City of Hamilton staff report estimates tax increase of 14%

A City of Hamilton staff report estimates that next year’s municipal tax increase could possibly be a whopping 14.2 per cent.

If you live in Hamilton, you know that taxes are high compared to surrounding areas like Burlington, but taxes could go even higher based on this initial recommendation of a residential tax increase.

Ward 5 Councillor Matt Francis says he’s been studying it.

“The five key main things in the report– this isn’t my opinion, this is actually listed in the report– affordable housing, climate change, transportation, employee relations, and public health and emergency response. We also have inflationary pressures and provincial downloading,” Francis said.

The 2024 budget process is not expected to be easy. The City’s Finance and Corporate Services department warn of huge increases, even in water services, for next year.

“We may have to look at using reserves, we may have to delay some projects, hiring freeze, I’m going to sit down with city staff, finance staff, and come up with everything possible to try to whittle this down,” Francis said.

If you are wondering where your tax dollars go, the City of Hamilton has a breakdown online.

This pie graph shows the cost of services for your tax dollar based on the average home, based on an average amount of $4,784. Some of those expenses will increase next year.

“I anticipate this being a long winter and a lot of work if we are going to get this down from 14 per cent to, as I wish, 2 per cent.”

Budget discussions for 2024 begin next Wednesday, Sept. 20 during the general issues committee meeting. The budget process begins in November and continues throughout the winter.