Reduce Property Taxes
Residential Property Tax rates in Windsor are second highest in Ontario
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Single-family Residential Property Tax Rates in Windsor is 18% to 64% higher than the rates in other towns and cities in Ontario
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Windsor compared to jurisdictions within Windsor-Essex:
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48.62% higher as compared with the rate at Lakeshore;
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42.93% higher as compared with the rate at Kingsville;
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36.30% higher as compared with the rate at Tecumseh;
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22.73% higher as compared with the rate at Township of Pelee;
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22.08% higher as compared with the rate at Essex;
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19.47% higher as compared with the rate at LaSalle;
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18.37% higher as compared with the rate at Amherstburg;
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Windsor compared to similar-sized cities:
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57.32% higher as compared with the rate at Kitchener
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46.63% higher as compared with the rate at Hamilton,
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64.93% higher as compared with the rate at Brampton.
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Development Charges in Windsor are also amongst the highest in the region
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Development charges are to partially pay for the initial costs of providing sewage and water connections to a property when it is first developed.
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“Windsor’s development charges are one of the highest in the region - 60% to 300% higher than our neighbors e.g. Kingsville, LaSalle)
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Reference: Report by Brian Cross in Windsor Star, page A3, dated 19th June 2018
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Business Taxes are also high
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Business owners in my Ward 9 are complaining to me about high taxes to the tune of 40 to 50% of the rates compared to neighboring regions.
Overall Value to Taxpayer
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Higher tax rates as above
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Lower performance as a place to live as per MoneySense attributes like:
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low taxes
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low crime rate
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health accessibility
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robust economy
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home affordability
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arts & community ■ transit ... ….
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“According to MoneySense magazine’s annual Best Places to Live in Canada rankings:
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LaSalle ranked 80th
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Tecumseh ranked 131
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Windsor ranked 215”
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as per Windsor Star, Dave Waddell, Aug 1, 2018:
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Higher Taxes X Lower Performance = Lower Taxpayer Value
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This situation also means opportunity. Please see:
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Platform #4 Make the City More Agile & Responsive to the Concerns of Residents and Businesses
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Summary
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High tax rates are negatively affecting our local businesses, fellow Windsorites, and our city as a whole.
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High tax rates make our businesses non-competitive.
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High taxes also drive high-end housing out to nearby cities, which presents a double-edged problem:
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the city is deprived of the income that would have come to the property in the form of residential tax levies
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the city is still saddled with providing services to those who come to the city during the day for employment or leisure
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Vision, Efficiency, Innovation & Continuous Improvement
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Alex believes the City should be run efficiently like a business. These efficiencies make it possible to reduce taxes and hold the line on subsequent increases while improving service levels and providing more amenities to residents and businesses. Ideas and action using techniques such as innovative problem solving, streamlining and business canvasses should be facilitated and encouraged. Greater transparency and accountability in City departments will help drive the adoption of techniques. This accountability will also ensure the costs and benefits (lower costs, faster turn around, higher quality, improved morale, greater compliance etc) that flow from these techniques are measured and results visible - good or bad- and available for continuous improvement.
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REAL WORLD: Questions from the citizens of our Ward 9:
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From Hotel and Motel owners:
Q - 'Why there is a 4% increase?' Does City want to kill tourism in Windsor by increasing the costs of staying in the city or drive business to the ground by making staying more expensive? Already Motel taxes in Windsor are 40-50% higher than the neighboring regions’; ‘I don’t get to raise my prices 4% - that’s for sure
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From a Canadian citizen moving back to Windsor from Troy, MI:
Q - 'Why is my water & sewage bill 4x what I used to get in Troy MI for nearly the same amount of water? Why - what changed? Am I getting additional services?
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From a resident in Ward 9 who works for an automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) :
Q - ‘Windsor is an Auto city made up of Tier 1,2,3 suppliers providing parts to OEMs (Ford, GM, Chrysler etc). OEMs often require their suppliers to reduce costs by 3% year over year by optimizing and increasing efficiencies. Why doesn’t the City of Windsor adopt a similar requirement to save Taxpayer money? Windsor Corporation operation - Windsor city is public corporation operated like Tier 1,2,3 businesses and reduces costs by optimization year after year. Why ?’
Notes and Detailed Calculations and References:
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For the calculation of the Tax Rates of other towns/cities above:
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Lakeshore is used as a common reference of the Tax Rate for easy comparison:
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%percentage higher = (Tax Rate at Windsor – Tax Rate at (city))/ (Tax Rate at Lakeshore)
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Example of Residential Tax Rates for single-family homes in the region around Windsor:
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Reference FOR CITIES/Towns in the region: 2017 REALTOR Tax Rates are used
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** Selected highest tax rates for residential properties within a City (they may differ from area to area in a city). This provides the most conservative basis of comparison and most favorable to Windsor. For example in Essex, Ward 1 had the highest tax rate so Ward 1’s rates were selected for comparison with Windsor.
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For Brampton, the Residential Taxable (full rate, shared PIL) has been used (http://www.brampton.ca/EN/residents/Taxes-Assessment/taxation/Pages/Tax-Rates. a spx ).
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For Hamilton, the rates in Hamilton Urban are chosen (https://d3fpllf1m7bbt3.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/media/browser/2018-06-19/201 8-residential-tax-rates.pdf )
5. For Kitchener, the Residential/Farm Taxable: Full, Shared as if P-I-L has been used
(https://www.kitchener.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Documents/FIN_REV_2018_Final-_Tax_Rate.pdf))
For more details reach out to us at ElectAlexWard9@gmail.com