Kitchener adopts budget that invests in infrastructure, delivers value
The City of Kitchener adopted its 2025 budget, authorizing a plan that will deliver City services, invest in infrastructure and advance strategic priorities. The property tax rate increase of 3.9 per cent works out to $49 a year for the average Kitchener home, continuing Kitchener’s trend of delivering one of the lowest property tax rates among large Ontario cities.
The budget ensures that the core services that Kitchener residents rely on will be sustainably funded to meet the needs of a growing city, including a new library branch in southwest Kitchener. The budget invests in infrastructure and facilities across Kitchener, such as the new Kitchener indoor recreation complex located at Schlegel Park. The budget also invests in the shared community priorities outlined in the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, including $56 million in federal and provincial funding to advance housing initiatives.
“Today’s budget balances affordability, service demands, and responding to growth-related pressures,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. “Kitchener is a model of efficient, effective and sustainable local government in Ontario, where we plan for the needs of a growing community, while also making incremental long-term investments into our facilities, programs and services for the future.”
For the average home in Kitchener, the rate increases for the 2025 budget are:
- property taxes: 3.9 per cent or $49 annually
- water utility: 4.9 per cent or $23 annually
- sanitary sewer utility: 6.9 per cent or $41 annually
- stormwater utility: 7.4 per cent or $18 annually
The 2025 budget represents a combined annual increase of $131 for the average household, based on the average assessed value of $326,000 and annual water consumption of 170m3.
“I’m happy to see a budget that includes a new library and strategic investments across the city can still deliver a modest tax rate increase,” said Ward 1 Councillor and Chair of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee Chair, Scott Davey. “We’re on a steady course with our infrastructure investments – slow and steady wins the race.”
During the past 10 years, Kitchener’s tax rate increases have averaged 2.47 per cent, below Ontario inflation which has averaged 2.64 per cent during that same timeframe.
To read the full 2025 budget, visit kitchener.ca/budget.
