Toronto’s mayor and city manager will reveal the first version of this year’s budget on Monday.
We’re expecting to hear the proposed property tax rate and we’ll also learn about any major new spending at city hall. CBC Toronto will be updating this story, so check back for updates.
This is Olivia Chow’s second budget as mayor. Last year’s budget featured a 9.5 per cent property tax increase — the highest in decades — which Chow and other officials said was needed to dig the city out of a massive financial hole. The “opening pressure,” as its known, was $1.8 billion last year. That’s the money needed to maintain services at existing levels, without any improvements or further investments.
Chow warned last December that another hike may be necessary to close an estimated opening pressure of $1.2 billion.
As a quick refresher, the city is required by Ontario law to present a balanced budget by the time council finalizes it in February, the municipality cannot run a deficit.
Chow is set to hold a news conference at 9 a.m. ET. You can watch it live in this story.
Here’s what we already know about the budget
The average Toronto taxpayer should be budgeting about $50 more for their water and garbage bills after council approved a 3.75 per cent increase to those rates.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Police Services Board has approved its 2025 budget proposal, with an additional $46.2 million set to go to the force this year.
The Toronto Transit Commission’s board has also presented an operating budget that freezes fares for a second straight year and includes millions to run the Eglinton and Finch LRT lines — both of which are set to open by July and August, according to the budget.
Cash to fight congestion
Last week, Chow said the city will spend $3 million to hire more traffic agents, who are deployed across the city’s busiest intersections to maintain the flow of traffic and prevent irksome violations like “blocking the box.”
“Anywhere there’s traffic jams, you can expect to see them,” Chow said at a news conference Thursday.
Public consultations started last October
The city ran a series of consultations about this year’s budget last October — both in-person and online — and also launched a survey.
We’ll see how much of that input features in Monday’s document.
Remember, the budget presented Monday is just the first iteration. Councillors will have a chance to make changes in the coming weeks (last year, for example, city staff floated a higher tax hike on day one, which was dialled back.)