Your property taxes are increasing by about 7.5 per cent in 2024.
This year’s budget, including the tax rate increase of 7.51 per cent (based on a 9.68 per cent increase to the levy), was approved by Stratford city council Monday night, at its marathon-meeting that lasted more than three hours.
Mayor Martin Ritsma said that it was the most difficult budget process he has been a part of in his 13 years on council.
“We found savings,” Ritsma said. “And those savings come from deferring things and sometimes you defer and they catch up with you later on. So that’s the challenge with that budget.”
Ritsma said that he is happy with staff’s continued work during the long budget process, which begins in August for them, and is proud of council’s work to bring down the burden facing the tax base.
After approving the operating budget, the capital forecast, and the expansion requests in January, the budget was set to increase the tax rate by 9.9 per cent. Since that time, council has worked to slash that figure down to what it is today.
Despite his support of the work that went into the budget, when council voted on the matter, both Ritsma and Coun. Cody Sebben opposed its approval, which passed with Coun. Lesley Biehn and Coun. Taylor Briscoe absent.
Sebben said that the tax increase council would eventually approve means that people are being pushed again and again towards a breaking point.
He had previously expressed his disapproval of the budget and advocated to return the budget to staff to have further cuts or changes.
“I think this increase, we’re pushing those on fixed income,” Sebben said at the Monday meeting. “I do appreciate the efforts made in the budget process ... I do think we can do better.”
Ritsma later clarified to StratfordToday that he did not support the budget during the vote out of principle, echoing Sebben’s comments that those on fixed incomes will struggle to meet the tax increase.
To that end, Ritsma said that next steps are to advocate for more dollars from the federal and provincial governments for individuals on fixed incomes.
For a single-detached home with an assessed value of $350,000 the new rate would mean an extra $395 on an annual tax bill.
