King Township Council approves 2025 municipal budget

November 27, 2024 · 0 Comments

King Township Council approved the first service based municipal budget for 2025, which includes a 3.68% municipal tax rate increase.
This translates to an approximate $127 increase for a home assessed at $1 million. The estimated blended tax rate, which combines King Township’s portion with York Region and school board taxes is 3.39%, which supports the continued delivery of high-quality programs, services and infrastructure for residents.
The approved budget reflects King Township’s commitment to maintaining current service levels while addressing the challenges posed by inflation, legislative changes and contract price increases. The total 2025 operating budget levy of $37 million and a capital budget of $23 million. The budget is presented through the new service-based budgeting model, emphasizing transparency and alignment with community needs.
King Township’s 2025 budget organizes expenditures into six service areas:
Maintaining King – Road and sidewalk maintenance, snow removal, streetlight operations and public facility maintenance and asset management.
Serving King – Recreation, library, cultural programming and licensing services.
Keeping King Safe – Fire and Emergency, bylaw, traffic calming, and animal services.
Greening King – Parks, trails, garbage, recycling, and climate change initiatives.
Governing King – Council services, legal, Insurance and risk management.
Planning and Growing King – Development support, building permits, Planning, and economic growth initiatives.
This approach enhances accountability by allowing residents to clearly see how funds are allocated to specific services that directly impact their daily lives. It also supports the Township’s Corporate Strategic Plan (2023-2026), ensuring resources are directed to meet critical priorities.
The 2025 service based budget process included several efficiency measures to offset cost pressures and minimize the tax rate increase, including:
Reviewing fees and charges across all departments.
Implementing new service fees to cover rising costs.
Adjusting overhead chargebacks for building and utility-funded services to ensure these services pay their fair share of general overhead costs.
Increasing investment revenue through portfolio management.
Reviewing and updating service contracts to reflect current pricing models.
The 2025 budget underscores King Township’s commitment to delivering essential services and infrastructure investments. Highlights include:
Enhanced snow removal and road maintenance.
Continued investment in parks, trails and sustainability initiatives.
Improvements to fire and emergency services.
Support for recreation programs and cultural events.
Public engagement and transparency
King Township engaged residents through multiple public consultations, including an online budget book and an in-person open house. These opportunities provided valuable feedback that helped shape the final budget.
For more details on the 2025 municipal budget, visit king.ca/budget.
“King Township’s 2025 budget demonstrates our commitment to delivering exceptional services while addressing the challenges of inflation and evolving community needs. By transitioning to a service-based budget, we are enhancing transparency and accountability, ensuring every tax dollar is allocated effectively to benefit our citizens,” said Mayor Steve Pellegrini.
Daniel Kostopoulos, CAO, added: “The 2025 budget reflects Council’s goal of keeping tax increases low while maintaining services and investing in important infrastructure. We aim to use resources wisely, adopt technology and find efficiencies to ensure our citizens continue to enjoy a high quality of life. By organizing the budget around the services residents use, the service-based budget makes it easier to access and understand financial information about Township services, improving transparency and engagement.”