Aurora approves tax hikes of 3.45% in 2020, 3.45 in 2021 and 2.9% in 2022

Average homeowner will see overall property tax bill jump $158 next year

Yorkregion.com
December 17, 2019
Lisa Queen

Aurora homeowners will see their property taxes jump 3.4 per cent in 2020.

That means the average taxpayer, with a home assessed at $800,000, will see their tax bill increase by $79 to $2,395.37.

Town council approved its first multi-year budget, meaning residents also now know what they will be paying in property taxes over the following two years.

In 2021, the town’s portion of the property tax bill will go up by 3.4 per cent, an $83 increase for the average homeowner.

In 2022, the tax hike will be 2.9 per cent, a $73 increase for the average homeowner.

Council approved an operating budget of $71.8 million in 2020, followed by a $75-million budget in 2021 and a $77.7-million budget in 2022.

”I am proud that staff and council were able to work collaboratively to produce a budget that maintains the excellent level of service the town provides to our residents while remaining fiscally responsible,” Mayor Tom Mrakas said in a statement.

When combined with Region of York and school board tax increases, property owners will see their overall tax bill climb by 2.5 per cent in 2020, which works out to $158 for the average taxpayer.

In 2021, the overall tax increase will be 2.6 per cent, or $164 for the average homeowner; in 2022, it will be 2.4 per cent, or $157 for the average homeowner.

Highlights of the budget include continuing the three-year phase-in for the new Library Square operating costs, the phase-in of the anticipated Library Square development’s annual debt costs, the continued phase-in of fire services growth-driven costs, and modernizing the town’s information, technology and financial frameworks, the town said in a statement.

Council approved retail water rates of $2.41, $2.45 and $2.48 per cubic metre, and wastewater rates of $3.11, $3.11 and $3.15 per cubic metre in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.