Pickering’s 2023 Budget

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2023 Budget planning process. Budget decisions can have a profound impact on our daily lives. This is why engaging with the community is an important part of this process!

Council approved the City’s 2023 Capital & Operating budgets on April 24, 2023, prioritizing key investments in service, program, and infrastructure needs of our growing community.

The City’s portion of the residential property tax bill will increase by 2.44 percent (this equates to $164.25 on the average assessed home in Pickering of $612,000.) This increase, when combined with the Region of Durham and School Board increases, results in an average increase of 5.31 percent on the total property tax bill.

Budget Pressures

• Current high-inflation environment – costs for routine service delivery and construction/building activity has increased significantly.
• For the past two budget cycles, the City implemented spending restraints and measures to offset the financial impact of the pandemic. When assessing the City’s 2023 budget levy increase over the last three-year period, it is below the rate of inflation.
• Revenue loss from new provincial legislation, like Bill 23 – the Province is shifting some of the development-related costs of growth from the developers to municipalities.

Budget Highlights

• Supports for senior citizens: increased property tax relief from $525 to $535, and expanded program capacity for their snow removal program - $528,700
• Funding for new facility construction: Pickering Heritage & Community Centre (bringing Museum, Library and Community Centre into one dynamic facility).
• Core infrastructure investments for identified roads and parks ($12.68 million)
• Protecting Frenchman’s Bay – funds for mechanical harvesting of Eurasian Water Milfoil weeds.
• New Pickleball & Futsal (6) Courts in Pickering Soccer Centre
• Property tax relief for charities - $26,800
• Community grants - $369,959

Quick Links 

• Council approved the City’s 2023 Capital & Operating budgets at the April 24, 2023 Meeting of Council. Watch the Meeting on YouTube, and view the Report to Council FIN 09-23 online. 
• The approved Current Budget is $82,162,832
• The approved Capital Budget is $58,899,668
• Visit pickering.ca/Budget to view the Current and Capital Budgets

How does the budget work? 

Every year, City of Pickering Council approves the Current (also known as the Operating) and Capital Budgets. The Current and Capital Budgets outline how the City will use its financing to deliver services to residents. The Current Budget focuses on day-to-day expenses, while the Capital Budget covers major infrastructure and equipment requirements.

Property taxes are the City of Pickering's main source of revenue, and the 2023 Current budget, approved by Council, will determine what the property tax levy will be in 2023. The property tax levy is the amount of money that the City requires to provide services such as snow clearing, road repair, emergency services, parks maintenance, and libraries, to name a few.

Watch a short video on how municipalities build their budget:

Capital Budget

The Capital Budget is used for long term investments, like infrastructure and facilities, that are paid off over time. This includes projects related to roads, bridges and sidewalks, vehicles and equipment, streetlights, playgrounds, and trails. It includes new infrastructure projects as well as the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure.

Take a look back at 2022’s key infrastructure projects.

Current Budget

The Current Budget, also known as an Operating Budget, covers the day-to-day expenses required to deliver services to residents. These costs can return year-after-year and include services such as roads, parks, and sport field maintenance, staffing and utilities for City facilities like libraries and community centres, and fire services. Most of the funds for the Current Budget are raised through property taxes and the remainder comes from a variety of sources like user and permit fees and licences. This budget is prepared by each municipal department and reflects that area of responsibility.

Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?

• 14.38% of your tax dollars goes to the Boards of Education
• 55.02% of your tax dollars goes to the Region of Durham
• 30.60% of your tax dollars goes to the City of Pickering

Exploring Funding Sources

While property taxes are the City of Pickering's main source of revenue, the City seeks out other funding opportunities to help relieve the residential tax load.

This includes:

1. Actively seeking and applying for eligible funding and grant programs from both the Federal and Provincial governments.

2. Naming rights partnerships.

3. The City’s Municipal Contribution Agreement with Ontario Lottery Gaming Corporation, in which it receives revenues for hosting the Pickering Casino Resort.

The City has received a total of $20,253,778 in casino revenue since the gaming site opened July 1, 2021. The City employs a financial strategy that has been recommended by the Ontario Lottery Corporation that is based on the established principle that you “Bank the funds in year 1, and then spend these funds in Year 2.”

Casino funds received were used to fund 2022 Current and Capital Budget items like:

• Funding for 19 community groups as part of the City’s Community Grants Program
• Funding of Elexicon dividend decrease
• Consulting for Naming Rights and Sponsorship Evaluation Strategy for City facilities (including City Centre)
• City Centre project-related planning activities and design costs
• Gravel lot parking upgrades (behind Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex) – project has not yet started

Over $16 million remains unspent or unallocated and will be used to fund future capital projects and budget pressures.

Educational Videos

Take a look through our videos below to get a better understanding of each topic.

User Fees – fees collected by municipalities to fund specific programs and services that provide direct benefits to an individual, group, or business, rather than the community as a whole.

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) 101 - learn more about how your property tax is calculated.