Toronto residents could be in for another property tax hike, Toronto mayor warns
Mayor Chow outlines budget priorities in year-end interview
Toronto residents could be in for another property tax in 2025, as Mayor Olivia Chow signals that the city continues to face serious challenges, both financially and in trying to retain its workers after a year of difficult contract talks.
Chow made the comments in a wide-ranging year-end interview with CBC Toronto.
At the start of this year, the mayor included a 9.5 per cent property tax hike in her first budget — a rate not seen in decades — aimed at addressing an opening deficit of $1.8 billion.
The opening pressure on this year's budget is $1.2 billion, and the mayor says it will require considerable investment from the city, which is currently bargaining with thousands of its civil servants.
"We don't want to lose our public servants," Chow said. "Fire, police, paramedics, all the workers. They are saying we need to be able to afford to live in the city also. So, if you add all that up, it's (a) substantial amount of money."
The costs of all of the contract negotiations are not yet known, but the city inked a new deal with thousands of its transit workers back in June, avoiding a strike that would have paralyzed the city. That deal will cost the city $176 million over three years.
Asked if she was bracing taxpayers for another increase based on the need to retain workers, the mayor said yes. But Chow acknowledged it's not the only reason she may hike taxes.
"We have our subways, (which) are not the most reliable," she said. "We have leaking roofs over at city hall and Mel Lastman Square. And you know, our water mains are very old. So if you add it all up … It's all costly, so it's a lot of catching up, a lot of fixing."
Toronto's budget process kicks off next month, when city staff present their proposed spending. That begins a round of consultations and hearings at city hall and civic centres across Toronto. Then, the mayor takes all the feedback into account to put together her budget.
City council will debate that spending package and finalize it at a meeting on Feb. 11.
Speaking with CBC Toronto, Chow stressed that the budget will contain spending to keep life more affordable for renters and low income-earners.
Increased investment in city libraries, a freeze on TTC fares and longer hours for city community centres are all part of her plan, she said.
The mayor said the city has also been looking at ways to cut back spending in some areas to help ease the burden placed on taxpayers. She pointed to the council decision earlier this month to scale-back former mayor John Tory's Smart Track station project.
The SmartTrack stations program, which was the centrepiece of Tory's 2014 mayoral campaign, initially promised the construction of 22 stations on existing GO Transit rail corridors by 2021.
But in recent years, council has shrunk the project down to five transit stations. Costs are escalating on the plan and Toronto will now only fund three, asking the province to pick up the costs of the others. The province has yet to say if it will.
"There are items that would be good to have that we just can't afford," Chow said. "We've said no to a whole lot of things. That was not easy."
The mayor also continues to be coy about her own political future.
The city's next municipal election is set for fall 2026, and Chow will likely come under increasing pressure later in 2025 to declare her candidacy.
"Oh, good lord, it's not even 2025 yet," Chow said when asked if she plans to run again.
"Let's have a good holiday first, and then we'll see. I'm having a great deal of fun and being able to serve this city and serve the people of Toronto, it's such an honour."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
