StratfordToday received the following letter regarding Stratford's budget increase.
Recently, city council discussed a proposal to give council members a raise. During the discussions city staff compared council’s pay with several other Ontario towns, one of them being Orillia.
In a previous letter I compared Stratford's spending to that of Orangeville. As similar as the cities of Stratford and Orangeville are, the cities of Stratford and Orillia are almost identical. Orillia has a population of 34,000 and covers an area of 28.53 km² for a population density of 1,717 people/km². Stratford has a population of 34,000 in an area of 30.02 km ² for a density of 1,107 people/km².
The figures being used for this comparison are taken from Stratford's 2025 draft budget and Orillia's adopted 2025 budget. Orillia's budget included a 2.5 percent tax increase, Stratford's 2025 draft budget if approved would include a 5.41 percentage tax increase.
Transit
The two cities in this department are basically the same. Orillia's transit budget is $3,907,880, Stratford's is $3,873,410.
Fire Department
Orillia has a hybrid fire department made up of 32 full time firefighters and 30 volunteer firefighters. It has two fire stations. Its budget is $9,688,089. Stratford’s fire department, as far as I could find out, has about 40 full time firefighters and two stations. Its budget is $10,064,855. So Orillia has 22 more possible firefighters for almost $400,000 less.
Police Department
Orillia has a contract with the OPP for its police services. Its police budget is $10,001,239. A 7.49 percent increase over 2024. Stratford’s police budget is $16,105,281. A 16 percent increase over 2024.
Totals
Orillia's three departments $23,597,208
Stratford's three departments $30,043,546
Obviously the elephant in the room is the police budget. At a recent budget meeting Councillor Beatty proclaimed “It’s up to council to determine the level of service we provide, so if you think there’s money to be found, then find it.” I think I found it. As far as level of service goes I highly doubt you're going to find anyone in Orillia or Orangeville who describes their communities as under policed, crime ridden hellscapes. It’s high time the city look into contracting its police services out to the OPP unless the taxpayers of Stratford are fond of 5-7 percent tax increases every year.
John Lewis
Stratford
