The average property tax bill in Innisfil could increase by about $750 in the next two years.
Innisfil councillors got their first look at the proposed two-year operating and capital budgets for the municipality at their meeting Nov. 13. The budget, as prepared, calls for municipal tax increases of 7.41 per cent in 2025 and 6.89 per cent in 2026.
That amounts to an average of $77 million spent each year on town operations and a one-per-cent capital levy, to help fund the projects in the town’s 10-year capital plan.
Still, only about half of the taxes collected by the town find their way into the local coffers, a number that shrinks even lower, when federal and provincial taxes are added into the equation. For every tax dollar collected in Canada, only nine cents make it to a municipality.
The blended tax rate includes commitments to the County of Simcoe — which is expected to ratify its draft 2025 budget within weeks — and South Simcoe Police Service, which is set to approve its budget by the end of the month.
The budget in front of Innisfil council relies partially on estimates and precedent and could show a different reality come Dec. 4 and 6, the two days set aside for council debate on the budget items.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I do sit on the police services board, and this could get worse,” said Mayor Lynn Dollin. “While we were able to scrape a few points off of the county budget, I don’t want you to get your hopes up, because I’m sure the police will add onto that.”
The draft 2025 budget estimates a 6.9 per cent increase to the police budget, similar to last year; Innisfil is responsible for 53.24 per cent of the total operating budget through the cost-sharing agreement with Bradford West Gwillimbury.
Chief administrative officer Oliver Jerschow introduced the budget as one of the most important decisions council will make during its term.
The budget, he said, is a statement of council’s priorities, and it is up to staff to suggest how those priorities can be supported through resource allocation. There’s a balancing act in creating the document, and part of staff’s role is to respect the taxpayer, particularly as costs everywhere continue to rise.
But Innisfil is a growing community and if its funding remains stagnant, it will suffer. The conversation councillors are about to undertake will be “challenging.”
“I also believe we have a duty to invest in this community; to provide the services and the infrastructure that our families and business expect,” Jerschow said. “What we do here at the Town of Innisfil is fundamentally a people business.”
It’s a “service-based” budget, which maintains the level of service currently found in the community and makes improvements based on resident feedback and council direction, found largely in the various planning documents enacted throughout the term.
Chief financial officer Mike Melinyshyn pointed to changing expectations from residents, particularly the newest members of the community, who have been fuelling the growth, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The budget shows how that growth increases costs throughout the municipality, but the assessment data from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) is lagging. Until the next assessment cycle is completed, the burden of the costs remains on the legacy ratepayers in the municipality.
New or old, there is only one taxpayer, and they want to live in a community with proper amenities. Those amenities don't run themselves.
Additional staffing needs make up nearly a full per cent of the tax increase in 2025 and just under half-a-per-cent in 2026. The roughly $1.5 million added to the budget will account for 16 full-time-equivalent positions by the end of 2026.
“It is an employee’s market; it is challenging to recruit and retain qualified employees,” Melinyshyn said. “We need to invest in staff, and this is what this budget tries to do as well.”
The initial tax increase for 2025 was 7.53 per cent, before the County of Simcoe passed its budget with a lower increase than predicted. The rate for 2025 would have been more than eight per cent if staff had not decided to use $800,000 from the property tax rate stabilization reserve.
Melinyshyn said that about $900,000 equates to one per cent of the tax levy.
The budget has been developed by staff throughout most of 2024. Now it’s time for council to get to work, Dollin said.
“I really want you to look at it two ways: Are there things in there that you think are not necessary or not necessary at this point, but also make sure that the things that you love that we do now are still there,” she said. “Just make sure that the most important thing to you in the community is still there.”
What largely will be excluded from that debate is the more than $1 billion in capital projects proposed and forecasted for the next decade.
Funding for capital projects comes mostly from the annual capital tax levy and development charges collected, among other sources. While municipalities must present a balanced budget, they can go into debt to build infrastructure.
For the 2025-26 budget cycle, more than $169 million in capital spending is proposed, including $35 million for a new fire hall in Innisfil Heights spread out over the two years and $33 million for reconstruction of Big Bay Point Road in 2025.
Total capital projects would amount of about $91 million in 2025 and $78 million in 2026.
The cost of the fire hall is recommended to be paid for using the town’s debt capacity. At the end of 2026, Innisfil would have about $48.5 million in debt commitments, significantly below the provincial limit of 25 per cent of the town’s own source of revenues and the maximum the town has set of 20 per cent.
Residents are encouraged to visit the Budgets page on the town website to review the draft 2025-2026 document. Dollin also stressed that if residents have concerns with the budget, they should do so through official town channels, rather than on social media.
This will be the first two-year budget approved under the strong-mayor guidelines set out by the province of Ontario, following last year’s refresher of the previous 2023-2024 budget. Following the deliberations in December, it is expected the 2025-2026 budget will be approved at the Jan. 15, 2025, council meeting.
