2026 Tax Budget

Thank you for participating!

Here's What We Heard from you as part of Hamilton’s 2026 tax budget engagement.

Update: Mayor Horwath has directed staff to take a “Hold the Line” approach with budget development, aiming to cap the tax increase at 4.25%. This direction reflects what we heard from you: the need to balance affordability and prioritize:

• Infrastructure renewal
• Community safety and wellbeing
• Essential public services

For budget updates, visit Hamilton.ca/2026budget.

What's Next?

Want to share your views on the draft budget?

• Speak at an upcoming meeting. Learn how you can register for a public delegation.
• Prefer to write? Email your feedback to clerk@hamilton.ca.

Upcoming public delegation dates:

• Water (Rate) Budget and Tax Budget Public Delegations: Monday, November 17, 2025
• Tax Budget Public Delegations: Monday, January 19, 2026

Have Your Say: Help guide the Mayor's priorities for the 2026 Tax Budget

The City of Hamilton is asking for input from residents, businesses, and community groups to help identify key investment priorities, while balancing the need for affordability in today’s challenging economic climate.

Our Challenge: To meet the needs of as many of our community members as possible, while remaining financially responsible and planning for the future. Your input will help us understand what matters most to you, and how we can continue delivering strong, equitable services within our means.

Understanding the City Budget

The City uses two separate budgets to manage how services are funded:

• Rate-Supported Budget: Covers water, wastewater, and stormwater services. These are funded through user fees, not property taxes.
• Tax-Supported Budget: Covers the day-to-day operations of most City services (like transit, fire, parks, and waste collection), as well as major infrastructure projects. This is funded mainly through property taxes and other revenues like grants or user fees for programs.

Keeping these budgets separate helps the City clearly show how different services are funded and ensures accountability for each funding source.

The City of Hamilton is asking for community input to inform the Tax-Supported (tax) budget. The tax budget has two main parts:

Operating Budget

• Covers the day-to-day costs of running the City.
• Funds services like garbage collection, transit, fire, libraries, parks, and recreation.
• Includes normal annual expenses such as staff wages, supplies, fuel, and utilities.
• Planned annually and guided by each department’s business plan.
• Funding source: Operating costs are mostly paid for through property taxes, user fees, and government funding.

Capital Budget

• Covers big, long-term investments in City infrastructure.
• Funds projects like road repairs, building new community centres, replacing water mains, or buying transit vehicles.
• These are large, one-time costs that have a benefit lasting more than a year.
• Planned over multiple years with a long-term outlook.
• Funding source: Capital projects may use funding from reserves, grants, and development charges.

Why Does it Matter?

The yearly budget is essential to keeping Hamilton running and growing. Mayor and Council work with staff to make decisions that ensure:

• Quality daily services continue.
• Long-term investments support the City’s future.

Our Engagement Goals: What are we looking to learn from you?

Your participation matters. Through this engagement, your input will inform how the City invests public funds, so the budget reflects community priorities, addresses real needs, and stays financially responsible, Hamilton faces important choices about how to handle today's challenges, plan for the future, and invest in the services, programs, and infrastructure that shape daily life. When residents, businesses, and community groups share their ideas, it helps City Council make better decisions. Your input ensures the budget reflects what matters most to our community.

Thank you for your participation!

We're collecting information as part of this project

The City of Hamilton collects information under the authority of Sections 227 and 290 of the Municipal Act, 2001. Any personal information collected for the Budget 2026 Engagement Survey will help the City understand residents’ priorities to be considered in the City’s Budget decisions. Information collected for this survey may be stored on servers located in Canada and the United States and may be subject to Canadian and/or American laws.

Questions about collection of this personal information can be directed to the Acting Manager, Community Initiatives and Public Engagement City Manager's Office, 71 Main Street West, 2nd Floor, 905-546-2424 Ext. 5702, budgetengagement@hamilton.ca.

Missed the virtual engagement meeting?

Catch up with the recap video below and send us your questions through the Q&A tool.

Video: 2026 Tax Budget Virtual Engagement - Friday, September 19, 2025
The City of Hamilton hosted a virtual Budget Engagement Session for residents to learn more about the City’s budget planning process, how programs and services are prioritized and have opportunities to share priorities and ask questions.