Niagara Region has finalized yet another massive property tax increase for 2025. Pictured: Niagara Regional Chair Jim Bradley. Photo Credit: Niagara Region.
Niagara Regional Council met yesterday and finalized a budget for 2025 that includes a massive 9.6 per cent property tax increase. When added together with last year’s 7.02 per cent property tax increase, the regional portion of Niagara Region homeowners’ property tax bills will have risen by more than 16 per cent in the span of just two years.
The vote last night was the culmination of a months-long budget process. The budget was largely finalized last week and Council was simply considering a handful of last-minute amendments before approving the 2025 budget.
A key part of the significant budget increase for 2025 is the police budget, which will increase by double digits next year. The Police Services Board had originally requested a 15.1 per cent budget increase. After Council requested the Board pare back the increase, the Board then agreed to a 13.2 per cent increase. However, Council then asked for a second round of budget cuts, which the Board refused. Still, Council voted to override the Board and reduce the proposed police budget by an additional $800,000.
Regional Council also plans to ask the province to compensate the Region for some of the increased policing costs.
As to the budget generally, as is the case in most of Ontario’s municipalities, while a few cost-cutting measures were considered, a comprehensive public review of every program and spending initiative in the entire budget was not done.
After two straight years of property tax increases exceeding seven per cent, some outside groups are calling on Niagara Regional Council to do a much more comprehensive review of spending and identify specific budget cuts for next year.
Many councillors also called for a more comprehensive review for Budget 2026 in light of the massive 2025 tax increase to try to prevent another increase of over nine per cent next year.
Before last night’s vote, the property tax increase for 2025 was slated to come in at 9.77 per cent. Council made minor changes to get the increase down to 9.6 per cent, but those changes barely moved the needle.
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Ron Tripp urged councillors not to make any of the additional cuts that were on the table, insisting that every element of the initial budget was necessary.
However, many councillors disagreed and voiced opposition to the massive budget increase and its accompanying tax hike.
Councillor Tom Insinna questioned how staff decided which additional staff would or would not be hired as a result of reducing the size of staff’s proposed 2025 budget.
Insinna also insisted that Council should defeat the proposed budget, saying Council had “lost our marbles” by considering a property tax increase that is so high.
Insinna said it was time for Council and Niagara Region to consider doing more with less and warned that people could lose their homes because of a lack of affordability.
Councillor Terry Ugulini also argued that the planned tax increases are “unsustainable” for taxpayers and voiced his opposition to the overall budget.
Councillor Leanna Villella suggested a two-year hiring freeze to help lower the tax hike, although that suggestion was ultimately not voted on.
Some members of Council chose to reluctantly support the budget.
Councillor Joyce Morocco, who supported the budget but did voice frustrations, insisted that senior levels of government need to step up with more funding given all of the demands being placed on local levels of government.
Councillor Mat Siscoe, who is also Mayor of St. Catharines, said that while he was frustrated with the overall tax hike, he decided to support the budget and urged those who opposed the budget to come forward with specific cuts to actually get the tax increase down.
“Just saying no to this budget is not going to accomplish what they think it is going to accomplish,” said Siscoe. “If people don’t like the budget, come up with a better budget.”
In terms of a possible compromise to try to further reduce the tax hike, Councillor Diana Huson suggested a staggered hiring process for new hires to try to save money in the budget. However, staff pushed back and said only seven positions could be delayed and the savings would be trivial.
The suggestion ultimately did not move forward.
Niagara Region’s property tax increase is significantly more than increases proposed by upper-tier municipalities in nearby areas. Peel Region’s property tax increase for 2025 will come in at 5.5 per cent, while York Region has passed a property tax increase of 4.55 per cent. Durham Region is in the final stages of passing a 4.9 per cent increase.
Clearly, Niagara Region’s property tax increase – driven by massive spending increases – is considerably higher than comparable upper-tier municipalities.
The average homeowner will see property taxes rise by over $200 in 2025 compared to 2024, according to Niagara Region’s budget documents.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
