2020 City Budget now available online
In December 2019, Oshawa City Council approved the 2020 City Budget, which maintains 2019 service levels while addressing volume and growth and incorporating the outcomes of various continuous improvement initiatives.
The approved 2020 City Budget is now available online and demonstrates investment in the future of the city’s infrastructure and its residents and property owners. This includes maintaining current and building new infrastructure, including roads, sidewalks, active transportation, trails and parks; saving for the future by increasing our reserves to ensure the financial health of the city; and, including a decrease in debt payments.
The 2020 City budget supports the goals of the Oshawa Strategic Plan, Financial Strategy, master plans such as the Integrated Transportation Master Plan / Active Transportation Master Plan and the Parks, Recreation, Library and Culture Facility Needs Assessment and Council’s guiding principles of sustainability and financial stewardship. These principles are built on a foundation of increasing reserve contributions, paying down debt, investing in infrastructure and keeping tax increases affordable to support the long-term financial sustainability of the City.
The 2020 City Budget requires a 2.03% increase on Oshawa’s portion of a resident or property owner’s tax bill (41% of total tax bill) and represent an increase in the total tax bill of approximately $42.65 on a property (based on a home assessed at $356,000). The increase is driven by a number of unavoidable costs and pressures, including: inflationary and contractual labour increases as well as improved service delivery.
The 2.03% increase is only on the City portion of resident or property owner’s taxes. The City of Oshawa is part of a two-tier government system and collects property taxes on behalf of the City, the Regional Municipality of Durham and the Province for local school boards. In the past, the City has only kept approximately 41 cents of every dollar collected – of the remaining 59 cents, 41 cents is allocated to the Region and the remaining 18 cents to local school boards.
The 2020 Regional Budget deliberations begin this month; once the Regional Budget is approved, Oshawa homeowners will see a combined City, Region and education increase on their tax bill.
The budget is comprised of two components: operating and capital. The operating budget covers the costs of delivering services to the community. This includes snow removal, waste collection, fire services, recreation programs, staffing costs and much more. The 2020 Budget approved the creation of 11 full-time staff positions, five of which were for Fire Services. It also includes funding for agencies, including the Oshawa Public Libraries and the Oshawa Senior Citizens Centres.
The capital budget focuses on investing in and renewing the City’s core infrastructure and providing the infrastructure necessary to respond to our growing city. Capital projects for 2020 include fleet replacements, replacement of sand surfaces in playgrounds, pathways, radar speed control devices, speed signs, Next Generation 911 upgrade, replacement of the HVAC system at the Oshawa Executive Airport, and the replacement of the dehumidification system at Delpark Homes Centre.
The budget submission includes a 0.1% increase to the dedicated infrastructure levy and will help support the City’s future capital infrastructure requirements.
Thank you to community members for participating in the 2020 City Budget process. Engagement opportunities included the five ward town halls as well as online and paper feedback forms.
For additional information, visit our budget webpage.