2024 Budget Survey - What We Heard - Property tax changes

Respondents indicated what they think the property tax change should be in 2023 based on their expectation for infrastructure and service levels. Based on the information available at the time, assumptions were made on what each option meant in terms of increasing, maintaining, or decreasing service levels to help inform the selection by participants.

• Generally, maintain existing levels of service, 3.5% increase – 27.5%
• Increase investments in infrastructure/services, 3.6% to 4% increase – 22.7%
• Reductions in services and infrastructure when accounting for inflationary increases, 1% to 3.4% increase – 14.9%
• Greater investments in infrastructure/services, greater than 4% increase – 10.9%
• Other (please specify) – 10.9%
• Substantially reduce services and infrastructure maintenance, 0% increase – 8.6%
• Drastically reduce services and investments in infrastructure, decrease property taxes – 4.5%

“Other” responses included suggestions such as increasing development charges, charging tolls for use of roads, comments on the residential tax rate level, City staffing levels, and finding efficiencies.