Home News Local News Municipal property taxes will go up 3.5% in 2026

Municipal property taxes will go up 3.5% in 2026

December 10, 2025

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By Karen Wolfe

A whopping $167.2 million 2026 budget has been approved and the Town says residents will need to pony up an extra 3.5 per cent in municipal property taxes next year (2.25% operating & 1.25% infrastructure levy) plus pay an average of $165 annually to meet the 2 per cent increase in storm water requirements for 2026.

The Mayor’s budget, which is the largest ever approved in Georgina, identifies $114.8 million operating expenses, an increase of $8.4 million over the 2025 budget. For capital costs, the budget is setting aside $52.4 million, an increase of $14.1 million over 2025 expenditures.

So what will the $114.8 million in operating costs support in 2026? To begin with, 11 new staffing requests were approved for a total of $1.2 million. And so, despite Councillor Dale Genge’s best efforts on Budget Day to reduce staffing costs, there was no support from council for her motion to remove over $400,000 from the cost of these new hires. As a result, the operating budget will spend a total of $47.2 million on salaries for a total of 381 staff in 2026. That’s up from 324 staff in 2022, a 17.5 per cent increase.

The property tax increase will also support $12.2 million in interest payments to service the town’s debt of $124.3 million. This includes loans taken out a various times for the Civic Centre, the new Keswick Fire Hall, High Street streetscape, MURC, Pefferlaw Fire Hall etc.

Some of these projects are considered growth related developments and as such, the interest payments and debentures will be recoverable from development charges. Other projects with loans attached include water and waste water debentures.

For this term of council, which ends in October 2026, here are the property tax increases, including infrastructure levies, that have been approved since they were elected to office in 2022:

Here is a list of the top five expenditures the 2026 budget listed as priorities for the $52.4 million capital budget: South Keswick Fire Hall – $15.3 million; Willow Beach Park construction – $8.4 million; pavement management system – $3.9 million; Black River Sidewalk – $2.5; facilities and repair – $2.1 million. In addition, $8.7 million in capital expenditures will support water and wastewater initiatives.

Users in Georgina who depend on the water and wastewater services provided by the Town will experience a 9.3 per cent increase in 2026 on a typical bill of 165 metres squared per annum. That increase is necessary to fund a $23.4 million budget.

When Mayor Margaret Quirk was re-elected as Georgina’s Mayor in 2022, she inherited the Town’s debt of $22 million. Here is the progression of that debt level over the past 4 years of her administration:

Certainly it must be made clear that the tax levy is not responsible for the entire amount of debt. It will carry the load for some projects but according to Town Treasurer Rob Wheater, development charges will be used to pay back at least 50 per cent of it and the water and wastewater rates will also address capital project loans specific to that system.

Assessment growth in Georgina is the amount of new tax money the town receives due mostly to new housing. In 2026, the town estimates approximately $1.88 million will be added to the tax levy. Rob Wheater has already determined that part of that new money will help support the first year salaries for the new hires while the balance will be tucked away to pay for future expenditures that will be required for the new south Keswick fire hall.

The review of the 495 page budget document by council on December 2 took around four hours and within that time, not one penny from the $167.2 million budget was removed or barely debated.