Stratford City Council has released its proposed 2024 Tax Levy which includes a 12.5% increase over 2023 rates.

City Council is still deliberating the 2024 budget.  There is time to walk this back.  The mayor has already admitted that they could bring back city staff to find efficiencies but he “isn’t sure that is going to be possible.”  He appears willing to blindly make these decisions based on the personal opinions of the councilors, not based on actual fact or based on actual data. Stratford Beacon Herald, December 20, 2023.

2023’s residential property taxes were 1.505611% based on most recent MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) property assessments (2016).  With the proposed 2024 increase, the new property taxes will be 1.693812375%.  For instance, if your property was assessed at $350,000 (this is the MPAC assessment from 2016, not what you may or may not have purchased or sold your house for, which is presumably considerably higher), then your 2023 taxes would have been $5269.64.  With the new proposed increase, that same property will pay $5928.34.

Stratford City Council claims that 4% of the 12.5% proposed increase is based on 2023 property reassessment, although that has not officially been done since 2016.  Therefore, if this increase passes, and then in the future MPAC does reassess Stratford properties, this 12.5% increase could apply to that new assessment, without any further work, discussion, study, or vote by city council.

This petition is not limited to any particular party or interest.  It is for any resident of Stratford to support, not just homeowners.  This property tax increase will affect everything, for all citizens of Stratford, regardless of whether or not they own property.  Businesses will pass the cost onto consumers, if they can manage to stay in business at all, landlords will be forced to pass the cost onto tenants in a market where rent prices are already astronomical.  Services will be cut, quality of work will go down; everyone will be affected.  

Stratford residents deserve better.  We demand that City Council repeal the 12.5% proposed tax hike, publicly release a detailed line-by-line itemized expense sheet, and make a concerted, measurable and transparent effort to find and implement efficiencies, in order to restore public trust and act in a fiscally responsible manner.