Guelph, Ont., October 17, 2024 – Today, Mayor Cam Guthrie shared the draft 2025 budget update on Guelph’s website; the draft budget will be presented at a special Council meeting on October 30. The Mayor and City staff worked together to identify key investment areas and priorities to ensure the budget meets the community’s needs while also addressing the Mayoral direction to reduce the previously-adopted 2025 budget.
Background
The 2025 budget was previously adopted as part of the 2024-2027 Multi-Year Budget with a net tax levy increase of 9.8 per cent over 2024. The draft budget released today was updated to align with the Mayoral direction that was introduced earlier this year using the Strong Mayor powers. Under the Mayoral direction, staff were tasked with updating the adopted 2025 operating and capital budget with the goal of achieving a property tax impact of no more than four per cent.
New this year, this City budget launch excludes the local boards and shared service budgets, which will be presented to Council at a separate meeting in January 2025. This is in response to legislative differences in how Council receives and approves different parts of the budget and will allow for more review and deliberation.
“I heard loud and clear from the community that a nearly 10 per cent tax impact for 2025 was unacceptable, and I agreed,” said Mayor Cam Guthrie. “Affordability was a critical priority when developing the 2025 draft budget at under 4 per cent. This was a painstaking and challenging process, but the resulting property tax impact rate was certainly worth the effort to ensure Guelph residents and businesses keep more of their hard-earned money while our City continues to move forward.”
Draft 2025 budget update
To meet the affordability target, all programs, services and projects were ranked and prioritized based on several criteria including meeting the City’s housing targets, maintaining City assets in a state of good repair, and fulfilling legislated requirements.
The draft 2025 budget update accomplishes several objectives:
- Meets the affordability target set out in the Mayoral Budget Directive.
- Presents a fully funded 10-year capital budget and forecast that enables the City to meet its part of the Housing Pledge and maintain high priority assets.
- Leverages existing grant opportunities and leaves space for future grants to help mitigate tax increases.
- Includes significant investment in revitalizing the downtown streetscape.
- Advances environmental goals through ongoing investment in transit, electrification, and active transportation.
Prioritizing investment in housing and housing-enabling infrastructure means that funding for some other City projects and initiatives has been reduced or deferred. The City remains committed to these initiatives but anticipates it will take longer to reach these goals.
“The draft 2025 budget update presents a funded, 10-year capital plan, as directed by Council last year, and I am just so thrilled to have this achievable plan from which we can facilitate effective service delivery discussions with Council” explained Tara Baker, chief administrative officer. “The Mayor and City staff worked collaboratively to develop the draft budget update, and while there are reductions from what we had planned, the City is still making significant investment in environmental initiatives, housing-enabling infrastructure including downtown placemaking enhancements, and the modernization of City service delivery, all guided by our Strategic Plan.”
Dates to remember
- October 30: 2025 City service draft budget update presentation at special Council meeting
- November 4-12: Mayor-led town halls
- November 13-15: Mayor’s budget update released
- November 19: Public delegations (register to delegate or watch live)
- November 27: Council amendment day (watch live)
If needed, there will be a Mayoral veto period and Council override period before the budget is formally adopted in late December.
Get involved
Provide feedback to councillors
City councillors are always interested in hearing feedback from residents. A list of City Councillors by ward and an interactive ward map to help determine what ward taxpayers are in is available on guelph.ca/council.
Delegate to Council
Residents can address Council about the budget through a written submission, remotely by video or phone, or in person at the November 19 public delegation meeting. Please register as a delegate or make a submission by 10 a.m. November 15 using the online delegate request form, or by contacting the City Clerk’s office at 519-837-5603 or emailing [email protected].
Resources
View the approved 2024-2027 Multi-year Budget.
Read the draft 2025 budget update memo to Council or visit guelph.ca/budget.
Check out these educational videos to learn more about the budget process:
As always, the public can read questions posed by Council and staff’s answers on the online budget board.
Follow the City’s budget updates at guelph.ca/budget, on Twitter (@cityofguelph, #GuelphBudget) and on Facebook (@cityofguelph). Residents wanting to know more about the budget can email [email protected].
Media contact
Megan Reeve, (she/her)
Advisor, Strategic Communications
Strategic Communications & Community Engagement
City of Guelph
226-820-3345
[email protected]
Mark MacKinnon
Communications Advisor to the Mayor
Office of the Mayor
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 2558
[email protected]