Property tax set to increase in Kitchener following council’s budget approval
The average home owner in Kitchener can expect to pay approximately $56 more in property taxes this year.
City council approved a 4.8 per cent increase for the 2023 budget, including $100,000 in capital funding for the ‘Racialized and Indigenous Supports for Equity’ and ‘Love my hood’ community grant programs.
“When I hear the multitude of work that gets done through these funds,” said Councillor Aislinn Clancy. “They’re creative, they’re hyper-localized. It again addresses our equity where everyone is welcome, they can show up as they are.”
“If we look at the numbers that are on these charts, it shows that the requested amount is three times what was allocated, so there clearly is an interest out there in the community for these funds,”
said Councillor Debbie Chapman.
Residents can also expect to pay roughly $42 more per year due to a water utility increase of 4.5 per cent.
According to a press release issued by the City of Kitchener on Thursday, throughout the budget process, council took a “people-focused approach prioritizing affordability, supporting core services, responding to growth and investing in our community.”
One of those investments includes $1 million in annual investments in parks, trails and playgrounds.
“Council worked hard to balance various community priorities while completing their first budget of the 2023-2026 term,” said Kitchener Mayor, Berry Vrbanovic. “It reflects the community priorities identified through staff’s extensive consultation with residents and councillors’ conversations with their constituents.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Federal budget to include grocery rebate for lower income Canadians: sources
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.

Advocate questions whether Air Canada has 'cultural problem' after issue with teen's wheelchair
Flying over the Grand Canyon was a highlight for the Gellisen family during their trip to Phoenix, but their flight home to Toronto was a much different experience, with several family members forced off of the flight over tensions related to a teen's wheelchair.
Military under fire as thousands of troops face lost cost-of-living allowance
The Canadian Armed Forces is under fire for its plan to cut thousands of troops off a cost-of-living allowance without much notice.
Essential oils and a secret code name: Things you didn't know about the coronation
King Charles III's coronation will be held on May 6 at London's Westminster Abbey. Here are some little-known facts about the ceremony:
Why lettuce prices are likely to rise again in Canada next month
Lettuce prices are likely to rise next month and could stay high into the summer, agriculture experts say, as flooding in a key California farming area becomes the latest example of extreme weather's effect on the food chain.
Police identify 16-year-old killed in 'unprovoked' stabbing at Toronto subway station
Police have identified a teenager who died after being stabbed in an ‘unprovoked’ attack at a Toronto subway station Saturday night, and have charged an adult male suspect with his murder.
'Reconciliation through art': Campaign aims to get an Indigenous woman on Canada's $20 bill
A new campaign is aiming to get an Indigenous woman honoured on the next $20 bill in Canada for the first time.
Don't punish int'l students over fake admission letters: advocate
An organizer with a group advocating for the rights of migrants in Canada is urging the federal government not to penalize potentially hundreds of international students facing possible deportation over fake school admission letters.
In Macron's France, streets and fields seethe with protest
In France, a country that taught the world about people power with its revolution of 1789 -- and a country again seething with anger against its leaders -- graduating from bystander to demonstrator is a generations-old rite of passage.