Barrie Tax Increase Not Set In Stone… Yet

City Hall Presentation Just One Step In Budget Process

We’re getting a glimpse of what Barrie’s new tax rate could be. At City Hall Monday night, city staff presented an overview on Barrie’s 2017 business and capital plan, outlining what our tax dollars will go towards this year. On top of the usual suspects like infrastructure and city services, the budget contains money for major road construction along Morrow Road and Mapleview Drive. A new HVAC system for the city’s downtown library and neighbourhood renewal for Barrie’s oldest areas also came up in discussion. While the Barrie Police Service has yet to submit its yearly budget to city hall, staff say the service is asking for an additional $1.5 million in funding too, nearly offset by a $1.2mil reduction in County fees. The preliminary budget, as written, comes with a 3.76% tax rate increase (approx $145 extra/year for the average home), but there is still plenty of fat to trim before council is expected to approve a budget in mid-February. Which also gives the public time to give input through the city’s online budget allocator tool, which gives folks a chance to tell Barrie where they’d like to see tax dollars go.