Tax increase of 4.9 per cent under Georgina's draft budget up for deliberation

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 3, 2017
By Heidi Riedner

An extra $88 could come out of your pocket in property taxes if the draft budget tabled at council last month gets adopted in February.

That represents a 4.9-per cent increase over last year to cover $38,870,800 required from the tax levy to support a total $86,626,410 proposed budget.

The $88 increase applies to the average household assessed at $327,140.

A 7.9 per cent increase to water and sewer rates are also projected, which would mean an increase from $275.17 to $296.96 on the average quarterly bill in Georgina.

Budget deliberations at council have been slated for Jan. 24 and 25 (if necessary).

Big-ticket items identified under major new capital include $3.2M for a new fire hall in Pefferlaw, $2M for a Multi-Use Recreation Centre (MURC) design, $1.7 million for the roads capital plan and $3.1M for water main infrastructure at Burke Street in Sutton.

The most expensive of new initiatives on the 2017 draft budget include: staffing, $50,000 for an elevator at the Civic Centre and $56,000 for Geographic Information Services software and licensing.

The final municipal budget and its impact on taxes will be decided by February, but the average household in Georgina will be paying an extra $35 in taxes to the region, after York Region council passed a 2.87 per cent tax increase under its 2017 budget last month.

You can send in your input and comments regarding the proposed 2017 Georgina budget to budget@georgina.ca