Brantford homeowners will see their property tax bill increase by 5.47 per cent this year.
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The increase means the average residential taxpayer will be paying an extra $15.99 a month or $191.88 a year.
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The city will spend $129,333,210 for a range of services it provides directly to residents and a further $66,798,543 for services provided by other organizations including, among others, Brantford Police Service and Brant County Health Unit.
In total, the city’s 2024 municipal budget calls for spending of $196,131,753.
The budget was finalized at a special Feb. 20 meeting of council following a presentation by Mayor Kevin Davis. The mayor’s presentation followed a month of budget deliberations through the city’s estimates committee.
“We’re able, through a team approach, to deliver vital services to residents,” Davis said. “We’ve increased resources in some departments that are most impacted by the growth in this community.
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“At the same time, we’re maintaining a level of tax increase that compares very favorably to any other municipality of similar size.”
Whether the city wants it or not, growth is happening and the choice, Davis said, is to manage it or let growth manage the city.
“What we’re trying to do is manage that growth and that means we have to spend money to enhance infrastructure to meet those growing needs,” Davis said.
The budget includes the hiring of more than 10 additional employees primarily in the engineering and bylaw enforcement services where there is increased demand for service largely due to growth, Davis said.
Following the requirements of the province’s strong mayors legislation, Davis provided council with a budget on Feb. 1. Councilors then had 30 days to suggest amendments.
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The special Feb. 20 meeting was an opportunity for councilors to publicly review the mayor’s budget and make changes.
The only significant change was to the police budget, which is now set at $49,491,606. That’s up $159,441 from the $49.33 million council previously approved but $916,000 less than the just over $50 million originally requested by the police board in early February.
Faced with increasing costs, city council asked the police board to reduce its budget by just over $1 million.
The board responded by requesting responsibility for the school crossing guard program be transferred to the city from the police service.
The request was met with scorn by city councilors who said it just shifted the cost of the program from one department to another without generating any savings.
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The police board then reversed its position on the crossing guard program and reduced its budget by $916,000. The police budget was reduced through a range of measures including not filling vacant positions and reducing various budget line items.
Davis said he is pleased the police board reversed its decision on the crossing guard program. The program is best delivered by the police.
“I’m confident they have taken a hard look at their budget and have come close to what we asked for,” Davis said. “The figure we came up with, $1,076,000 was somewhat arbitrary.
“I can support this given that we’ve had some back and forth over the budget with the police services board.”
Meanwhile, $15.99 a month or $191.88 a year residential tax increase is based on a property with an assessed value of $285,000.
The assessed value is determined by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. The corporation’s last assessment was done in 2016 and an updated assessment, scheduled for 2020, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The assessed value of a home reflects what a municipal government believes a home is worth and is used to determine municipal property taxes. A market value for a home is what a home would likely sell for under current conditions.
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