Miltonians are facing the prospect of a significant tax hike next year, as the Town grapples with budget challenges.
Here’s what you need to know.
- For 2025, the projected budget pressures suggest the need for a 7.31 per cent increase in total property taxes — equivalent to $56.65 per $100,000 of assessment — with a local tax rate hike of 13.84 per cent.
- “This isn't the recommended budget, but the pressures right now, from what we saw in last year's forecast and what we've updated, are in the order of 13 per cent,” said Glen Cowan, the Town’s chief financial officer and treasurer, at the most recent council meeting.
- Council had previously approved a multi-year financial strategy targeting a blended property tax rate increase of 4.5 per cent to 7 per cent, inclusive of the Region and school boards.
- Cowan pointed out that the Town’s total tax levy remains lower than neighbouring municipalities by an average of 18 per cent for a typical 2-storey home, and its property taxes as a percentage of household income remains lowest in the GTA and second lowest in Ontario.
- Mayor Gord Krantz voiced strong opposition to a 14 per cent local tax increase, calling it “unacceptable,” especially with inflation currently at around 3 per cent. “I intend to be responsible when we get to deal with this, and I'm just hoping that the majority of council will be responsible as well,” he said.
- Coun. Adil Khalqi encouraged his colleagues to look beyond the numbers, while stressing the importance of protecting key investments in the budget to achieve the Town’s long-term vision for 2051. The budget “is about building a community that everyone can be proud to live in, raise a family, live, work, learn and play," he said.
Town staff will finalize the budget documents for a council workshop in November, followed by budget discussion on Dec. 2.