They may not all have liked it, but the majority of Halton Hills Council has voted in favour of the Town’s 2024 budget.
In an 8-3 vote Monday, next year’s $26-million capital budget, along with the operating budget of almost $70 million and resulting 9.04 per cent Town tax levy increase were approved, with Councillors Joseph Racinsky, D’Arcy Keene and Ron Norris opposed.
Included in these figures is a 0.78 per cent increase to the Town’s ‘state of good repair’ special levy for local infrastructure.
The budget also accounts for a new 0.25 per cent dedicated healthcare levy, which aims to start setting money aside in a reserve fund now for expected requests to financially support future projects like a new Georgetown Hospital, long-term care facility and hospice.
The increase on the Town portion of the tax bill will equate to an additional $36.64 per $100,000 of the assessed value of your home.
In addition to the Town, local residents pay taxes to Halton Region, which is proposing a 5.1 per cent tax hike for regional and police services next year, and the school boards, which are looking at a 0 per cent increase.
After combining the Town, Region and school boards together, Halton Hills residents can expect to pay an additional $51.64 per $100,000 of the assessed value of their home in 2024, or an overall 6.06 per cent increase.
Resident raises tax increase concerns
Before approving the budget, council first heard from local resident Neil Foster, who said the community can’t continue to shoulder property tax increases every year.
“Your annual tax increases will eventually break the backs of your residents,” he said.
“You will drive seniors on fixed incomes out of their homes, you will make renters struggle even more as the landlords will just pass on these increases to them. You will continue to make this city more and more unaffordable to live in.”
Keene said he couldn’t agree more with Foster’s commentary. He and Racinsky went on to voice their opposition to the budget.
“There’s no way I could speak to my residents ever again if I approved a nine per cent increase during these tough times,” added Keene.
Councillor Clark Somerville said while he doesn’t like the budget, he’s supporting it as “it did protect our core services such as (for) seniors, the library, recreation and parks, and a transit strategy being done through the capital budget that we’ve had businesses asking about.”
Mayor Ann Lawlor - who said the tax increase is higher than she hoped - thanked staff for their efforts in putting together the 2024 budget, which she said reflects some costs that are “absolutely out of the control of town council and staff.”
She pointed to the rising cost of living, an estimated 13 per cent increase in construction prices, responsibilities that were downloaded to the Town from other levels of government, and international events like wars that affect the supply chain and cost of goods.
“With this budget, I feel council has done its best to ensure services are maintained as our residents expect, and we are completing our legislated responsibilities,” she said, noting that “cost consciousness and the burden on the taxpayer” were top of mind for council.
The Town of Halton Hills collects property taxes on behalf of Halton Region and the school boards. This means that the taxes paid by property owners get split, with approximately 51 per cent going to the Region and school boards and 49 per cent going to the Town.
