January 4, 2024 – Mayor Mat Siscoe has released his 2024-26 Multi-Year Budget, which includes a 1.49% City tax levy increase for 2024, starting the 30-day amendment period for Council under the new Strong Mayor legislation. The amendment period allows City Council the opportunity to make changes to the budget and propose service level changes that could further impact the City portion of the levy.
Mayor Siscoe pointed out that, while the new system for the Budget is different from the process used in previous years, it should ensure a maximum amount of transparency and accountability as Council works through the timelines.
“Residents will be well-informed about the proposed amendments introduced by City Councillors, and how they will impact their tax bills. I encourage residents to reach out to their Councillors and actively participate in the discussion over the next month,” Siscoe stated.
The budget follows a budget recommended by City staff which proposed a 3.67% increase. This would have resulted in an additional $62.71 on the average tax bill. The Mayor's budget, however, lowers this increase to $25.52.
“Over the past year, we have had a lot of discussion regarding the importance of maintaining the current level of services while focusing on taxpayer affordability. This budget addresses both concerns by only increasing the City's portion of the tax levy by 1.49%. Any further reductions would result in cuts to services. Through our telephone townhall and public engagement, it was made clear by residents that they are strongly opposed to seeing services slashed.”
Highlights of the Mayor’s budget include:
- A commitment to lower the levy by $500,000 using dollars saved in previous years due to the difficulty in hiring staff;
- A significant reduction of $465,000 (more than 20%) in the forestry budget with a maintenance of service levels through contracting out, with savings rising to $701,000 in 2025 and $710,000 in 2026;
- Further savings of $250,000 from the consolidation of contracted security services;
- The introduction of the Older Adult Tax Increase Deferral program, as passed by Council in Q4 of 2023;
- Use of $1,431,000 from the Special Tax Mitigation Fund, setup by Council in 2023 to help in reducing the tax burden on residents.