2023 Budget Focused on Investing in Mississauga

Today, Council approved the City of Mississauga’s 2023-2026 Business Plan and 2023 Budget, focused on maintaining a safe and healthy community and investing in infrastructure, building and growth. It outlines how and where the City will allocate resources to meet service expectations over the next four years and balances priorities for more than 300 programs and services, across 14 service areas to ensure they remain affordable for Mississauga residents and businesses.

“This year, we have put forward a no-frills budget that is designed to maintain service levels while minimizing the impacts on our residents as we address ongoing pressures from inflation and the lagging effects of COVID-19,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “We are at a time when prudent fiscal management is more important than ever because we know the financial decisions we make today will profoundly affect our City’s future. I stand behind the 2023 budget, which invests in our residents and supports our business community. We are making critical strategic investments in public safety, infrastructure and sustainability to build our resiliency in the future and support our community’s growth.”

Property Taxes
Mississauga residents will see a 3 per cent increase on the City portion of the Residential Tax Bill and business owners will see a 2 per cent increase on the City portion of the Commercial/Industrial Tax Bill. Property taxes are the City’s largest source of revenue and represent fifty-nine per cent of the revenue it receives.

This year’s budget makes important investments including:

$83.8 million for hybrid bus acquisitions
$25.6 million for winter maintenance
$3.6 million for sidewalks
$21.5 million for road rehabilitation
$11 million for fire prevention activities
$1.9 million for new and replacement tree plantings

There are 10 new initiatives proposed for 2023 – nine of which have no impact on the tax rate and are offset by user fees or funded from the capital budget such as the Square One Innovation Hub, the Malton Youth Hub, grants to support Culture groups and parkland growth.

“We’re working to balance affordability for our residents and critical funding for important City needs,” said Shari Lichterman, Acting City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer. “We continue to look for opportunities to keep costs low through operational efficiencies, securing financial support from other levels of government, and charging user fees where appropriate.”

Cost Savings
The City has implemented cost containment strategies to help bring down costs. The 2023 Budget contains savings of $3.5 million (a 0.6 per cent reduction in the City’s net costs). Since 2009, the City has achieved $77.1 million in cost savings.

For more details about City’s approved 2023 Budget and the budget process, visit mississauga.ca/budget.

BACKGROUND
At this time, the impacts of Bill 23 have not been built into the City’s 2023 Budget. The province has signalled its intention to compensate municipalities for losses related to Bill 23 following a third-party audit of city finances. The City of Mississauga welcomes this review and is looking forward to working with the province to limit the impacts of this legislation on our community and taxpayers going forward.

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• Budget and Taxes