Budget talks begin at city hall to get 2026 property tax increase below 5 per cent

The City of London has started discussing the 2026 budget nine months early, in hopes of kick starting cost savings – CTV’s Daryl Newcombe has more.

Council held the first meeting of its Budget Committee on Wednesday, nine months before the 2026 Budget Update is scheduled for completion.

Extended budget talks this year will aim to find about $13 million in savings to reduce the draft 6.4 per cent property tax increase down to the mayor’s publicly stated target of below 5 per cent.

“We want to engage in a lot of discussion. We want to have some ideas on the table,” Mayor Josh Morgan told colleagues.

Civic administration has asked municipal departments as well as external agencies, boards, and commissions (ABCs) to propose potential cost reductions of 1.5 per cent in 2026.

Municipally-funded ABCs include London Transit, the London Public Library, London Police Services, conservation authorities, and the Middlesex-London Health Unit.

“We have not received, at this point, any feedback around the viability or feasibility of [achieving] that 1.5 per cent direction,” explained Kyle Murray, Director of Financial Planning and Business Support.

A motion by Councillor Skylar Franke sought to lobby the provincial government for funds to offset anticipated costs related to the growing number of mental health calls responded to by the COAST Team, a healthcare-led and police-supported program.

Franke also wants the city to pursue provincial funding for the joint training centre for police and firefighters.

She emphasized that the costs are provincial responsibilities, “[I’m] hoping we can receive support on this so that we can reduce the property tax rate and have proper jurisdictional payments for the service.”

The mayor added that London also deserves additional funding to cover rising police costs because rural communities served by the OPP got a funding bump from the province, “Just because we’re running these services and not contracting OPP services, doesn’t mean we don’t also need provincial operational support for [the] increasing costs of policing.”

The budget committee unanimously supported making the three funding requests related to policing.

“We’ve seen them offer this type of support to rural municipalities across the province in the past. We’ve seen them partner with municipalities on significant capital projects that have a wider benefit to the region. So I think is a really positive discussion to have with the province,” the mayor added.

Meanwhile, a new report to the Infrastructure and Corporate Services Committee offers an initial glimpse at the type of choices council might need to consider to achieve the mayor’s tax target.

A program that allows low-income seniors and disabled Londoners (who meet certain criteria) to delay payment of substantial property tax increases might not be expanded.

Staff recommend council, “take no further action for the implementation of an expanded Tax Deferral Program at this time, noting the impacts on budget amid the Mayor’s direction to bring forward options for consideration that, if adopted, would produce a 2026 property tax levy increase under 5 [per cent].”

Morgan responded, “Uptake (of the deferral program) is different in different municipalities - ours has traditionally been very low. Staff aren’t recommending any changes to the current program, they’re just not recommending enhancements to it at this time.”

The budget committee will start considering potential cost savings and service changes this spring.

The 2026 Budget Update is scheduled to be finalized no later than mid-December.