Ajax Council has unanimously passed the town’s 2021 Operating and Capital budgets after eight hours of debate. It will be formally ratified at the February 22 Council meeting.
Mayor Shaun Collier said: “Through this focused effort, we were able to reduce the town’s tax rate impact further, settling on a final tax rate increase of 0.95% or $4.14 on an average monthly tax bill (does not include region’s portion).
Whitby has raised the 2021 property tax by 0.55% and Oshawa by 1.41% [see below].
Last year, Durham municipalities received federal-provincial grants worth more than $50 million under Safe Restart Agreement to help offset operating deficits. Ajax received over $3.33 million [see below].
Mayor Collier did not refer to the Safe Restart Agreement grant.
“The 2021 budget process was one of the most difficult that I have been a part of since being elected in 2003. The weight of the global Covid pandemic and its impact on our local taxpayers and businesses was at the forefront of my mind throughout this process. This was true of all my council colleagues,” said Mayor Collier in a statement.
Staff presented council with a modest budget that maintained services and recognized our financial challenges. As council moved through the budget line-by-line, we would ask ourselves, “is this a must have or a nice-to-have?” to minimize the tax impact on residents and businesses.
It was very important to council that we approved a fair and balanced budget in order to protect services levels, investments and future growth, he added.
The town will be releasing additional details on the budget, including highlights and final numbers in the coming weeks.
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