December 19, 2024 • Volume 39, No. 12
Next edition January 9
5369 Canotek Rd. 613-841-7867 • www.stitchco.ca
2025 budget approved with 3.9% tax hike By Fred Sherwin The Orléans Star
This is just one of the houses on Taffy Lane in Orléans that attracts hundreds of Christmas display enthusiasts to the small street every year. See story on page 17. FRED SHERWIN/PHOTO
Ottawa city council passed the final operating and capital budgets for 2025 last week, which included a 3.9 per cent tax increase and a five per cent increase in transit fares for OC Transpo and O-Train users. More than one quarter of the tax increase, or one per cent, is accounted for as a direct result of an eight per cent hike in the transit levy. For the owner of an average home with a market value assessment of $415,000, a 3.9 per cent tax increase will equate to an additional $168 on the municipal portion of property tax bill. The amount could be higher or lower depending on the market value assessment of your home. Keep in mind that your tax bill also includes a school board levy which is set by the province.
In practical terms, the five per cent increase in transit fares will see an adult monthly pass jump from $128.75 to $135. Passes for youth age 1317 will increase from $99.25 to $104. One proposed change to transit fares was ultimately rejected by city council. Thanks to a motion put forward by Beacon Hill-Cyrville councillor Tim Tierney, OC Transpo passes for seniors will remain at $49 until Feb. 1 when they will rise to $58.25. The City had been considering a 120 per cent increase. User fees and facility rentals will also go up by five per cent in the new year. The 2025 capital budget includes funding for a number of projects in the east end. In Orléans East-Cumberland a number of roads will be resurfaced including Taylor Creek Drive, Mathieu Way in Fallingbrook, and Cameron CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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