Township, mayor and residents react to Wilmot's proposed 50.87% tax hike

What's behind Wilmot's big tax hike? Wilmot council is trying to whittle down its 50.87 per cent residential tax rate increase. Krista Simpson reports.

Residents of Wilmot Township could face a hefty tax hike this year.

The proposed 2025 budget includes a 50.87 per cent residential tax rate increase, which would mean the average homeowner would pay an additional $514 on the township portion of their tax bill.

“I’m not impressed with it. I don’t believe we need it,” said one resident, who has lived in Wilmot Township for 38 years.

The mayor explained that council will work to lower the increase, but it could be a challenges due to years of lower tax hikes and the township’s failure to set aside enough money for capital projects.

“We’ve had historically low tax increases here in Wilmot the last 15 years,” noted Greg Clark, Wilmot’s director of corporate services, chief financial officer and acting CAO.

He said the biggest reason for the proposed hike is for funding of capital projects.

“We own a lot of assets -- roads, water, wastewater, a number of facilities, including the [Wilmot Recreation Complex] -- that require investment on an annual basis,” Clark explains. “We have not been putting the money away into our reserves. We haven't been funding them on a regular basis. And some of those bills are now coming due.

The proposed 50.87 per cent property tax increase would help Wilmot get closer to where they should be and , he added, it is in line with what people pay in other townships and neighbouring areas.

“It puts us right in the middle of where our comparators are,” said Clark. “When you add this, we go from being the lowest to being in the middle.”

Even the mayor was surprised by the more than 50 per cent tax increase.

“It was a shocking number,” admitted Natasha Salonen, noting council only learned of the proposed hike a day before it was publicly announced.

Salonen said it is important the township gets into a better financial position, but knows it will take time.

“I think that we really need to be cognizant and work as a council to ask those right questions and get us towards a budget that both can set us on a good financial direction, but also is something that is reasonable for our residents.”

She also said council has asked for more information to help them decide where they can cut back, as they whittle the property tax hike down from 50.87 per cent.

“I don't have a targeted percentage or dollar amount, but I know it's certainly nowhere in the neighbourhood that it's currently presented at,” Salonen told CTV News.

A special council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 7. Members of the public can share their thoughts on the budget, but delegates must register in order to present to council.

Some, though, are already sharing their opinions.

Baden resident Mark Ratcliffe met with the mayor Thursday to express his concerns, including the proposed tax hike.

Ratcliffe, who has lived in Wilmot Township for 23 years, said he’s never seen a proposed increase of this magnitude.

He describes his reaction as “dumbfounded. And then angry. Simply because of the inefficiencies of the township.”

Ratcliffe said he would also be reaching out to the province, asking them to intervene.

“I don't believe that the township is responsible enough and mature enough to look after people's money and do the various services,” he told CTV News.

Councillors will also discuss the budget at a special meeting on Jan. 16.

It could be approved on that day, but if more time is needed to make a final decision, a second council meeting has been pencilled in for Jan. 27.