East Gwillimbury residents could pay $94 to $114 extra in taxes

East Gwillimbury looks to increase taxes for pool, firefighters. Final approval Feb. 20.

YorkRegion.com
Feb. 13, 2019
Amanda Persico

No matter what, it’s going to cost you.

East Gwillimbury is in the process of approving its 2019 budget, which comes with a proposed 2.55 per cent tax rate increase.

That amounts to an additional $40 a year, based on the average $500,000 home.

And that’s in addition to the region’s proposed tax rate increase of about $57 to $74 for East Gwillimbury residents.

In the end, East Gwillimbury residents can expect to pay an extra $94 to $114 in taxes.

The proposed 2.55 per cent tax rate increase also includes a 0.5 per cent levy for operating costs of the town’s new pool and a 0.5 per cent levy to offset the costs of an additional full-time firefighter.

Using a phased-in approach helps the town build up reserves and be ahead of future expenses, said the town’s corporate services manager Mark Valcic.

“We prefer an increase phased in over time so there’s no peaks and valleys in the taxes,” he said. “Residents don’t want to see a significant spike when the facility opens.”

The proposed 0.5 per cent facilities levy will cover the operating costs of the town’s new aquatic’s facility, the Health and Active Living Plaza, Valcic added.

The dedicated five-year levy will see a 0.5 per cent increase for the first three years and a 1 per cent increase in 2022 and 2023.

The emergency services levy has been in place for several years and is proposed to continue for another two years to offset the cost of hiring two more full-time firefighters, bringing the town’s total to 20.

By looking at staff costs and making some organizational changes, together with using federal gas tax funding, town staff pared down the initial proposed 3.5 per cent tax rate increase to 2.55 per cent, Valcic said.

This year’s proposed budget is $44.2 million, which includes $23.5 million in operating costs; $7.5 million in capital projects; $7.7 million in water and wastewater; and $5.5 million is fee supported.

The town’s water and wastewater budget has yet to be presented.

There are a number of ways to get involved in the budget process, including an online survey. The final budget will be presented to town council Feb. 20 for approval.