Early property tax increase pegged at 2.8%

The city will spend a total of $493 million next year, city councillors were told Nov. 6, as the city's budget process kicks into high gear.

Of that amount, $222 million will come from property taxes, and represents a tax increase of 2.8 per cent. For someone with a house valued at $190,000, that means they'll pay $70 a year more than they did in 2012. If your house is valued at $419,000, you'll pay $148 more.

The largest single expense the city faces next year is maintaining and building the city's roads network. For every $1,000 the city will spend in 2013, $238 will go to roads. The next highest expenditure is policing, which takes another $185, followed by health and social services at $120, and citizen and leisure services, at $113.

The 2.8 per cent increase is a big improvement over the 4.4 per cent increase forecast by city staff in May. Lorella Hayes, the city's chief financial officer, said the reduction represents a cut of $6 million and is due to a number of factors.

They include the fact the city's natural gas contract expired and they saved $800,000 on the new deal; the police budget came in lower than expected; plus efficiencies and budget freezes in staff departments saved $2.8 million. They also reduced full-time staff by five and cut part-time staffing by almost 1 million hours.

Up next in the budget process is a Nov. 13 meeting, when councillors and staff will go over the 285-page budget in more detail.