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15 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,F ebruary 14,2019 w aterloochronicle.ca To report unshoveled sidewalks call 519-747-6280 For more information visit waterloo.ca/snow Clear the way- help keep our sidewalks safe! Residents have 24 hours after the end of a snowfall to clear snow and ice from public sidewalks adjacent to their property. P.519.886.1550 TTY.1.866.786.3941 waterloo.ca We offer a number of payment options including online banking, e-post and pre-authorized payments to make it easy to pay your tax or water bills from the comfort of your home. For payment options for your water utility bills visit waterloo.ca/waterpayment and for your tax bills visit waterloo.ca/taxpayment. Did you know you can pay your tax and water bills online? PAY ONLINE The City of Waterloo 2019 interim property tax due dates are March 1, 2019 and May 1, 2019. Interim tax bills have been mailed or sent via e-post. Please note, you are responsible for paying your taxes on or before the due dates. Non-receipt of your property tax bill does not exempt you from taxes and/or late payment penalty charges. If you have not received your tax bill, please let us know by contacting revenue services at revenue@waterloo.ca or calling at 519-747-8718. PAYING BY MAIL? Please remit the stub of your tax bill along with your payment to: City of Waterloo Revenue Services 100 Regina St. S. PO Box 337 Station Waterloo Waterloo, ON N2J 4A8 PAYING IN-PERSON? Payment can be made Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Waterloo City Centre (100 Regina St. S.) Waterloo Service Centre (265 Lexington Crt.) Did you receive your 2019 interim property tax bill? Waterloo's new council has tapped the brakes on rising taxes, imposing an in- crease in 2019 of 2.6 per cent in city taxation including drainage fees. This is less than the typ- ical annual increase of just over three per cent imposed by city council in its previ- ous term. It matches the typical annual increase im- posed in the past dozen years. "We're taking a balanced approach," Mayor Dave Ja- worsky said. The extra cost is $36 for a typical home, which in- cludes $28 more in city taxa- tion and $8 more in storm- water fees. A typical Water- loo home valued at $384,000 will pay $1,306 in city taxes this year. Council is increasing property taxes mostly to pay higher wages to city staff. Compensation will cost an extra $2 million in 2019. Rising salaries will be funded through higher tax- es, and by an extra $1 mil- lion generated by new buildings. Council voted 7-0 Mon- day to finalize its 2019 bud- get, voting to hire a mechan- ical engineer and a vehicle specialist but not a director of strategic initiatives. Council has more than doubled Waterloo's drain- age fee since 2015 to help prevent flooding. The fee, a former tax, will cost a typi- cal Waterloo home $142 this year. Next year council ex- pects to set one budget for the final three years of its term. It also expects to con- sider extra taxation to help rebuild decaying roads, parks, trails and buildings. Under a proposal un- veiled last April, city taxes would rise almost four per cent a year between 2020 and 2030. "It's important that we don't kick that can down the road any further," Jawor- sky said. He expects "a hard discussion on how we're go- ing to fix all the potholes and the pipes, the leaky roofs, and still run the city cost-effectively for the citi- zens." City council is responsi- ble for roughly one-third of residential property taxes in Waterloo. Waterloo re- gional government delivers most public services and levies more than half the tax bill. The rest is school taxes levied by the prov- ince. Council previously hiked 2019 water rates by $36 for a typical household, part of a water cost that's more than doubled since 2006. The city says it is hik- ing water bills to provide clean drinking water, and to improve the environment by better treating the sew- age that's poured into the Grand River. Including all water and taxation costs, a typical Wa- terloo home will pay $73 more in city costs in 2019, an increase of 3.2 per cent. In- flation last year in Ontario was 2.4 per cent. WATERLOO COUNCIL SLOWS DOWN TAX INCREASE JEFF OUTHIT jouthit@therecord.com LOCAL