Markham tables 2023 budget with proposed 6.4% tax hike, admitting impact of Bill 23

Council to hold public meeting March 9, set to approve budget March 22

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 26, 2023
Irene Wong

On Jan. 23, Markham tabled the 2023 budget with a proposed 6.4 per cent tax hike this year, with a proposed operating budget of $430.9 million.

Budget discussions started with a city staff presentation titled "2023 Budget Overview” at council’s special general committee Monday, Jan. 23. The staff report projected a tax rate increase of 6.4 per cent for 2023, and 93.3 per cent over the years of 2024 to 2026.

Mayor Frank Scarpitti, who chaired the meeting, commented on the proposed tax hike, “I think 6.4 (per cent) is out of line with the types of increases that we've had,” he said, adding it will have a significant impact with all of the other pressures that residents and businesses continue to face.

The impact of Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, has been highlighted as a significant pressure to the future budget. The staff report presented a forecast of 78 per cent provision for future impacts of Bill 23. Ward 6 Coun. Amanda Yeung Collucci clarified with staff that there is a provision of one per cent tax rate increase this year for future Bill 23 parkland, growth studies and reduced development charge collection impacts, equivalent to $1.695 million, as well as another one per cent increase for the reduction of development cost funded salary recoveries of $1.7 million.

“So basically, it is all together 80 per cent due to Bill 23.” said Collucci.

City staff confirmed that is the worst-case scenario that assumes maintaining service levels and the city would not get any money from the province to offset the loss of development charge.

The mayor described the two per cent tax hike as a “provincial surtax.”

“The two per cent provincial surtax is something I think we need to identify in that way, because that's got nothing to do with the way that we've run our ship over the last many years to have the lowest average tax increase in all GTA. But it is also a reality and it's not even scratching the surface in terms of the financial impact to the municipalities,” he said.

“I'd like us to get down to three to 3.5 (per cent), understanding there'll be more discussion," he added. "And then there's the reality of the provincial surtax of about two per cent.”

The 2023 budget includes $430.9 million in costs for day-to-day operations such as waste, winter maintenance, information technology, recreation, utilities and insurance. The property tax funds $177 million and $138 million is funded by waterworks. There is also $222 million in capital costs. The preliminary consolidated budget totalled $652.9 million.

Markham residents can learn more about the 2023 property tax and water budgets in a series of upcoming meetings in the next two months.

All budget meetings are open to the public, with agendas, materials and topics available on markham.ca.

Meetings dates are:

• Jan. 27 and 30 -- Capital budget and funding overview, highlights of proposed budget, and capital budget project review by exception;

• Feb. 6 -- Additional meeting as required;

• Feb. 15 -- Primary operating budget, building, planning, engineering and waterworks operating budgets;

• Feb. 17 and 27 -- Additional meetings as required;

• March 7 -- General committee -- budget presentation for the public meeting;

• March 9, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. -- Public meeting, open to the public by Zoom;

• March 22 -- Council meeting -- council decision;

• March 24 -- Budget news conference

Markham council approved the city's 2022 budget of $533.7 million on Dec. 14, 2021, including a 1.95 per cent property tax rate increase.