City Budget Watch
Preparing for Budget Deputations? Check Out SPT’s 2025 City Budget Town Hall Video for In-Depth Budget Analysis from SPT and Our Amazing Partners!
Are you planning to speak to the Budget Committee at next week’s public hearings/deputation sessions? Going to submit comments to the Budget Committee, or want to learn more about the City of Toronto’s 2025 Budget? Check out the video recording and presentations from Social Planning Toronto’s 2025 City Budget Town Hall held January 16!
2025 City of Toronto Budget Proposes Targeted Enhancements to Key Public Services But Misses the Mark with Another Hefty Police Budget Increase
On January 13, the City of Toronto’s Budget Committee launched the 2025 City Budget, prioritizing four key themes: making life affordable, getting Toronto moving, providing community services, and keeping people safe. The staff-prepared budget allocates funding for new and enhanced public and community services, preserves service levels, makes progress on the upkeep of city assets and infrastructure, and proposes a reasonable and responsible property tax increase to generate much-needed revenue. All steps in the right direction.
Learn More, Take Part, and Have Your Say in the 2025 City Budget!
The City of Toronto’s $18.8 billion budget supports the operation of a broad range of programs and services, from affordable housing, public transit, and community services to public libraries, parks and recreation, public health programs, and many more.
City funding supports the work required to advance our collective commitments to reconciliation, equity, and human rights.
Toronto Police Service’s Multi-Year Hiring Plan and the Costly Budget Implications
In recent months, the Toronto Police Service Board has publicly released and asked for feedback on its multi-year hiring plan. The plan projects the hiring of an additional 388 officers in 2024 and another 360 annually in 2025 and 2026. (See the table below for the full hiring plan through 2029.) The multiyear hiring plan and the police budget raise serious questions about the social and economic implications of having a record number of police officers in coming years.
Compromised Budget Delivers Historic New Investment Turning the Corner on a City in Decline, While Also Allocating Millions More to the Police
Hundreds of residents took part in the “Fund Our City” rally in front of City Hall on the morning of February 14. Community members sent a strong message to Toronto City Council to support the Mayor’s budget, including proposed funding increases for critical programs, services, and infrastructure and the recommended property tax increase to raise much-needed revenue. Many participants urged Council to reverse years of underfunding of key services and expressed disappointment with Council’s plan to give the police a larger budget increase.
Now’s the Time to Take Action on the 2024 City Budget!
As we head into the final stretch of the 2024 City of Toronto budget process, with the final Council vote set for February 14, now’s the time to take action for a better City budget!