The proposed 2025 budget for Toronto, and whether it will lead to another huge property tax hike, will be unveiled Monday as the affordability crisis chips away at people’s pocketbooks.
Mayor Olivia Chow is staring down a shortfall at City Hall likely north of $1 billion for the second straight year.
Last year, homeowners were slapped with an historic 9.5% property tax hike in Chow’s first budget as the city faced a $1.8-billion hole.
“Mayor Chow brought in a historic property tax increase in her budget last year, and I think a lot of folks are wondering what they paid for, because they didn’t see city services get 10% better,” said Councillor Brad Bradford.
The Beaches-East York politician said the last thing residents need is another “record-breaking” property tax increase.
“In this year’s budget, I want to see what savings and efficiencies the mayor is able to identify, and a property tax increase that’s a lot closer to inflation than the mayor delivered last year.”
On Monday, Chow will reveal her priorities — and how they will affect this year’s property tax hike — at the city’s budget committee before receiving feedback from the public through telephone town halls and public presentations at City Hall and civic centres.
While big ticket items, such as policing and affordable housing, are on the minds of many residents, funding for the TTC was approved last week by the transit agency’s board, which will freeze in fares for the second straight year.
The $2.8-billion proposal for subway, streetcar, bus and Wheel-Trans services includes a 6.5% increase, or $85 million more, to the TTC’s 2024 budget.
“In the 2025 proposed TTC budget, we will freeze fares, increase service, with a cleaner, brighter and safer TTC,” Chow told reporters last week.
“There will be less bunching and crowding of buses [and] more frequent subways and streetcars.”
Chow also spoke in recent months about the affordability crisis facing residents and has outlined her priorities for new housing, helping renters, and core municipal services.
“Mayor Olivia Chow is relentlessly focused on the priorities of Torontonians, and this will be reflected in the upcoming budget,” spokesperson Bradley Hammond said in a statement. “This includes a focus on feeding more kids through school food programs, building more homes and getting Toronto moving with investments in the TTC and measures to tackle gridlock.”
Councillor Josh Matlow said he strongly supports the mayor’s proposed TTC fare freeze.
“The cost of living has gone up in our city,” added the Toronto-St. Paul’s representative.
“We want to incentivize people to take transit. It’s good for people, it’s good for the environment, and it’s good for combatting gridlock. The more people who see the TTC as the better way, there’s less congestion on our roads. It’s the right thing to do.”
While the proposed TTC budget is geared toward restoring transit operations to pre-pandemic levels, several councillors highlighted the need to rein in spending and keep property tax hikes to a minimum to deal with affordability.
Among them is York Centre’s James Pasternak, who argued that it’s ill-advised to raise property taxes above the rate of inflation.
“We are a city committed to having seniors age in place and not pushing them out of their homes, and welcoming and supporting young people who are just starting out,” he said. “We cannot continue down a path making our city undesirable and unaffordable as a place to live, work, start a business, raise a family or welcome newcomers who are seeking a fresh start.”
Councillor Vincent Crisanti, who represents Etobicoke North, said city council has to be mindful about how it handles this budget following last year’s steep tax hike.
“We got to be very careful now, what happens in this round,” he said. “We know that the mayor has been signalling … another tax increase potentially, in view of some of the announcements that she’s made.”
Crisanti said Chow’s commitments leading up to the budget sound good for residents, but warned about the costs associated with the promises.
“At the end of the day, it begs the question: Who’s paying for all of this? We know the answer to that question, as well: It’s the taxpayer that’s going to be paying for all of this.”
The cost of keeping residents safe is also budgeted to grow after the Toronto Police Service Board approved a $46.2 million increase, or 3.9% hike, for policing in December.
Toronto Police said this years $1.2-billion financial plan will see the force grow by 100 officers and includes an initiative to deploy 16 additional community officers into neighbourhoods.
To help mitigate the budget shortfall, other councillors say they would welcome help from upper levels of government.
“To help us meet the many complex challenges our city faces, I am also looking for strong financial support from our federal and provincial partners,” Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin said in a statement.
Lily Cheng, the councillor for Willowdale, said any budget proposal that freezes property taxes would likely require a reduction to city services.
“While it is understandable that we are all looking for ways to alleviate the burden on property owners, the solution lies in a more comprehensive and sustainable fiscal framework” for the city, insisted Cheng.
“It is essential that all three levels of government work collaboratively to ensure the long-term financial health of our city.”