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Property tax hike likely

Expectations of a 2.7 per cent property tax hike are apparent as city hall is set to present a draft of the 2010 budget.

Although a specific percentage increase has not been agreed upon, a rise in property taxes has been deemed necessary to maintain a balanced budget and to handle the rising cost of social services.

“That’s one of the issues we have to deal with,” Bud Polhill, London controller, said. “If we have any surplus some of it needs to go into a fund to cover up increasing venture works claims, otherwise we’ll be coming in next year saying we don’t have enough money to cover it and we’ll have to raise your taxes by five per cent.”

According to Polhill, the unemployment rate in London is approximately 10 per cent, meaning some people could have trouble paying the higher property taxes.

“We’re now third worst in the country [for unemployment] I understand,” Gina Barber, London controller, said. “Even if you have more jobs with fewer dollars attached, people aren’t going to be in a position to pay taxes or buy houses or anything else.”

She added there have not been any significant changes in Londoners’ ability to pay their taxes. This has been coupled with a better than expected assessment growth — the percentage increase of property owned ­— according to Barber.

However, beyond finding the funds for social services, the funds allocated to police services are in question as they have experienced growth from $48 million to approximately $77 million over the past seven years.

“That’s a major part of our budget,” Polhill said referring to the police services as one of the largest items in the draft of the 2010 budget. “I am sure we’ll get some people on council that say ‘you know that’s just too fat.’ But in a time when things are tough, where you got unemployment, that’s when you need a very active police department.”

Polhill added domestic disputes are much more likely under current economic conditions.

“We all value a good police service, no doubt, but we need to make sure the cost of policing is manageable,” Barber said.

According to the London controller, the previous year’s tax hike manifested itself as an approximately $100 charge for the average homeowner.

“It’s certainly a lot of money if you have to pay it out all at once or if you’re on a fixed income,” she said.

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