KITCHENER - Kitchener taxpayers have a better idea about how the city’s proposed budget for 2020 would impact their wallet.

City Council on Monday took its first detailed look at the proposed spending plan.

City staff are recommending a 2.2 per cent property tax increase, which matches the rate of inflation.

If given final approval by Council, that would translate to an increase of $24 for the average household valued at $318,000.

Chair of the finance committee, Councillor Scott Davey, says this increase would be one of the lowest tax increases among Ontario’s larger cities.

It would also allow the city to maintain service levels, and addsome more progressive projectsto build for the future.

“We are not just maintaining, we are making the city better, so some of the initiatives like affordable housing and ‘Love my Hood’ we are actually able to do that, make our city better, be progressive but still hit that inflationary target level,” said Davey.

This budget will be thecity’s fifth straight surplus following more than a decade of budget deficits.

The city has also been able to pay down over half its debt.

New Projects

The progressive projectsoutlined in the budget include active transportation, green initiatives and exploring options to tackle affordable housing.

 “Some of the areas where I heard concern over the years are things like urban canopy, people walking on sidewalks notice are trees can be taken care of better, so there are items in the budget for council to take a look at things like that, also affordable housing, we are hoping to earmark some money to tackle that issue,” said Davey.

Water Costs Rising

The news isn’t all rosy:  the proposed increase to water service rates is higher thanthe rate inflation.

Staffare recommending an increase of 4.4 per cent, or an increase of $50 per average household.

Davey notes that while this is higher than council would like, it’s considerably lower than previous years.

“We’ve actually worked really had to get that number down over the last several years, it was as high as 9 per cent and last year it was 6.5 per cent, so we are working that number down and we are going in the right in direction.”

The primary reason behind the high service rates is a backlog of replacing water infrastructure, and pipes not lasting their entire life expectancy.

“Part of the issue is incorrect data frankly, so there were situations where we expected water pipes to last much longer, we expect them to last 80 years and sometimes we are seeing them fail after 40 years,” said Davey.

The final budget won’t be voted on until January 2020.

Before the final meeting council is hoping to hear from residents about what they want to see prioritized in the budget.

They’re encouraging residents to reach out to their city council members or attend public meetings prior to the budget vote.