homelessness, increasing equity in service delivery, furthering Indigenous Reconciliation and responding to a rapidly changing digital service and cyber security landscape. As the fiscal realities of growth and a limited funding framework continue to be felt by each of the 444 Ontario municipalities, it is important that Council and staff are diligent and rigorous in setting the annual plan and budget.