{"id":460632,"date":"2026-02-07T23:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T23:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/460632\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T23:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T23:34:09","slug":"how-brampton-landed-on-a-0-city-tax-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/460632\/","title":{"rendered":"How Brampton landed on a 0% city tax increase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown discusses the city council\u2019s approval of the 2026 budget and what the reaction has been by residents. <\/p>\n

After weeks of budget debate, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown says resident pushback over affordability forced city hall to \u201csharpen pencils\u201d and find savings in the 2026 budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had coffee chats, town halls… people are really struggling with affordability, and the feedback was sharpen your pencils further, find savings, find efficiencies,\u201d Brown told CP24 on Saturday during in an interview<\/p>\n

The budget keeps Brampton\u2019s municipal tax rate among one of the lowest in the GTA while maintaining a dedicated 1 per cent levy to fund the city\u2019s required contribution toward a second hospital. Speaking with CP24 just one day after the vote, Brown framed the budget as a response to economic pressure facing households, even as the city expands spending on public safety, health care, and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally, 30 days ago, when the budget process started, we introduced a 1.5 per cent increase, which really reflected the collective agreements,\u201d Brown noted. <\/p>\n

With the 0 per cent freeze on the city\u2019s portion of property taxes, alongside the 1 per cent hospital levy. The city says that amounts to an increase of about $73<\/a> on the average Brampton residential home.<\/p>\n

\u2018We needed that hospital yesterday\u2019<\/p>\n

The hospital levy remains central to the city\u2019s financial plan, with Brampton required to contribute $125 million toward the William Osler Health System\u2019s second hospital at Peel Memorial.<\/p>\n

\"\"PB The sign for Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness is pictured in Brampton, Ont., on Friday, March 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Laura Proctor <\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s ever a city that needed a second hospital, it\u2019s ours, and under the provincial funding formula, we have to pay for 10 per cent of the cost and for all the equipment inside. That\u2019s why we\u2019re so busy fundraising,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

He said full construction is still months away.<\/p>\n

\u201cFull construction won\u2019t occur until the summer. It\u2019s going to take about four to five years for the construction to be complete, although I\u2019m pushing province and Infrastructure Ontario to be as quick as possible, because we needed that hospital yesterday,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The city also plans to maintain record reserve levels to support long-term financial sustainability.<\/p>\n

Public safety and policing pressures<\/p>\n

Public safety investments remain a major focus in the budget this year, including new staffing for parking enforcement, road safety, rental housing compliance and seasonal bylaw enforcement, along with 24 new firefighters and expanded licence plate recognition technology.<\/p>\n

\"\"PB Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, left, looks on as Brampton fire chief Andy Glynn speaks in Brampton, Ont., on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Sammy Kogan <\/p>\n

Brown emphasized that policing costs, however, sit largely outside the city\u2019s direct control.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the policing front, that\u2019s done through our regional budget, and the regional increase was largely just for policing. You know, we\u2019re engaging an additional 200 officers this year,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

He also pointed to expanded resources addressing domestic violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made major investments in our intimate partner violence unit. You know, five years ago, we didn\u2019t have an intimate partner violence unit… and now we have 70 officers that work in that unit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Recreation, growth and cost pressures<\/p>\n

The budget continues funding for parks, recreation, arts, culture and economic development, including investments in the Brampton Innovation District, AI training for small businesses, and cultural programming.<\/p>\n

Brown said those investments are tied to long-term health outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would highlight is our investments in recreation. I believe that building new recreation is preventative health care 101, if you lead healthy, active lives, you know, hopefully it reduces the reliance on the hospital system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"PB Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown joins CP24 on Feb. 7, 2026 (CP24 photo). <\/p>\n

For now, Brown said the city\u2019s priority was easing the financial pressure felt by many of its residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are struggling, whether it\u2019s inflation, whether it\u2019s tariffs, high interest rates, it\u2019s a tough time for families and businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cWe put forward a series of amendments in our budget to get the city portion down to zero… and you know, that\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown discusses the city council\u2019s approval of the 2026 budget and what the reaction has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[712,43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-460632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-apple-news","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}