The 2025 property tax increase comes in slightly lower than the 5.79 per cent increase made in 2024. Pictured: Hamilton City Hall. Photo Credit: City of Hamilton/X.
After weeks of deliberations, the City of Hamilton’s property tax increase for 2025 was finally made official and the hit for residents will be 5.6 per cent (an increase of $285 for the average homeowner).
During some of the last meetings regarding the budget, councillors shaved off about $500,000 from their planned $2.8 billion in spending, decreasing the property tax hit from 5.7 per cent (an increase of $288 for the average homeowner).
With those final changes, the average Hamilton homeowner will save an additional $3 this year.
The 2025 property tax increase comes in slightly lower than the 5.79 per cent increase made in 2024.
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a press release that she believes the 2025 budget “strikes the necessary balance – recognizing the affordability pressures residents face while tackling long-overdue investments in roads, transit, housing, and information technology.”
The City of Hamilton used a different budget process this year under the province’s strong mayor rules, with councillors only able to pitch amendments to the budget rather than approve or disapprove of spending.
After those final amendment motions were heard on Feb. 12, Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath was given a 10-day veto period to consider Council’s amendments, a step that is also new to the process.
But on Feb. 19, a press release from the City of Hamilton stated that Mayor Horwath had issued a Mayoral Decision “indicating that she will not exercise her veto.”
“As a result, the 2025 Tax Budget is now deemed adopted,” continued the notice.
Had Mayor Horwath vetoed some or all of the amendments made by Council, the budget process would have been extended, with councillors given 15 days to attempt to override any vetoes with a two-thirds majority vote.
Back at the end of 2024 city staff estimated that the 2025 property tax increase would be 6.9 per cent.
Mayor Horwath then announced at the beginning of January that city staff were able to come up with a lower increase of 6.3 per cent.
Then, at a Jan. 23 budget meeting, the City of Hamilton’s General Manager of Finance Mike Zegarac told Councillors that staff could actually get the tax increase down to 5.7 per cent since there were capital projects from 2024 that had surpluses or available funding that could be repurposed.
He explained that his department was delayed in reporting that number due to the city’s 2024 cyber incident.
In terms of spending, the City of Hamilton is investing $655 million in infrastructure and transit enhancements and $192 million in housing and homelessness programs, including expanding the emergency shelter system by 272 beds.
The investment in infrastructure includes $3.3 million to expand Hamilton’s urban tree canopy by adding 20,000 new trees in 2025.
Other spending includes $62 million for a new paramedic central reporting station, $31.7 million to expand Macassa Lodge Long-Term Care Home, and $22.6 million for a new fire and police station in Waterdown.
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.
