ERCA Approves 2026 DRAFT Budget Priorities

Essex Region – The Essex Region Conservation Authority Board of Directors has approved its draft 2026 Budget for circulation to member municipalities. “Total municipal funding for 2026 remains consistent with the 2025 level, thanks to the previous year’s surplus,” announced Tim Byrne, ERCA CAO.

Some highlighted projects for the year ahead include updating flood hazard mapping, GIS updates to the Limit of Regulated Area and continuing to promote a planning-first approach to watershed protection. Restoration and climate resiliency works to Hillman Marsh will continue, as will management planning for the new Collavino Conservation Area and CASO Greenway. More than 50,000 trees will be planted and 70 acres of habitat restored. ERCA will also continue to sample watercourses throughout the region to measure watershed health, while collecting data for the Kingsville-Leamington nutrient research study and delivering a comprehensive agricultural incentive program for best management farming practices. In addition, it will deploy a cloud-based backup and disaster recovery solution to enhance data integrity, ensure business continuity, and mitigate risks associated with ransomware attacks, malware infiltration, and inadvertent data loss.

The 2026 draft budget totals $13.9 million and will be funded with approximately $3.5 million from current year cost apportionment. Approximately $6 million is Federal funding and $347 thousand will come from Provincial funding sources. Three million of the budget represents self-generated funds, about $375 thousand is from previous years’ revenues, and $759 thousand will be transferred from reserves. Of the municipal cost apportionment, $3 million is required to fulfill the Authority’s mandatory obligations.

While year over year budget pressures for mandatory programs and services total $455,803, offsetting items result in a net increase in mandatory cost apportionment of just $83,143. This increase will be funded with the unrestricted accumulated surplus to ease one budget pressure source for ERCA’s municipal funders.

“The benefit of the locally-based decision making model upon which Conservation Authorities were founded allows ERCA to be nimble in decision-making, focusing on local watershed priorities while being able to respond to emerging municipal priorities,” said Molly Allaire, ERCA Chair.

In October 2025, the Province introduced significant amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act through Bill 68 – Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025 (No. 2). These changes established the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency (OPCA), a new provincial oversight body tasked with providing centralized governance, setting performance standards, and managing the transition to a regional watershed-based framework and the proposed consolidation of 36 Conservation Authorities into 7 regional Authorities.

“While these changes identified by the Province represent a major shift in oversight and governance, this budget was prepared prior to the release of Bill 68,” said Byrne. “However, the Province has provided no information about the potential impacts these legislative changes may have, and as such, no estimates to operations, governance, or service delivery have been included in this draft budget.”

Between 2018 and 2025, the local investment of levy and municipal special project funding attracted investment of $1.47 for every $1 of municipal investment for all non-mandatory programs, special term and capital projects. Between 2018 and 2025, ERCA received municipal funds of $12,841,732, representing levy and special-project funds for programs and projects that are categorized as non-mandatory under the Act. During that time, additional non-municipal funds of $18,858,568 were received, supporting those very same initiatives.

“As an integrated watershed management agency, ERCA’s service delivery areas have developed over decades, and include beneficial programs and services that support our collective goals related to ecological, social, and economic health,” added Byrne. “While the Province has identified the core services it deems mandatory, ERCA has secured agreements with each of its nine member municipalities to ensure the suite of Category 3 non-mandatory services it offers to achieve a future of environmental sustainability will continue to be delivered.” Some examples of these non-mandatory services include tree planting and restoration on non-conservation authority owned lands, education and outreach programs, museum operations at the John R. Park Homestead and water quality monitoring and reporting. 

The total cost apportionment toward creating a future of environmental sustainability will decrease by 34 cents per household, to $20.89, based on a home assessed at $300,000. Over the past ten years, Current Value Assessment in the region grew 26.8% while the household cost apportionment for the Conservation Authority has declined by 8% during this time.

Since 2018, the Essex Region Conservation Foundation has provided almost $3.7 million in funding towards mandatory and non-mandatory programs and capital projects, with substantial investment directed to the Fox Creek Conservation Centre at the John R. Park Homestead, various greenway community entrances, restoration projects including Peche Island reefs, and recently, to the Homestead’s museum and barn repairs.

The Essex Region Conservation Authority is a public sector organization established by the Province of Ontario and governed by local municipalities. Since 1973, it has provided the organization and delivery of local programs and services that further the conservation, restoration, development and management of natural resources in watersheds in the Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island region.