Local government | February 24, 2021
Today, City Council approved the City of Mississauga’s 2021-2024 Business Plan and 2021 Budget.
“Together our Council members approved a fair and equitable budget that allows us to keep taxes low while continuing to respond to the pandemic. Staff worked incredibly hard to bring forward a balanced budget that still delivers the essential City services that residents need and expect, including transit, library, and fire and emergency services, despite revenue losses,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “We have been strong and resilient as a City through the pandemic and will continue to deliver value for money for residents while making the strategic investments that are needed to move us forward and stay competitive.”
On June 24, 2020, City staff introduced the preliminary 2021-2024 Business Plan and 2021 Budget. An update regarding the impact of COVID-19 was included. On November 23, 2020 an overview of the proposed Business Plan and Budget was presented. The 2021 Budget considered financial recovery strategies, outlined to Budget Committee throughout 2020, to offset budget pressures due to the pandemic. These included:
“COVID-19 presented new challenges that our staff quickly rose and adapted to while honouring our commitment to service excellence, fiscal responsibility and continuous improvement,” said Paul Mitcham, City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). “Early on, with Council direction, the City took actions to mitigate the financial impact such as temporary staff layoffs, a hiring freeze, discretionary spending review and deferral of some 2020 capital projects. We greatly appreciate the funds allocated by the federal and provincial governments through the Safe Restart Agreement (phase I and II spread over 2020 and 2021). I am proud of our staff that worked diligently with Council throughout the pandemic to deliver a solid budget that will help us through recovery and to move forward and prepare for the years to come.”
2021 Tax Impact
Property taxes in Mississauga are used to fund services provided by the City of Mississauga, the Region of Peel and the Government of Ontario for the Ministry of Education. Of every property tax dollar, 36 per cent goes to the City; the rest is divided between the Region of Peel at 45 per cent and the Government of Ontario at 19 per cent. For 2021, the overall residential property tax increase will be 2.1 per cent, of which 1 per cent is the City of Mississauga’s portion and 1.1 per cent is the Region of Peel’s portion. This equates to approximately a $56 increase on the City’s portion of the property tax based on an average residential property valued at $730,000 or $7.71 per $100,000 of assessment.
The 2021 Operating Budget focuses on the delivery of programs and services and includes:
As part of the Capital budget, Mississauga’s City Council is committed to investing in:
Council also approved a one-third reduction of car allowance and freezing of salaries for Members of Council for 2021.
“With this year’s budget, we are managing the financial impacts of the pandemic, with public health as our first priority. We are working towards recovery by providing necessary services that the public rely on while minimizing the property tax required,” said Gary Kent, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer. “We will continue to manage the significant financial impacts we are facing from COVID-19 and work towards our long-term plans. We have learned a lot from the pandemic and will continue to apply our learning as we continue into the next budget cycle.”
Stormwater Charge
The Stormwater Charge funds the City’s Stormwater Program. It is a dedicated source of funding separate from property taxes. The Stormwater Charge appears on the Region of Peel water bill and in 2021 the rate increase is set at 2 per cent. This means the average residence (approximately 75 per cent) will see an increase of $2.20 or less.
For more details about City’s budget and the budget process, visit mississauga.ca/budget.
Media Contact:
City of Mississauga Media Relations
media@mississauga.ca
905-615-3200, ext. 5232
TTY: 905-896-5151