The City is responsible for delivering services and maintaining infrastructure that residents use every day. The money received from property taxes and additional revenue ensures we can deliver what matters to you while investing and saving for the future and unexpected events.
Our services are organized into service areas.
Each year, all service areas present their proposed business plan and budget to the Budget Committee for review and approval. Services include:
We are also responsible for maintaining infrastructure, including the equipment and structures we own and are used by everyone. Keeping infrastructure in a state of good repair ensures everyone’s safety and avoids extensive repair costs in the future.
We own about 60 per cent of the total infrastructure in Mississauga, which is worth about $14.2 billion:
In 2016, the stormwater charge was approved to address the additional pressure put on our stormwater system by aging infrastructure and climate change.
The stormwater charge acts as a dedicated source of funding to maintain the stormwater system. It also helps to increase our investment in capital improvements.
Learn how the City gets money for more information about the revenue sources.
Our infrastructure is funded by property taxes and other sources like the Canada Community-Building Fund or development charges.
Due to something called the infrastructure gap, we are facing challenges to fund the maintenance of infrastructure over the coming years.
An infrastructure gap is the difference between what is needed to maintain infrastructure and what is available to maintain it.
For example, our infrastructure is worth $14.2 billion. Each year, we maintain a 2 per cent infrastructure levy. The levy helps to ensure there is enough funding available to maintain and replace our infrastructure.
Using a combination of the levy and funding from federal and provincial government partners, we manage our infrastructure costs. However, these funding sources do not completely cover the cost of keeping our infrastructure in a state of good repair. This amount left uncovered is what’s known as the infrastructure gap.
In 2021, the Asset Management Plan recommended changing the infrastructure gap calculation method. In the past, we based the infrastructure gap on a one-year analysis of infrastructure replacement values. Going forward, we will base it on a ten-year analysis of actual infrastructure repair and replacement needs.
Over the ten-year period, we’re projected to spend, on average, $206.6 million annually to maintain and replace our existing assets. Additional funding of approximately $40 to $45 million per year is needed to keep our infrastructure in a state of good repair.
The Asset Management Plan and continuing support from other levels of government will help us ensure funds are prioritized to manage the infrastructure gap.