Newmarket deputy mayor promised to work to keep tax increase to 2%, but that doesn't appear likely

Property owners are facing potential 7.67 per cent town property bill tax hike, but service cuts could reduce that

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 7, 2023
Lisa Queen

In the last few days before last October’s municipal election, Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh promised to try to keep a lid on property tax hikes.

His Facebook post was called “keeping taxes low during hyperinflation.”

Vegh said he would work to ensure property tax increases are limited to “2-per-cent or less, well below the rate of inflation.”

With property owners now facing a potential 7.67 per cent tax increase on the town portion of the property tax bill, an increase of $174 for a total town tax bill of $2,432 for the average homeowner with a house assessed at $706,000, that’s going to take some doing.

The town budget isn’t expected to be adopted until April, so there’s lots of time to bring that number down. The preliminary tax increase has already been chopped from an initial 13 per cent.

At council’s first discussion of the budget on Jan. 30, Vegh led the charge, followed by other councillors, in asking staff to look at services that might be cut without a serious impact on residents in order to lower the 7.67 per cent.

After all, residents are already dealing with ballooning grocery and other bills, they said.

But at a time of skyrocketing inflation, with the mayor, staff and councillors saying this is the toughest budget they’ve ever dealt with and with the impact of the province’s Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act still unknown, keeping a tax increase to 2 per cent wouldn’t be possible without significant cuts.

“In my 22 years of experience with the town’s budget, this has been the most difficult we’ve had to do so far,” town treasurer Mike Mayes said.

The Newmarket Era and yorkregion.com asked Vegh after the budget meeting if he still intends to cap a town tax increase at 2 per cent.

“During the 2022 municipal election, I said I would work with my council colleagues to limit tax increases to 2 per cent or less. At the Newmarket council budget presentation, it was confirmed with staff that there are no new hires in the 2023 budget, which is a good start,” he said in an email.

“I asked staff to provide a list of service reductions that can bring down the staff-proposed budget increase. At council, I acknowledged that resident surveys overwhelmingly support maintaining services at the current level, but also pointed out that I don’t think they meant ‘at any cost.’ My council colleagues echoed that sentiment and each also asked that staff prepare a list of service cuts that would not have a detrimental impact on residents’ quality of life or safety. We are very early in a very difficult budget process and I am looking forward to thoughtful public input and staff suggestions and working with my Newmarket council colleagues in evaluating all options.”

The town has also increased its water and wastewater rates by 3.8 per cent for 2023, a combined annual increase of $50 for the average household, and its stormwater rate by 9 per cent, which works out to $4.58 for the average residence.