Londoners looking at potential tax increase of 3.2 per cent

The province downloading costs to municipalities is set to increase the cost to London taxpayers by 3.2 percent over the next four years.

Initially, the city was estimating the increase to Londoners would 2.7 per cent, but that did not account for .5 per cent the city now needs to make up for from provincial cuts.

The Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee met Tuesday night to go over options for the 2020-23 budget overages.

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 brunt of the increase will be in 2020, with an increase of four per cent that will average out to 3.2 by 2023.

The committee trustee is estimating the initial impact of the province cutting its costs to be $6.6-million per year, but with the added cost to boards and committees, it’s closer to $10 million per year.

According to committee chair and Ward 7 councillor Josh Morgan, options are being explored in terms of what may be available to cut costs.

“We have asked everyone to take a second look at their budgets to provide us with options, not criticizing those budgets but saying we will have a tough discussion,” said Morgan.

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A four per cent tax hike would mean an extra $114 for the average London homeowner with a home assessed at $241,000.

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All civic service areas and city agencies, boards and commissions (ABCs) except Middlesex-London Health Unit and London Police Service were requested to limit their average annual budget increases to 1.5 per cent per year over the 2020-23 multi-year-budget period.

Of the 14 ABCs, eight exceeded the budget increase limit, with the highest increase coming from the Middlesex-London Paramedic Services at 17.3 per cent, followed by the London Transit Commission at 5.9 per cent and London and Middlesex Community Housing at 4.2 per cent.

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Services like the land ambulance, however, are a budget item that the city is required to pay and they have little power in making the land ambulance reduce its budget if it chooses not too.

“Some of these will be higher than we want them to be, but ultimately we are trying to get them at a tax level Londoners can accept and support and speaks to the kinds of services they want us to provide,” said Mayor of London, Ed Holder.

The committee will also be looking at areas where they participate in cost-sharing with the province that the city could stop participating in to offset the loss, but Holder cautioned against this.

“Be careful what you ask for. There may well be some areas where we challenge the province, asking them to do more, but having said that every municipality is the creature of the province and as I have said many times no municipality can do this alone.”

The budget has been tabled until Dec. 17. Then, in January, it will be debated by councillors before a final decision is made in the weeks to follow.

— with files from Jake Jeffrey, 980 CFPL