Community members weigh in on Bancroft’s 2026 Budget Survey

November 18, 2025

By Nate Smelle

Bancroft residents have sent council a clear message about their expectations, concerns, and priorities heading into the 2026 municipal budget. At the Nov. 10 council meeting, municipal strategic communications and civic engagement specialist Sarah Phoenix presented the results of the town’s first round of public consultation, offering a detailed look at how ratepayers view the value of their tax dollars, which services matter most to them, and where they believe improvements—or restraint—are needed.

Phoenix explained that the survey, distributed primarily through social media from Oct. 7 to 20, produced what she described as “a strong response rate relative to municipal scale.” With a 6.57 per cent participation rate, Bancroft sits comfortably above average for small Ontario municipalities, many of which struggle to reach even five per cent engagement. While the total number of responses was modest, the depth of feedback, breadth of demographics, and consistency of themes provided council with what Phoenix called “a deeply engaged snapshot of the community’s priorities.”

Although the survey was anonymous, several demographic patterns emerged. Residential property owners made up the overwhelming majority of respondents at 91.74 per cent. Tenants accounted for a small portion, while commercial property owners (4.3 per cent) and visitors (3.9 per cent) rounded out participation. Phoenix noted that this breakdown closely mirrors Bancroft’s census profile.

Age demographics also revealed a more diverse respondent pool than many might expect, explained Phoenix. While Bancroft is known for its senior population, 75 per cent of survey participants were between the ages of 18 and 64. Perhaps most telling, 41 per cent of respondents have lived in the community for more than 20 years, and only 15 per cent have lived here for fewer than five years—suggesting that long-term residents, who have witnessed the town’s evolution over decades, were especially eager to weigh in.

How residents heard about the survey also reflected today’s communication realities: nearly 70 per cent learned about it through online platforms, including social media, the town website, email updates, and council highlights. Traditional media—radio, newspaper, and word-of-mouth—played a much smaller role, she said.

One of the most striking findings emerged when residents were asked how they rate the value they receive for their tax dollars. According to Phoenix, 24.4 per cent rated the value as very poor; 34.8 per cent rated it poor; approximately 30 per cent were neutral; while only 10.4 per cent saw good value.

“Most respondents, as you can see, feel they don’t receive good value for their tax dollars,” Phoenix told council. “Only about 11 per cent gave it a positive rating. But this actually aligns with broader trends and is consistent with provincial patterns in other municipalities.”

When residents were asked about funding options for maintaining or improving services, Phoenix said the community expressed both caution and conditional openness. The survey revealed that 56.1 per cent opposed increasing property taxes to maintain or improve services. However, 37.8 per cent said they might support increases depending on which services were affected.

User fees were viewed somewhat more favourably. Respondents showed slightly less opposition and more willingness to consider targeted fee increases for specific services. Likewise, when asked about the possibility of reducing service levels, the community showed limited support—most leaned toward “no” or “maybe,” depending on the service in question.

The overall picture, Phoenix explained, is that residents want stability: they want services maintained, but they are also cautious about how improvements are funded. The challenge for council will be balancing expectations with fiscal realities.

The survey asked residents to indicate whether they wanted services maintained, improved, or reduced in key municipal areas. The results showed strong preferences for maintaining current levels. When it comes to roads, 61 per cent of participants wanted service levels maintained, 19.6 per cent wanted them improved and 19.1 per cent would like them to be reduced.

In terms of fire services, 62.3 per cent wanted them maintained, 29.4 per cent called for improvements, and 8.3 per cent preferred them to be cut back. In regard to protective Sservices (bylaw, building, etc.): 54.9 per cent maintained.

Some 65.7 per cent of those surveyed wanted to see parks and facilities services maintained; while 65.7 per cent wanted waste management services maintained.

In addition, 56.9 per cent would like library services maintained; 63.2 per cent wanted digital administration services maintained and 51.5 per cent preferred to see community grants maintained.

Across all categories, reductions had the least support. Residents overwhelmingly prefer maintaining service levels—with roads and fire services topping the list of areas where improvement is most desired.

Mayor Paul Jenkins asked how residents envisioned maintaining or improving services without corresponding increases in taxes or fees. Phoenix clarified that the survey did not ask respondents to link their service preferences to funding mechanisms, meaning the desire for stable services exists independently from attitudes about taxation.

The survey received 106 open-ended comments, ranging from short notes to detailed, multi-paragraph submissions. These comments were analyzed for themes, revealing the issues residents feel most passionately about:

• Municipal infrastructure: 23 per cent

• Property taxation: 15.7 per cent

• Economic and tourism development: 14.7 per cent

• Arena operations: 10.8 per cent

• Community facilities: 9.8 per cent

• Governance and transparency: 9.8 per cent

• Fire services: 8.8 per cent

• Waste services: 8.4 per cent

Many comments expressed frustration with taxes, arena fees, or infrastructure conditions. Pointing out that this frustration is not apathy, Phoenix said “When we looked at the whole entire survey and those types of things, we looked at common themes and common kind of next steps,” explained Phoenix. “ So what we did learn was that community engagement is strong. The high value of responses, especially those expressing dissatisfaction, reflects a deeply engaged community that cares about the future of Bancroft. They’re not apathetic. They are passionate and invested.”

Examples included calls to grow the population and expand the tax base, improve roads, extend dump hours, increase protective services visibility, and ensure better regional cost-sharing for the arena. Others urged council to attract more economic activity, strengthen communication, and rebuild trust.

Thanking Phoenix for her report, Mayor Paul Jenkins commented on the survey’s findings, highlighting the longstanding structural challenges facing Bancroft and the broader region it serves. He noted that while the town has only about 4,100 residents, its daily service population is far larger—likely over 20,000—as reflected by the local family health team’s roster of more than 15,000 patients. This mismatch between population and service demand places heavy pressure on a tax base he described as “too small,” a problem recognized by multiple councils over many years.

Jenkins acknowledged that many survey respondents called for growing Bancroft’s population and expanding revenue through new business and residential development. Agreeing these are essential priorities, he stressed that the town cannot continue relying on its existing taxpayers to shoulder rising costs. With limited assessment growth and residents already struggling under a high tax burden, he said the municipality is at a point where it “cannot provide more for less—or even the same for the same.”

The mayor also criticized provincial funding formulas, arguing they do not reflect the realities of service delivery in rural hubs like Bancroft. Although the town saw a small increase in the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) this year, Jenkins said other municipalities with fewer pressures received larger boosts. Bancroft also experienced a $20,000 reduction in its Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) allocation. These shortfalls exacerbate the challenge of meeting rising costs with stagnant revenues.

Looking ahead, Jenkins said the town continues to advocate for change. At the upcoming ROMA conference, Bancroft has requested meetings with the Minister of Finance to discuss funding formulas, and the Minister Municipal Affairs to discuss regional municipal structure. He noted ongoing conversations about whether amalgamation or more coordinated service delivery could help small municipalities survive, though he acknowledged major restructuring is unlikely in the near future.