Bradford residents could see second lowest tax increase in 10 years

With deliberations surrounding the South Simcoe Police Services Board budget out of the way, it’s time to take a look at the bigger picture.

According to Mayor Rob Keffer, this year’s tax increase will be the second lowest Bradford West Gwillimbury has seen in roughly a decade.

“After finding savings in the police budget and reviewing the town’s budget line by line, this year’s tax increase is now going to be .78 per cent or lower,” wrote Keffer on his Facebook page.

“We did this even as we passed a budget that invests in our shared priorities like better roads, preserving heritage and expanding our transit and recreation services.”

He proceeded to post a graph outlining the past decade’s approximate year-to-year tax increases.

“In the past five years, the inflation rate in the GTA has been roughly 2.2 per cent on average. In the five years before I was on council, property taxes increased roughly 4.6 per cent on average,” he added.

“In my five years on council, we have sought to tackle that. First as deputy mayor and now as mayor, I am proud we reduced the tax increase to just 1.6 per cent – well below the rate of inflation.”

BWG’s final budget is expected to surface at council in April.