By Cecilia Nasmith

With a 2% increase on the horizon for the Northumberland County portion of the 2019 budget, chief administrative officer Jennifer Moore and treasurer Glenn Dees updated Cobourg council Monday on some of the county's accomplishments for 2018.

Moore led off with the Business and Entrepreneurship Centre, which helped 111 businesses get started and helped create 135 jobs. It also hosted its first entrepreneurship conference, which was a sold-out event and will be followed up by a 2019 version.

They began a partnership with the New Canadians Centre that has them offering services out of the county building on William Street, where The Factory co-working space has 60 members.

Other points of pride include the fourth annual Northumberland Multicultural Day, completion of the Roseneath Emergency Services Base, a good beginning on the Trent Hills base (on which construction should begin this year), and 1.4-million lb. of food (worth $3.6-million) distributed through the Food 4 All Warehouse.

The year begins with the prospect of work beginning on the big Golden Plough Lodge redevelopment which should also house the county archives and provide an increase in beds to 180 from 151.

“We are hearing loud and clear we need those additional beds in our community,” Moore commented.

Looking ahead, Dees said, $56.2-million of the county 's $123-million budget for this year ($98.7-million in the operating budget, $17.5-million in the capital budget and $6.8-million to be transferred to reserves) comes from tax levies.

Another significant source of revenue for the county is provincial grants and subsidies that account for 35% of a year's revenue. The average for an Ontario municipality is 20%, Dees said, but the fact that Northumberland County is an upper-tier full-service municipality may help account for the difference.