The City of Brantford has unveiled its proposed 2025 budget, which emphasizes investments in housing, transit, and infrastructure while striving to maintain affordability for residents. Following months of review by the City Finance Committee and the Estimates Committee, the proposed budget reflects a balanced approach to meeting the growing city’s needs.
The budget was informed by a comprehensive public engagement campaign that connected with over 1,500 residents through surveys, focus groups, and consultations. Feedback from the community revealed strong support for transit modernization, expanded affordable housing, and enhanced public safety measures. These insights helped shape targeted investments in critical areas.
The proposed 2025 budget includes a $138.36 million allocation for City services, representing a 4.36% increase and translating to an average annual residential property tax increase of $106.75—or $8.90 per month. This funding is aimed at:
- Housing: Expanding programs to address affordability and reduce homelessness.
- Transit: Beginning a phased overhaul of the city’s aging transit system to make it more efficient and accessible.
- Emergency Services: Boosting paramedic services with a 19.2% funding increase to support additional ambulances and address rising demand for emergency medical services.
The budget also allocates funding to address broader community concerns, including improvements in public safety and the preservation of green spaces amid ongoing development.
Residential property taxes will cover both City services (65% of the total) and service partners such as Brantford Police Services, John Noble Home, and the Brantford Public Library (35%). The budgets for these external boards and agencies currently represent an additional 6.92% increase, equating to an annual average property tax rise of $87.53—or $7.29 per month.
Members of the Estimates Committee have requested further review of the budgets for Brantford Police Services and the Brant County Health Unit to identify potential savings.
Mayor Kevin Davis emphasized the importance of balancing growth with affordability for taxpayers.
“As Brantford continues to grow, so does the responsibility of maintaining and enhancing essential services while balancing affordability for the taxpayer,” Davis said. “The proposed 2025 budget reflects our commitment to addressing immediate and long-term needs in housing, transit, and infrastructure—critical investments that are essential to realizing the community’s vision for the future.”
Next Steps
The City Council will meet on December 17, 2024, to ratify the Estimates Committee’s recommendations. A special City Council meeting is scheduled for January 2025 to finalize the budget and present the Mayor’s budget to the community for further review.
Residents seeking more information about the budget process can visit brantford.ca/CityBudget.
