Region of Waterloo proposes nearly 5% tax hike for 2026
CBC
Regional property taxes are proposed to go up in 2026.
Regional council members will begin reviewing a proposed property tax rate increase of 4.94 per cent in 2026. That translates to a $96 average increase per household.
Regional staff will be presenting the preliminary plan for the 2026 budget at budget committee meetings on Nov. 18 and 19. The final budget day is scheduled for Dec. 16.
That proposed increase does not include the Waterloo Regional Police Services budget increase. Police are asking for an additional $20 million for a total of $272.6 million.
On Wednesday in a meeting to brief members of the media, staff said they achieved about $12.5 million in savings by "working differently/efficiently for the same or similar outcome," "adjusting service to reflect changing demand" and "leveraging financial strategies."
Coun. Michael Harris, who also chairs the budget committee, says they will be putting more money towards community needs.
"There is a massive need for affordable housing here in our community. We have a plan to continue to build more units, but there are a couple of projects that we've had to ... delay for further out," he said.
"There are roads that we know need to be taken care of that we would have loved to have dealt with this year that we're going to need to defer ... We're going to continue to deliver the paramount services that people expect today."
He says they kept the growing financial pressures on everyday residents in mind.
"The assistance that we provide families and rent supplements and the new affordable housing programs that we're launching to add more units in the community are all things that we expect to have," Harris said.
"And that small little increase that we've asked for this year will help offset those costs, but maintain services that are fair level."
About 43 per cent of the region's operating expenses are funded by regional taxpayers. About 33 per cent is funded through provincial and federal grants. The rest comes from fees, contributions from reserves and interest earnings.
Here are the proposed service adjustments that resulted in about $12.5 million savings:
When regional councillors began discussing the 2026 budget in May, they agreed to introduce a 5 per cent cap on any property tax increases.
A group of landowners fighting the construction of a massive motorsport racing resort northeast of Calgary have had a victory in court.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford congratulated a homeowner who shot and injured an alleged home invader in Vaughan, Ont., this week, saying intruders "need to be shot."
B.C. Sports Hall of Fame relocates hundreds of thousands of artifacts to make way for FIFA World Cup
From century-old provincial senior men's baseball jerseys to a keeper Lombardi Trophy won by a Kamloops-born Super Bowl-winning punter, the vast majority of B.C.'s premier sports artifacts won't be on display when the FIFA World Cup comes to town.
Two Sudbury domes used for various sports during the winter months collapsed after a winter storm dropped upwards of 40 centimetres of snow.
Police in Nova Scotia say a teen in Bridgewater and a youth from Manitoba have been arrested for allegedly planning simultaneous attacks at their local schools.
In the provincial budget released on Tuesday, tourism funding increased overall, but a few individual sites ended up on a list of cuts.
The owner of an Old Montreal building where seven people died in a 2023 fire is being charged with seven counts of manslaughter.
With no current plans to open new in-person rapid access to addiction medicine clinics, a woman who lost her brother to an overdose worries Manitoba's government is not doing enough to prevent substance-related deaths.
Gurpreet Singh, a 40-year-old Indian national, is suing the Canadian government and employees of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), alleging they prosecuted him maliciously and violated his charter rights.
Edmonton orthopedic surgeons are warning of widespread surgery cancellations in coming weeks due to a funding dispute over how Alberta compensates another group of hospital doctors.
Advocates fear the looming closure of the Niagara Region's sole safe drug consumption site will result in a spike in overdose deaths and cases of blood-borne infections such as hepatitis C and HIV.
A potential sightseeing gondola overlooking Canmore is returning for a new stage of engagement under Alberta's All-Season Resorts Act.
CBC News has learned Vancouver police are investigating whether someone with access to the force's property office colluded with organized criminals to tamper with key evidence in a high-profile murder case.