Winnipeggers face 5.95 percent property tax increase in budget

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham and Coun. Jeff Browaty speak to reporters at City Hall on Dec. 11, 2024. The city has announced a 5.95 property tax increase in its latest budget. (Glenn Pismenny/CTV News Winnipeg)

Winnipeggers will be paying more property taxes than expected next year.

The 2025 City of Winnipeg preliminary budget unveiled Wednesday said residents will pay a 5.95 percent property tax increase, up from the 3.5 per cent increase promised by Mayor Scott Gillingham during his campaign.

The increase means a Winnipeg homeowner whose property is assessed at $371,000 would pay an additional $121/year or $10/month.

“This is a really, really difficult decision,” said Gillingham.

“We need more revenue, full stop.”

The city is coming into 2025 with a $9.1 million deficit, brought down from $23.4 million due to the city deciding to drain its rainy-day fund, also known as the Financial Stabilization Reserve.

Still, the preliminary budget has increased spending for street renewal and public safety.

Of the proposed 5.95 per cent property tax increase, a third (two per cent) will go to roads, 1.5 per cent is earmarked for essential operations, and 2.45 per cent for public safety and financial risks.

The city plans to put a total of $169.3 million towards roads in 2025, add 36 new police officers over two years, and add 15 community safety officers over two years to patrol transit.

The additional 36 officers is half of what the Winnipeg Police Service asked for last week. Acting Police Chief Art Stannard said the ask was for 72 additional police officers but was realistic in knowing the city wasn’t going to give the full amount.

Eight of the new transit officers will be deployed next year in April; one more will be added in 2026, and six more will come in 2027. Once all the officers are on the beat, the city expects to spend $2.9 million dollars each year.

The 2024 preliminary budget also adds 24 new firefighters, but those positions are funded using provincial money. The city will be footing the bill for new firetrucks and other equipment upgrades.

Finance Chair Coun. Jeff Browaty said the additional firefighters should help with WFPS overtime costs.

The city is also planning to start replenishing its rainy-day fund through the $7.5 million of municipal funding announced by Premier Wab Kinew last month.

The city has planned to spend $1 million in new money for youth programming in high-needs areas and $60,000 on needles and dangerous debris clean-up in city parks.

Getting around

Road repair is a priority in 2025 in Winnipeg as the city is planning to spend 15.8 per cent more than it did last year. Transit will also get a boost in its operating budget to a record $124 million, largely because the city is going to roll out its new transit network next summer.

But transit riders will have to pay more. The adult fare is expected to increase 10 cents to $3.35 next year.

The city is also increasing funding for active transportation.

Saving money

In October 2025 there is a plan for a city-wide pilot project on snow plowing residential streets. The city is seeing if it can save money on snow removal by increasing the threshold for plowing residential streets to 15 centimetres of accumulation from 10 centimetres.

“We have not changed the service standard,” said Gillingham.

He added the costs of snow-clearing contracts have jumped considerably, and moving the threshold may save the city the costs of one snow-clearing operation a year.

Gillingham said now is the time to try this out and is asking for Winnipeggers to be patient.

The new chief financial officer is also working to find a targeted $51 million in savings.

A budget management team is also being formed to find savings as the year progresses.

Next Steps

Now the preliminary budget has been unveiled, a six-week period of community consultation will begin. The budget is scheduled to be voted on at the city council meeting on Jan. 29, 2025.

City officials are projecting the property tax increase to return to Gillingham’s promised 3.5 per cent increase for 2026 and 2027.