Council approves 2.79 per cent increase to town portion of tax bill; 1.7 per cent increase to total property tax

Tue, 31 Mar 2015

Meeting its commitment to keep the total property tax increase in line with inflation, Oakville Council unanimously approved a 2.79 per cent increase to the town’s portion of the tax bill for an overall property tax increase of 1.7 per cent. This means that residential property taxes would increase by $14.88 per $100,000 of assessment, meaning a home assessed at $400,000 would pay an additional $59.52 per year or $1.14 per week.

Council also approved that the overall property tax increases for 2016-2018 be in line with inflation.

“Council has once again honoured its commitment to its residents to provide the programs, services and infrastructure support expected by our community,” Mayor Rob Burton said. “By using performance-based budgeting, otherwise known as PB2, we’re controlling costs to drive the efficient delivery of our programs and services.”

The increase to the town’s portion of the tax bill includes a 1.63 per cent increase for the costs of providing town programs and services, and a 1.16 per cent increase in funding for infrastructure renewal.
The approved $461 million combined budget for the town’s operating and capital requirements will provide over 60 wide ranging programs and services including winter road maintenance, parks and trails, harbours, transit, emergency services, recreation and culture, senior services, libraries, and keep the town’s roads and other infrastructure in a state of good repair. Some of the top capital projects in this year’s budget are:

• $7.1 million for road resurfacing and preservation
• $5.9 million for reconstruction of the Rebecca Street Bridge
• $5.3 million for reconstruction of Sixth Line north of Dundas Street
• $3.9 million for the town’s Emerald Ash Borer Management Program
• $2.9 million for the replacement of old Oakville Transit buses
• $2 million for improvements to portions of the North Service Road
• $1.8 million for Bronte Harbour dredging
• $1.8 million for improvements to Speers Road
• $1.7 million for west shore landscape rehabilitation at Sixteen Mile Creek
• $1.7 million to replace aging roads and works equipment
• $975,000 for design and preliminary work towards the rehabilitation of Oakville Arena

“We are investing in our infrastructure by renewing it at the same rate that it depreciates, and maintaining the high quality programs and services our residents want,” Budget Chair Councillor Tom Adams said. “We have kept our promise to keep tax increases in line with inflation and our overall 1.7 per cent increase is lower than the increases of our neighbouring municipalities, including Toronto. This is a responsible and proactive budget and I’m extremely proud of the hard work that went into it.”

For more details on the 2015 Budget visit 2015 Budget page.