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 planning for unexpected events.
City services are organized into service areas for the purpose of preparing the budget. The second volume of the 2025-2028 Business Plan and 2025 Budget document includes a business plan and budget prepared for each of the City’s 13 service areas:
We are also responsible for maintaining infrastructure in a state of good repair. This ensures that the City can deliver its services in a safe, reliable and cost-effective manner. It also helps avoid extensive repair costs in the future.
The City’s infrastructure, as published in the 2024 Infrastructure Brochure, is valued at approximately $18.5 billion. This value includes the following asset categories:
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 and 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 the budget needed to maintain infrastructure in a state of good repair and the budget that is available.
Each year, we maintain an infrastructure levy 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.
Over the next 10-year period (2024 to 2033), we’re projected to spend, on average, $240.2 million annually to maintain and replace our existing assets. Additional funding of approximately $44 million is needed each year to keep our infrastructure in a state of good repair.
Strong asset management will ensure that the right resources and activities are employed effectively. The Corporate Asset Management Plan and continuing support from other levels of government will help us ensure funds are prioritized to manage the infrastructure gap.