Region of Waterloo staff hear public input on 2025 draft budget
The Region of Waterloo held its first public meeting Wednesday night to help decide where next year’s tax dollars should be spent and how much it will all cost.
Delegates weighed in as regional staff and councillors look to take that input into account while preparing next year’s operating budget.
Public transportation proved to be a hot topic at the Strategic Plan & Budget Public Input meeting.
“The GRT released their business plan for 2025 to 2030, and it’s amazing,” said Rodney Chan with Tri-Cities Transport Action Group. “They want a 10-minute frequent transit network. They want overnight transit, they want more express routes and this is great, but we need the regional council to support it with the adequate funding it needs to move forward with it.”
The push from that community group is being acknowledged by decision makers.
“[There’s a] need to deliver those critical pieces of infrastructure that we do here in the region, while again balancing the ability for people to pay and so we have some work to do for sure,” said Michael Harris, a regional councillor.
The proposed budget gives council a starting point of a 12 per cent to 13 per cent property tax increase.
But councillor Harris says they’re sharpening their pencils to make the final number much lower.
“We’ve had council marching orders to keep the increase under eight [per cent]. Our goal is to do better than that,” said Harris.
Regional staff point out a number of rising costs for next year’s budget. They include waste collection changes, transit and paramedic services enhancements, resources to end homelessness and upper government funding changes.
“These are core things that we just can’t cut. And so, I’ll be balancing those needs of what the public expects at what service level, and the ability for people to pay,” said Harris.
It is also worth noting this proposed budget and tax increase does not include funding for the Waterloo Regional Police Service.
There will be another meeting to gather public input on Nov. 27.
Council is expecting to figure out where it all lands and what it means for property tax bills when they vote on the budget Dec. 11.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Biden delivers remarks following Trump's win
Joe Biden's name wasn't on the ballot, but history will likely remember Kamala Harris' resounding defeat as his loss too.
PM Trudeau revives Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee after Trump win
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reviving a special cabinet committee dedicated to Canada-U.S. relations, following Republican Donald Trump's re-election.
Police in southern Mexico find 11 bodies, including two of minors, dumped by a highway
Police in a southern Mexico region rife with drug cartel violence have found 11 bodies, including two of minors, dumped by a highway, prosecutors in the state of Guerrero said Thursday.
The world's 10 richest people got a record US$64 billion richer from Trump's re-election
Wednesday wasn't just a good day for Donald Trump. The wealth of the world’s 10 richest people also soared by a record amount, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.
Video shows suspect shooting man inside Markham, Ont. garage
Police have released video footage showing a suspect shooting a man inside a Markham garage in broad daylight on Wednesday afternoon.
Inside Canada's chaotic response to avian flu
A CFIA official is calling it the 'largest animal health emergency that this country has ever had to face.' A joint IJF/CTV News investigation looks into Canada's response to the bird flu pandemic, and how it's ravaged the country's farms.
Wayne Gretzky, Elon Musk and a few pro golfers: Here's who attended Trump's victory party
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump welcomed a variety of attendees at his victory celebrations in Florida this week, from his family, supporters and political allies to a selection of high-profile figures.
43 monkeys escape from a South Carolina medical lab. Police say there is no serious danger
Forty-three monkeys escaped from a compound used for medical research in South Carolina but the nearby police chief said there is 'almost no danger' to the public.
A murder trial is closing in the killings of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana
A murder trial in the small Indiana town of Delphi was wrapping up Thursday after weeks of testimony and evidence surrounding the fate of two teenage girls who vanished during a winter hike in 2017. Their killings went unsolved for years before police arrested a man who lived and worked in the same town.