Here’s How Much Taxes Are About to Climb in Mississauga

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Published November 14, 2017 at 8:22 pm

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With Mississauga growing every year and tackling more and more grand-scale development projects (such as as the Hurontario LRT, the rejuvenation of part of Lakeview and Port Credit and a slew of new condos and other residential projects), its budget has had to evolve to keep pace with the changes.

Recently, the City of Mississauga released its proposed 2018 business plan and budget and it looks some residents should expect an uptick in their property taxes.

Residents can expect a possible 2.81 per cent increase on the 2018 residential property tax bill. Of this, 1.65 per cent is for the city’s services and 1.16 per cent for Region of Peel services. 

For those who are wondering about where the increases will be directed, they can budget online. It describes program and service enhancements for 2018 and how they will be financed.
As for some highlights, the total proposed 2018 operating budget is $819.2 million.

According to the city, this amount is offset by revenue from various sources (such as transit fares and recreation fees) totalling $334.2 million.

The amount that is not offset by these revenues is the net operating budget funded by property taxes.

The city’s operating budget has, naturally, increased.

The proposed 2018 net operating budget is $485 million, compared with $461.7 million in 2017–approximately $23.4 million more than in 2017.

The city says that almost the entire proposed 2018 operating budget –approximately 95 per cent or $782 million–is targeted to keep Mississauga’s services operating at current levels.

Examples of services that will be maintained include:

  • MiWay – Ontario’s third largest municipal transit service, MiWay operates 82 routes with 499 buses; customers board a MiWay bus over 56 million times per year.
  • Fire and Emergency Services – last year answering more than 30,000 emergency calls, conducting over 9,700 fire safety inspections and providing public education on fire safety to over 27,000 residents.
  • Roads – keeping motor vehicle, pedestrian and bike traffic moving on the City’s 5,290 lane kilometres of road network; maintaining approximately 480 kilometres of multi-use trails, park paths, bicycle lanes and signed bike routes.
  • Parks and Forestry – maintaining our City’s 3,639 hectares of parkland and open space, including one million City-owned trees, 362 sports fields, 263 play sites, two marinas and 11 publicly-owned cemeteries.
  • Library Services – Includes the Central Library and 17 branch libraries that saw 4.9 million in-person visits and 6 million items loaned last year, including digital loans.
  • Recreation – providing over 175,000 hours of recreation programming such as swimming, fitness, skating and more each year; and accommodating 12.6 million visits annually to
  • Recreation facilities, including 11 community centres.

As for new services, the city says they account for less than one per cent of the proposed budget, or about $2.8 million. Transit improvements account for 60 per cent of this amount ($1.7 million).

New services include:

  • Continuing planned MiWay service growth of three per cent per year, adding 46,000 service hours and additional transit security;
  • Increasing support to culture groups and local artists to provide enhanced  services that reach more people;
  • Redeveloping the recently acquired Small Arms Inspection Building;
  • Hosting the Ontario 55+ Summer Games;
  • Providing public education about the City’s Active Transportation options to encourage the use of cycling and walking infrastructure; and
  • Improving the Library’s collection to support the City’s population growth

As far as property taxes go, some owners can expect to pay a little over $100 more in 2018.

The city says that owners of an average detached, single-family home in Mississauga (conservatively valued at $604,000), a 2.81 per cent overall tax increase comes to $144, before any phased-in assessment change.

Starting on November 20, the City of Mississauga’s Budget Committee will begin deliberations on the proposed 2018 business plan and budget.

The City has set aside November 21, 27, 28 and 29 to continue the discussions.

Residents can address the Budget Committee through deputation by contacting the City Clerk’s Office. Council is expected to approve the proposed 2018 Business Plan and Budget on December 13.

Cover photo by @me.idris

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