This year’s average residential property tax bill could jump by $176, if city council follows through with administration's tax implementation plan.
Frozen education taxes helped bump the rates a bit lower than they would have otherwise been, with the municipal portion ending up coming to a five-per-cent increase for residential, 4.5-per-cent increase for commercial and 2.7-per-cent increase for industrial. The current industrial ratio is 3.59, meaning industrial property owners spend 3.59 times more on property taxes than residential property owners.In their proposed plan for 2023, the city has reduced the industrial tax ratios slightly, resulting in $650,000 in tax revenue shifting from industrial properties to other property classes.
Another factor in determining 2023 tax rates is the city’s area rating model, wherein taxes vary depending on location within the municipality to cover fire and transit services. During the first year, one-third of the arbitration was attributed to the former City of Valley East while career and volunteer areas were allocated two-thirds.
Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh introduced a successful motion earlier this year for administration to look into multi-year budgeting’s potential.