With this year’s city budget now finalized, residents are looking at a 6.78 per cent property tax increase.
Council received the final pieces of the puzzle on Wednesday, when several outside boards and shared services – things the municipality doesn’t have direct authority over – brought forth their spending plans.
They were presented and unanimously approved by council with little fanfare. Councillors Carly Klassen and Michele Richardson were absent from the meeting.
With the budget now set, the average residential property taxes are set to rise $322.72 compared to 2024.
The biggest increases come from Guelph police (a $5.1 million increase over 2024 levels), the County of Wellington ($4.53 million increase), which provides housing services on behalf of the city, and Guelph Public Library ($624,000 increase).
“A lot of this year’s increase is phased in from last year,” explained Police Chief Gord Cobey, noting that includes the addition of four new positions – two for fraud investigations, one for tech crimes and one for child exploitation investigations.
It also includes six new officers for the combined human trafficking and intimate partner violence investigations, which were added to the budget in December as part of targeted enforcement and victim rescue efforts.
“We’re constantly trying to thread the needle,” Cobey said, referring to the balance between growing the force to meet increasing community demand with officer well-being and overtime costs.
The province-wide average for police budget increases is about 10 per cent, he added, noting the Guelph police increase is 7.9 per cent.
Funding for the County of Wellington’s housing efforts is down slightly from what was previously anticipated, to a $4.53 million increase from $4.6 million, thanks to updated modelling, staff restructuring and inflationary adjustments.
Much of that increase is attributable to operation of the former Norfolk Manor supportive housing project and winter response plans for people experiencing homelessness.
“It’s not really a surprise that some of those areas have jumped up,” commented Mayor Cam Guthrie.
“Right across Ontario, we’re losing ground against homelessness,” added Coun. Phil Allt.
Looking at Guelph Public Library, the $624,000 operating budget increase is driven by general inflationary pressures and staffing costs – the latter of which CEO Dan Atkins said accounts for 68 per cent of the library’s expenses.
“Libraries are more than just buildings, they are community equalizers,” he told council. “The library is here to make a difference in the lives of all Guelph residents.”
The only funding decrease comes from The Elliott Community, which requested a $260,606 dip in municipal dollars.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health will receive a $83,051 increase, while the Grand River Conservation Authority was granted $51,700 more than in 2024.
City council formalized its part of the 2025 budget in November, complete with a 3.66 per cent property tax increase. When combined with the outside boards and shared services, the overall tax impact is 6.78 per cent.
