Your property tax bill in 2020 could be higher than originally planned.
A new report from London city hall says taxpayers could see a four per cent tax hike in 2020, a significant increase from the target of 2.7 per cent set earlier this year.
A combination of provincial downloading and many agencies, boards and commissions submitting higher-than-expected budgets is behind the increase. A four per cent tax hike would mean an extra $114 for the average London homeowner with a home assessed at $241,000.
London city council was hoping to achieve an annual tax increase of 2.7 per cent over the multi-year budget period between 2020 and 2023. However, as it currently stands, that annual increase is sitting at 3.2 per cent.
Earlier this year, the provincial government announced its plans to shift certain provincially funded duties onto local governments in hopes of lowering Ontario’s debt.
“The downloading has been a factor on municipalities, but it’s also been a factor on our agencies, boards and commissions,” said Ward 7 Coun. Josh Morgan, who also serves as the budget chair.
The report states provincial downloading in 2020 will add 1.4 per cent to the city budget.
The 14 agencies, boards and commissions that submit a budget to city hall were given a target of increasing their budget by no more than 1.5 per cent, however only three were able to meet that target.
“The unfortunate news is almost all of them have come in beyond the target, which has really pushed potential tax increase up beyond what council was aiming for,” said Morgan.
Eldon House, RBC Place and Tourism London were the only local agencies to meet the target. Provincial downloading has been blamed for the other agencies missing their targets.
“Part of the reason some of them weren’t able to make their target is because (of) decisions the provincial government has made through legislation or their budget process,” Morgan said.
One of the biggest budget surprises comes from the Middlesex-London Paramedic Service, the staff report shows them requesting a 32.4 per cent increase in 2020, up from 7.5 per cent the year before. The London Transit Commission, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, Kettle Creek Conservation Authority, Museum London and London Police Service are among the other agencies with higher than wanted budget requests.
The London Police Services Board met last week to cut their budget request of an extra $12.4 million over four years.
None of the budget requests include city council’s pet projects, as outlined in the 2019-2023 strategic plan. Those projects amount to 0.5 per cent of the tax hike. The budget pressures facing city politicians is immense. Affordable housing, transit, policing, and the core area action plan.
Finding additional savings may be difficult. The multi-year budget already includes $3.3 million in savings thanks to cuts and pulling funds from a pair of reserve funds.
Budget talks won’t begin in earnest until Dec. 9. City politicians will hold a special meeting next Tuesday to discuss the report and next steps.
At the meeting, staff will recommend council ask all agencies, boards and commissions to provide a list of possible cuts to bring their budgets closer to the target of 1.5 per cent.