As a municipal councillor, one of the most common questions I hear from residents is: “Why do my property taxes keep going up?”
It’s a fair question. And the honest answer is a bit more complicated than it might seem at first glance. Part of that complexity comes from the fact that not all levels of government are funded the same way.
At the provincial level, the Government of Ontario funds its programs through income taxes, corporate taxes, and its share of the Harmonized Sales Tax. These are broad and flexible revenue tools. They grow with the economy and are tied, at least in part, to a person’s ability to pay. That’s why the province is well-positioned to fund large-scale systems like healthcare, education, and social services.
At the municipal level, it’s a very different story. Here in the City of Woodstock, like in municipalities across Ontario, our primary source of revenue is property tax. We also rely on user fees and some support from the province, but property tax does most of the heavy lifting.
The challenge is that property tax is a limited tool. It doesn’t adjust based on income, and it doesn’t grow with the economy in the same way income or sales taxes do. It’s tied to property values, which means it doesn’t always reflect what someone can reasonably afford. It’s stable, but it’s not particularly flexible, and that becomes important when we’re asked to do more.
And that’s where the issue of “downloads” comes in.
Over time, responsibilities that were once funded and managed at the provincial level have been shifted down to municipalities. These include things like social housing, public health, land ambulance services, and elements of social services. These are critical services, and as a municipality, we are committed to delivering them well.
But here’s the reality: when these responsibilities are downloaded to us, they are not always accompanied by the funding tools needed to support them.
So, we’re left with a difficult position. We still have to provide these services, but we’re largely relying on the same property tax base to pay for them. That creates pressure on our budgets and forces tough decisions about where dollars go. It also contributes to increases in property taxes, not because we’re expanding local services dramatically, but because we’re absorbing costs that originated elsewhere.
From where I sit around the council table, this creates a structural mismatch. Property tax works well for truly local services, which include things like roads, fire protection, and waste collection. But it is not designed to fund broader, income-based programs. When those types of services are pushed onto the property tax system, the impact is felt more sharply, especially by residents on fixed incomes.
Whether you’re paying through your income tax, your sales tax, or your property tax, it all comes from the same household budget. When one level of government shifts costs to another, the cost doesn’t disappear, it just shows up in a different place. And often, it shows up on your property tax bill, where it’s more visible and less flexible.
So when you see an increase, I want you to know that it’s not always just about decisions made at the municipal level. It’s often the result of a much bigger system, one where responsibilities and funding don’t always align the way they should.
As a councillor, I believe strongly that each level of government should fund the services it’s best equipped to deliver, using the right tools to do so. That would create a system that is not only more transparent, but also more fair. Until then, I’ll continue to advocate for our community, to manage our resources responsibly, and to be honest with you about where these pressures are coming from.