Council sets the levy. Staff implement it. Only Council as a whole can say yes or no. Ray will vote like it is your money — because it is.
The levy and the water bill
The levy is the property-tax bill the County sets to run the corporation — roads, fire, parks, by-laws, planning, debt, and the wage line.
The levy is not the whole bill. Water and wastewater sit on a separate “rate” budget. Those charges jumped about 10 percent. A typical serviced house is looking at around $1,950 a year for water — on top of the tax levy, not inside it. When someone says “four dollars a week,” ask which envelope they mean.
Education tax is a third line. Council does not set that rate. Do not let them hide a County increase inside a blended total.
Ray will say the levy number and the water number in the same sentence. One vote cannot cut $146 million. One vote can refuse the next add-on and stop selling the increase as coffee money. The 2026 county levy is about $146.5 million, up about 7.4%. Do not clap for a “$4 a week” property-tax story while the other envelope is on the fridge.
Too many bosses. Too much pay.
For 2026 the levy is about $146.5 million. About $87 million of it is payroll. That is not a rounding error. It is the biggest line in the building.The CAO is published at about $286,000. General managers sit near $200,000. One hundred and fifty-four staff now clear $100,000 —$200,000; up from 87 two years before that.That may be justified — but let's see the proof in the pudding. Ray will not clap for another layer in Simcoe when the work on the street does not match the title. Norfolk County cannot afford Norfolk county
Stranglehold on Development
Development is essential for county growth. How can we expect beneficial growth when Norfolk just approved a development-charge jump from about $25,700 on a typical new home to about $49,400 on July 1, 2027. Tillsonburg, with Oxford County’s charges stacked on, is still around $28,600. Growth goes where the math works. You cannot nickel-and-dime builders and then wonder why the lots sit empty. Staff decides figures, Council votes the rate. While CAO Meneses told Council "other towns will catch up." Ray will not treat every new house as a cash machine that only helps with next years increase in pay for many County Chair Members. Check this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuIQPMAajOU . Engineer Vallee sets the record straight and calls out the flaws in the County's miss managment of the development of Norfolk. Time stamp: 5:00 mins in.
Reserves are not a toy box.
The new garbage and organics carts came out of the Legacy Fund — leftover money from selling Norfolk Power. That was one-time cash. The carts are already bought. The bill that never ends is the new collection contract. You do not drain a sale fund to look busy and then call it good management.The new garbage and green carts cost about $5.03 million. That came from Legacy Fund investment income, so staff can say “not on the levy.” The bill that stays is the collection contract. Old pickup was about $4.2 million a year. The new program is budgeted at about $8.0 million in a full year. That is nearly double, even after they called automated the cheap bid . $1.0 million hits the 2026 levy (part year). Another $2.8 million is slated for 2027. Norfolk Disposal was the only bidder on the new contract. One-time sale money bought the plastic. Taxpayers still pay the truck. Ray wants the cost per household every year, not the photo op.
By Laws and Officers
Adding another officer does not fix a department that already cannot close the pile. Norfolk’s own page says the team works complaints Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 4:30. After hours, noise and parking go to the OPP — on their priority list, not ours. A new bylaw post was costed around $119,000 with benefits. The wage line already has six-figure titles stacked above the people who knock on doors. Pay the work on the street before you add another desk in Simcoe.Ray will not vote the next badge as a substitute for results. Count the files finished — not the chairs filled.
Born here. Not collecting.
Ray was born and raised in Port Dover. He is not running for a paycheque. He wants one vote that says the dollar out loud before it says yes. If you call and he is unavailable at the time, he promise to return your call within 2 hours, not the 48-72 hour timeline you normally receive from other County employees.(If they even call you back). He will also have his brother Ed Hunter help make the calls if for some reaosn he cannot; now thats 2 for the price of one. That is Dover looking after Dover. Ray's plan for his salary if voted in is to give 50% to Norfolk General hospital and the other 50% to the Hospice.
