Toronto's not alone in looking at property tax hikes. These municipalities are too

Toronto is not alone in looking at a substantial property tax increase to ease budgetary pressures this year — other municipalities are considering or have approved tax increases, and at least one is turning to the Ontario government for help.

Earlier this month, Toronto city staff proposed a property tax increase of 10.5 per cent that they say could rise to 16.5 per cent without more federal funds.

But Brian Rosborough, executive director of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, said a number of municipalities are struggling to pay for services and infrastructure that were downloaded by the province in the 1990s. Those costs include social housing, land ambulance services and public health. 

"We really have a fundamentally unsustainable fiscal framework with the province," Rosborough said on Tuesday.

"In every other province and territory in Canada, those are not municipal funding responsibilities. And while municipalities do a good job in managing those programs, it doesn't make any sense for property taxpayers on fixed incomes to be funding income redistribution."

Who is responsible for what is out of sync with how revenues are generated in Ontario, he said. Costs and revenues need to be aligned, he added.

In December, Waterloo Region approved a property tax increase of 6.9 per cent. Pickering, meanwhile, is considering a 3.99 per cent property tax increase for 2024, which will be confirmed at the end of the month. 

At its Tuesday meeting, Burlington city council unanimously approved a request to ask the provincial government for a "comprehensive social and economic prosperity review to promote the stability and sustainability of municipal finances across Ontario."

The city is asking for a new deal and new municipal fiscal framework from the province.

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, also chair of Ontario's Big City Mayors Caucus, said the issue has been a focus for the city and Halton Region for several years.

"We simply cannot continue to fund the infrastructure, the community services, all of the needs that a community needs, on the backs of property taxpayers. The property tax system was never designed to address the complexity of issues that are now facing municipalities," she said.

"We can't continue to see double digit tax increases at the municipal level. It's a regressive tax and it takes no account of income and that is also unpredictable."

Relief needed for municipalities, Pickering mayor says

Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe said he used his recently granted "strong mayor" powers to draft a budget with a 3.99 per cent property tax increase. He plans to present his budget proposal by the Jan. 30 deadline. Combined with an increase in Durham Region's budget, Pickering taxpayers are looking at paying a more than five per cent increase for 2024.

"It's a very tough budget because we need to invest in infrastructure and we need to invest in community services that people rely on. At the same, we're having a real affordability crisis and people are living paycheque to paycheque, so we have to be mindful of that," Ashe said.

On top of that, there are the costs of refugees and asylum seekers, Ashe said, adding those costs should not fall onto cities.

He said it's "entirely up to the federal government to make the determination of who is led into our country, so it should be the federal government looking after those expenses."

"The federal government has to pay its share," he said.

Ashe said the tax increase in Pickering will not be as large as it is in Toronto, but residents in Pickering are already paying more. 

"They have a sticker shock when they get their tax bill here in the suburbs," he said of those who move from Toronto to Pickering.

He hopes both the federal and provincial budgets will include some relief for municipalities.

Province says it's already helping municipalities

In a statement on Tuesday, the Ontario finance ministry said it is already providing funding to municipalities through a number of programs.

"Our government continues to stand in strong partnership with our municipalities across the province," the ministry said. "The government will continue to support municipalities in a way that is sustainable and responsible."

The ministry said it made a "new deal" with Toronto because the city is facing a number of financial pressures. Under that deal, Toronto is uploading the costs of two highways, the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway, to the province.

The two highways are "nationally significant economic corridors that support goods movement and regional commuting patterns," the ministry added.

"The New Deal for Toronto reflects Toronto's unique financial challenges, such as the scale and scope of Toronto's transit and shelter systems. These investments will strengthen the regional economy and support key services," the ministry said.