City councillors will weigh in on what they think of the draft 2023 budget for the first time this week, and although the region has yet decide what its rate hike will be, staff is projecting a combined impact on the average total tax bill in the range of $227.
The average house in Cambridge has an assessed value of $333,200, meaning the combined hikes proposed by the city and projected for the region would result in an average annual tax bill of about $4,300 for 2023.
The province's school rate is set to remain at 0.153 per cent this year, which amounts to $510 for the average home.
Since the city only makes up 36 per cent of the property tax bill, the proposed 3.93 per cent increase in the city’s taxes works out to a 1.42 per cent increase on the overall average tax bill.
The Region of Waterloo's portion of the tax bill is 51 per cent, so, with a proposed rate increase in the range of 8 per cent and 11 per cent, staff went with the best outcome. An 8 per cent hike at the region would equate to a 4.11 per cent increase on the overall average tax bill, or $168.
The city needs to raise more than $107.5 million from the tax base this year to maintain existing service levels.
Considerations that could impact final numbers in the city's operating budget include adjustments to accommodate estimated lost development charges as prescribed in Bill 23, a move to maintain the city's commitment to being a living wage employer, and adding sidewalk snow clearing to the budget.
The budget includes proposed 3.9 per cent rate hike for water and sanitary services, which equates to an increase of $47 per year for the average household consuming 204 cubic metres of water annually.
Based on that rate of water consumption, the average household water bill is $1,266.
Broken down, the increase amounts to $17 or 1.43 per cent for the treatment of water and wastewater by the Region of Waterloo, while the remaining $30 or 2.47 percent reflects the cost of maintaining the city’s water and sewer networks, as well as increased investment to sustain the city's core infrastructure.
The water utility rates were approved on December 15, 2022 with an implementation date of January 1, 2023.
The city's $73.9 million capital budget, 19 per cent of which is supported by property taxes, includes a number of high profile projects this year.
They include the Beverly Street reconstruction and pedestrian underpass; reconstruction of Church Street, Groh Avenue, Clemens Avenue, and Roseview and Gladstone avenues; elevator refurbishment projects at David Durward Centre and Centre for the Arts; accessibility improvements at Newland Pool; and work on the Fire Station 5 sewer pipe.
The budget and audit committee will meet to discuss the 2023 draft budget this Thursday in council chambers at City Hall at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will also be live streamed on the city's YouTube channel.
