Hamilton’s 2023 budget sees one of the largest property tax hike in decades

Hamilton council passed the city’s 2023 budget on Wednesday. The budget includes a property tax hike that is one of the largest in decades, but it could have been even higher.

Council was caught between two priorities, making sure there was enough funding for important programming while listening to voices in the community, struggling with the high cost of living and upset about the proposed nearly 7 per cent tax hike.

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At the eleventh hour, mayor Andrea Horwath tabled an amendment that allowed for a smaller tax rate increase, in a move that appears to have secured the budget’s passing, “folks are having a difficult time these days with the price of everything going up, and yet we do need to make sure we’re supporting our community.”

Horwath expressed regret about the last-minute nature of her amendment as she held back tears at city council, “things happened that didn’t allow me to go forward.” Horwath said a difficult family matter delayed her bringing her amendment, which called for financial adjustments partly thanks to additional funding for Hamilton from last week’s provincial budget that resulted in a lower property tax increase.

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Instead of a 6.7 per cent tax increase, Hamilton property owners will see a 5.9 per cent rise. Councillor John Paul Danko says residents were telling him the increase was too much.
He credited the amendment with helping get the budget passed, “because as of yesterday there was a real serious risk that the budget in its entirety was going to fail.”

The budget includes investments in infrastructure, police, transit, roads and programming to address homelessness and other social problems. It ended up passing 10 to 6, but concern about the tax increase moved budget chair councillor Brad Clark to vote against it.

Clark says, “there are residents in every single ward that are struggling to pay their bills, pay their mortgage and this is going to hit them hard.” Clark’s concerns were echoed by others like councillors Matt Francis and Tom Jackson who also voted against it.

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Housing will see one of the most significant increases in the budget, with a 30 per cent increase in funding to just over $70.1 million. Transportation-related services programs will also see a significant increase including an 8 per cent increase in the budget of the Hamilton Street Railway (HSR), a large portion of which is being allocated to $49,000 additional hours of service.

Council also voted on Wednesday to dock councillor Esther Pauls 15 days’ pay, which was the recommendation of the integrity commissioner who delivered a report today finding she should not have voted on the police budget when it was before the police service board, because her son is an officer.