The proposed tax increase is now down to 5.7 per cent. Pictured: Hamilton City Hall. Photo Credit: City of Hamilton/X.
Hamilton city staff have whittled down the average property tax increase slightly over the past few weeks, but even with current numbers taxpayers appear set to pay an extra $288 in 2025.
Staff originally projected a 6.9 per cent property tax increase, but it was then announced at the beginning of January that the increase was cut back slightly to 6.3 per cent.
But at a Jan. 23 budget meeting, the City of Hamilton’s General Manager of Finance Mike Zegarac told Councillors that they are actually able to get the tax increase down to 5.7 per cent, which notably, is lower than last year’s increase of 5.79 per cent.
Zegarac explained that there are capital projects from 2024 that have surpluses or available funding that can be repurposed.
He says that his department was delayed in reporting that number due to the 2024 cyber incident that has plagued city operations.
Staff have identified that there is $6.9 million in surplus funding “that can be used in keeping with the objective of affordability” when it comes to the property tax hit, said Zegarac.
Those surplus funds brought the average property tax increase down from 6.3 per cent to 5.8 per cent.
Furthermore, Zegarac says that the city is hiring for two new positions in the Healthy and Safe Communities Department in 2025, but that those positions are for pilot projects and are thus funded from reserves rather than from the tax levy.
That change frees up an extra $209,000.
Finally, he added that Public Works and Transit identified that $969,000 in funds needed for the city’s new transit maintenance and storage facility can be deferred until 2026.
Those final two changes bring the current property tax increase from 5.8 per cent to 5.7 per cent.
Despite the change, the average residential tax increase for City of Hamilton residents will still be $288.
With residents continuing to face a high increase, Councillor Matt Francis (Ward 5 – Hamilton East-Stoney Creek) brought forward a motion to have staff come up with a report on how to reduce the tax levy increase to 3.44 per cent.
He picked 3.44 since that is the 5-year Consumer Price Index in Canada, representing recent changes in prices experienced by Canadian consumers.
He argued that his motion simply asks for a “report back on a very reasonable request.”
“You can’t convince a single Hamilton taxpayer that we can’t find 2.26% savings,” he added.
“Taxpayers expect us to search for this information and provide this to the public.”
However, other Councillors argued that Francis’ ask was not realistic since taxes would have to increase by at least 4.1 per cent to cover vital costs.
Others added that if Francis wants to make amendments to the budget, then he should do so rather than providing staff with an “arbitrary number” and make them do all the work to fit that standard.
The motion failed on a 7-8 vote.
The City of Hamilton’s current projected budget adoption date is set for Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025 provided there are no further amendments.
VOTING RECORD – FRANCIS’ MOTION FOR REPORT ON 3.44 PER CENT TAX INCREASE
IN SUPPORT (7) – Matt Francis (Ward 5 – Hamilton East-Stoney Creek), Tom Jackson (Ward 6 – East Mountain), Esther Pauls (Ward 7 – Central Mountain), John-Paul Danko (Ward 8 – West/Central Mountain), Brad Clark (Ward 9 – Upper Stoney Creek), Jeff Beattie (Ward 10 – Stoney Creek-Fruitland-Winona), Mark Tadeson (Ward 11 – Glanbrook-Binbrook-Mount Hope)
AGAINST (8) – Mayor Andrea Horwath, Maureen Wilson (Ward 1 – Chedoke-Cootes-Westdale), Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 – Downtown Hamilton), Nrinder Nann (Ward 3 – East Hamilton Centre), Tammy Hwang (Ward 4 – Hamilton East), Craig Cassar (Ward 12 – Ancaster-West Flamborough), Alex Wilson (Ward 13 – Dundas-Central Flamborough), Ted McMeekin (Ward 15 – East Flamborough-Waterdown)
ABSENT (1) – Mike Spadafora (Ward 14 – West Mountain)
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
