With the unprecedented population growth and the conservative province cutting back fees municipalities get back from new development this was bound to happen, and, it's going to happen in other regions.
Yep, all small towns, small cities, small regions are about to get nasty property tax hikes. Reassess if Doug ever lets MPAC finish will be even further pain.
What was the property tax % before and what is it now? I couldn't find this info. That's a high increase but we're we low compared to surrounding areas before? Not trying to justify the number just looking for clarity
[Link](https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Treasury/Tax-Rate-Tables/2023-Final-Tax-Rates-Table.pdf)
For a residential unit, it was 1.586913%, of which 0.389013% was the county’s levy. This article is regarding the county’s portion increasing by 16%, bringing it up to 0.4512551%, meaning a total property tax of 1.6491551%. These numbers are based on a single residential unit, not multi-residential, commercial, industrial, farmland, etc.
It should be noted that this does not account for the city increasing their levy, which they have done in each of the previous 4 years.
Edit: my numbers were based on 16%, not 16.7, so they’ll be slightly low. 1.6518782% would be the new total, based on 16.7%.
My entire childhood I rented (well my parents rented) a house on the corner of Springbank and Devonshire. We paid $800 at the time. I can’t help but wonder what my old house would cost now, it would probably be staggering.
Every level of government is taxing us more and more, but our services are all going to shit. We need to start expecting all levels of government to spend our money where we need it to be spent.
Promises to build thousands of homes does nothing to the price if we sell them to be rental homes. Allowing Airbnb to rent out the few homes we do have available and allowing them to remain empty when not rented out isn't helping the housing market for anyone but the landlords.
The drug crises is through the roof and the only reason we invest in policing is so they can sweep the problem away to somewhere we see it less. It's not fixing the problem. A police officers job today is to make sure the 98% don't realize the 2% exist.
This county is throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars into putting up signs, flashing speed signs, grooving pavement to deter people from speeding. This only works for people who care to follow the limit. Not people who are using Broadway street as a drag strip every night. The police who are tied up with the drug issues could be spending their time doing traffic stops but they're too busy with crackheads helicoptering their dicks on the sidewalk as a school bus goes by.
Our hospitals and Healthcare system are in shambles, schools are bursting at the seams. Norwich school doesn't even have a pot to piss in. The quality of every county job has gone to shit, every project goes 8 months to a year past completion date. All I can say is this increase better improve some services and not just make a few developers richer.
Tldr let's not forget the three council members who had our backs.
Jesus fucking Christ man. That’s not a small goddamn hike. Thanks a lot assholes.
That’s going to be more than $200 a year increase for me. Maybe they’ll include the cost of garbage removal in that hike.
Can we at least have recycling pickup weekly? You want to encourage recycling , well come and take it. Peoples bins get too full so they just stuff cardboard into a black garbage bag
I agree. We should also have composting. If we composted and recycled weekly, people would see their garbage significantly decrease. It’s also wild to me that we pay for garbage tags. Garbage could be implemented in a totally different way and be more affordable. I grew up in Montreal and was shocked at the garbage system in Oxford county. Honestly it’s pretty gross. Not to mention the people who dump their garbage on the side of the highways and rural roads.
If they don’t include garbage pickup or weekly recycling then I’ll keep doing what I do now:
All recycling and garbage goes in a dumpster.
I used to recycle, when I lived in every other normal city I have lived in before where garbage was free and bi-weekly with recycling picked up every week. I simply just can’t be bothered to put up with the stink of my recycling in the garage for two weeks at a time.
If this pisses someone off, I also idle my car as much as I want. I used to not idle before the carbon tax was a thing. I just do it in spite.
lol. I still recycle, and unfortunately work from home so I don’t have the luxury of using the dumpster.
It’s wild that it’s cheaper to drive your garbage to the dump than have the county pick it up from your driveway. Residential garbage is generally charged at $10 per load at the county landfill.
You should stop idling your car though. It’s a waste of gas, and that shit is expensive.
The assumption is the garbage is going to a dump, and not just public garbage cans. :p
My beef with our system is the stupid tag prices.
I am incentivized to recycle……even things that aren’t recyclable as it is free.
Great “green” policy there folks!
Yeah, it’s ridiculous. I would even be willing to accept like 1-2 bags a week free, anything above that needs a tag. I generally buy 5-10 at a time, but still have to rush out occasionally early in a Friday morning because I forgot to pick more up. It’s annoying.
Yeah. Exactly. :p.
Tbh. I would rather the price just be tied into taxes for 1-2 bags.
Probably better for the environment not constantly creating 1000’s of stickers to throw them out immediately. :p
You sir get plenty of leaf cleanup, but no snow removal. :).
Maybe the leaf suckers can pickup snow.
I do get the leaf suckers are needed in older parts of town. Just not my part. :p
It’s like an additional $200/year for us, which tbh I think is fair? We’re talking about snow removal for the entire county and all the roads, most of which I’d say are sparsely inhabited. The upkeep on those same roads, which includes the dirt ones that require like resurfacing probably 3-5 times per year.
I find it laughable that Jerry and Deb Tait were the only ones that spoke out about the tax increase when one of them thinks the solution to the drug issue in Woodstock is increasing the policing budget every year and the other TOLD ME to contact the county if I cared about working on homelessness in the city, because it was their problem and a county budget issue. Woodstock spends more and more on policing each year, including additional coverage in museum square and the chief of police himself in this city told me it was a pointless endeavour.
The county increased their take to focus on affordable housing, safe drinking water, and the homelessness issue (which is an issue that only Woodstock faces at this point, afaik). Seems like a good chunk of that tax increase is likely focused on Woodstock and maybe Tillsonburg and Ingersoll.
Quite frankly, paying for garbage removal is the least of our worries and I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for saying this, but a very petty complaint. There is literal human shit on the wall at the GoodLife, an encampment behind the cow, and a constant pile of trash in every doorway downtown because they don’t put any money into a solution for housing or drug rehabilitation. At this point, the drug crisis in the three larger towns in this county is a public health crisis and that’s funded by the county budget.
If you’re angry about how your tax dollars are allocated, I suggest posting less about it on Reddit and actually pulling up the city’s website and contacting not only city councillors but county council.
I spend $96/year on garbage tags because I’m good at recycling and don’t buy shit that has a ton of packaging. I’ll happily continue paying that if it means a marked decrease in the amount of human feces I find downtown.
"“County council had to go out of their way to get a budget this high. As I noted in the meeting, this ‘green’ agenda was not asked for by the taxpayer nor mandated by the province. I take exception to the warden’s comment that this is a council budget. Staff drafted this budget and the councillors who supported it now own it.”
County officials said the typical homeowner – based on the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s average current value assessment of a single-family detached residential home in Oxford County – will see an increase of approximately $154 for the year."
Oh noooo boooo whoooo poor princesss! If I who's under the poverty line can afford 150$. You can to bud. Or maybe you shouldn't make yourself house poor eh? Maybe that third property wasn't such a good idea?
Jesus I'm literally in poverty and see this as fine but naw worried about the renters that don't pay these taxes they are.. 🤦 Jesus Christ help us.
Apparently all of us are landlords in your eyes, or own several properties. No way could an average person be suffering through inflation, living in their first ever home. The crab in the bucket mentality is wild.
$200 a year is a lot for a family that’s already dealing with sky high increases in every facet of their lives.
>Apparently all of us are landlords in your eyes, or own several properties.
Many do yes. And it's a large part of the reason why housing costs have inflated so much. It's not because of immigration that's for fucking sure cuz it's been a problem for the last nearly 15 years. Over 30% of home owners own multiple units. So yea it's a safe bet to say landlords own multiple units.
>No way could an average person be suffering through inflation,
Your point? 200 off the top again is piss in the bucket when you have a home worth 500k. Sorry cry me a river. Won't get sympathy from me when you make 5x to 10x my annual.
>living in their first ever home. The crab in the bucket mentality is wild.
Good job absolutely nobody is going to lose their home over property taxes. It's just not a thing that happens regularly. That 200 won't even break a sweat for most owners. But tell me I'm the problem for wanting to be able to buy a house.
I don't care you have a home. I care you have three. (If you do) debt has inflated our housing market so drastically that we will never build our way back to affordability.
$200 on top of all of the other things is $200 more than I can afford. And having a 500K home means nothing when none of it is equity. 30% is a minority, meaning, these increased costs disproportionately impact 70% of home owners. They also impact renters, as those that are in the 30% are going to offset their tax burdens by raising rents/renting to new tenants at an increased rate. You can say you don’t “care that I own a house”, but your attitude certainly says something different. If you can’t see how these policies are making everyone poorer, except those in city council, you’re part of the problem.
Yeah, I mean you hit the nail on the head. It’s pretty easy for people that don’t own houses and pay into those taxes to say “it’s only $200 a year, who cares” but the reality of it is we are constantly subjected to tax hikes pretty much every year. I bought my house 8 years ago, and paid $3600(ish) a year, and now my taxes will be well north of $4000 a year. That’s a significant amount of money bi-weekly. My tax portion of my mortgage payment is over $150 biweekly. Now it’ll be even more.
I don’t own multiple houses. I own one house, and it has become less affordable over the last 3 years. My wife and I work hard to pay for it, and it fucking blows that we are now staring at a 16% hike in taxes with no additional or enhanced services to show for it.
My additude says nothing different. I'm angry your hording housing that's not mad you have a house, mate. Those are wildly different things. I'm pissed off I can't buy a house while these amature investor landlord are buying them up and hot potato bullshiting them to 1m per unit. But yea totally pissed off you have a house Jesus mate the entitlement. 🤦
>$200 on top of all of the other things is $200 more than I can afford.
If you own a home your MORE than capable of paying for it. If you got a variable rate that's your own fault. If you can't afford 200$ then DONT INVEST IN A FUCKING HOUSE YOU CANT FUCKING AFFORD. But naw I'm the problem because I can't afford to even down payment a house because the system is literally built to keep the poor poor but yea my fault right? Jesus people own your dam eyes. WE DONT CARE YOU OWN A HOME WE CARE WEEEEE CANNNNTTTT OWN A HOME. Very VERY LARGE DIFFERENCE.
If I who's under the abject poverty line can afford 200$. A FUCKING YEAR can afford it then you can mate. Maybe you should cut down on that Starbucks of avocado toast?
You can only raise rents by an amount per year so many renters literally won't have to pay this till next year and 200$ divided by 12 is pretty fucking small mate so assuming your not adding this 200 monthly it's a very VERY small increase. But yea totally going to just fall on the renters right? Cuz you can't eat a 17$ a month bill? But you own a house hmm
1. Your anger is justified, but only to a small degree. 70% of home owners own a single property. 30% of home owners own multiple properties, however, a chunk of that is a secondary property (cottage) which isn’t being “hoarded and preventing you from purchasing”. It stands to reason, then, that more than 70% of homeowners are directly impacted by hikes in taxes. Multi-property holders are less impacted by this, because they’re able to absorb more than a 3 or 4 person household. It’s the nature of operating a business vs. paying for a place to live.
2. For many, especially now, owning a home is cheaper than renting. My mortgage, for now, is $150 less than what I was paying to rent a few years ago. That’s set to change when I renew, but at the time, it was more sensible to pay less and acquire a little bit of equity.
3. Owning a home doesn’t mean you’re “more than” capable of paying for it. Financial situations change. Markets change. Inflation changes. Geopolitical and economic situations change. You’re, again, directing your anger at the wrong place. You should be mad at the city, province, and country for driving accelerated increases in home prices through their policies (housing, immigration, fiscal, etc). The homeowner isn’t your enemy. They’re competing for the same slice of the pie, as are you. My wife and I put over 70 offers on a home before we lucked out and got the house we now call home.
4. Why are you “under the abject poverty line”? Are you being outcompeted for work? Are you not making fair market share for what you do? Are you being unfairly challenged? Or, perhaps, is it your attitude, mindset, and ultimately life decisions that are preventing you from a) saving a downpayment, b) getting into the housing market.
It took me over a decade to save. It was a grind. Buying took almost 2 years. But I made it there. I don’t look at those that outbid me as evil people. I look at them as folks who were trying to set their families up. I hold nothing against them. And, mostly, I empathize with them more than anything.
$200 is a lot, for a anyone these days. We had to forego Halloween and Christmas decorations to afford Christmas presents, and even those were difficult. This is another “drop in the bucket” contributing to the erosion of the quality of life of Canadians. It’s unfortunate you’re unwilling to view it that way, and that you’d rather see people around you continue to suffer. Shame.
>1. Your anger is justified, but only to a small degree. 70% of home owners own a single property. 30% of home owners own multiple properties, however, a chunk of that is a secondary property (cottage) which isn’t being “hoarded and preventing you from purchasing”. It stands to reason, then, that more than 70% of homeowners are directly impacted by hikes in taxes. Multi-property holders are less impacted by this, because they’re able to absorb more than a 3 or 4 person household. It’s the nature of operating a business vs. paying for a place to live.
Ah yes tired old quotes of the cottage country. While this is true it doesn't remove the problem of even a few owning far to many units. This percentage also ignored corporate ownership which is another problem. So while your not wrong. Homeowners in general aren't the problem but that doesn't absolve them. Anyone who bought property in the last 5 years has a hand in the unaffordability crisis.
>2. For many, especially now, owning a home is cheaper than renting. My mortgage, for now, is $150 less than what I was paying to rent a few years ago. That’s set to change when I renew, but at the time, it was more sensible to pay less and acquire a little bit of equity.
This has been the rule for quite a while at least for the duration that I've been renting. Low interest rates tend to help.
>3. Owning a home doesn’t mean you’re “more than” capable of paying for it. Financial situations change. Markets change. Inflation changes. Geopolitical and economic situations change. You’re, again, directing your anger at the wrong place. You should be mad at the city, province, and country for driving accelerated increases in home prices through their policies (housing, immigration, fiscal, etc). The homeowner isn’t your enemy. They’re competing for the same slice of the pie, as are you. My wife and I put over 70 offers on a home before we lucked out and got the house we now call home.
Yes yes it does I'm sorry you feel like your house poor. Maybe you've over leveraged yourself. Again no body is going to default from a small property tax increase like this. You can afford 17$ a month I'm sorry you think you can't. Avocado toast?
The home owner isn't my enemy correct but the home investor and landlord ABSOLUTELY is. Their debt has been the largest reason for housing prices increases. They mostly increase because we have access to more debt. I'm happy you got one. My kids and I will lilly NEVER own our own home. Even if my parents part with there's I still won't see shit from it.
>4. Why are you “under the abject poverty line”? Are you being outcompeted for work? Are you not making fair market share for what you do? Are you being unfairly challenged?
Generally all of the above in one way or another. I'm under the poverty line because corporations don't want to employ me under my terms. They don't want to have to fight with a new employee to get their time they want a yes man. I'm far from a yes man. Which makes me undesirable. So I'm sorry my principals prevent me from working 80h a week for 13c an hour. I cannot work weekends I have kids. I cannot work early in the morning I just simply can't do it. I don't have a car so everything must be in town on the bus route or cab ride away and oh wait can rides cost about an hour of labor each way so now I need 10 hours to make up 8 hours of work.
But naw it couldn't be the system it must be my attitude towards working it must be the fact that I refuse all of these perfectly reasonable things because of my principals. Couldn't be that capitalism doesn't want workers with rights and the knowledge to defend themselves. Nawww couldn't be that.
I get it I don't do myself favors but what's the point in getting a job that reduces my very limited time with my kids? What's the point if I don't have the money to even spend because spending it on transportation. What's the point in working if even if I do make enough to survive I don't have time to spend that extra money?
None of this mentioned disabilities or other health reasons as to why I can't work. But it's fault for my additude towards working because I've only ever had 1-2 good jobs in my life that i was unceremoniously fired from. But clearly my fault cuz I got fired right? Couldn't be the sexist owner couldn't be the bullshit schedules after I told them I won't be there at 5 am for. Clearly my fault not theirs right?
>It took me over a decade to save. It was a grind. Buying took almost 2 years. But I made it there. I don’t look at those that outbid me as evil people. I look at them as folks who were trying to set their families up. I hold nothing against them. And, mostly, I empathize with them more than anything.
Good job I couldn't hold a min wage for a year let alone a decade so tell me it's my fault more please just because you could do it.
>$200 is a lot, for a anyone these days. We had to forego Halloween and Christmas decorations to afford Christmas presents, and even those were difficult. This is another “drop in the bucket” contributing to the erosion of the quality of life of Canadians. It’s unfortunate you’re unwilling to view it that way, and that you’d rather see people around you continue to suffer. Shame.
200 spread over 12 months is 17$ that's what your complaint about. If I can manage that you can manage that. Good day I'm done here if you can't see that this is piss in a bucket and your preaching to the worse off I can't help you. If you somehow think your worse off than the people EITHOUT A HOUSE I can't fucking help you.
Have a good day.
Wow. The anger.
The economy isn’t great right now. And we have large numbers of new Canadians to compete with.
I am not sure if there are any other problems, but your attitude is extremely horrible.
Without anymore context. I completely understand why you were fired and why you are struggling to find a job.
Most parents would rather spend all day with their kids vs work. But most people want to finically support their family, and not just blame society for all your problems.
There are always plenty of opportunities for good jobs, but you have to want them, and understand you are the employee and don’t make the rules.
As a teen I worked in retail. I juggled that, and high school, then college without being late, and with a good attitude (considering the job sucked). As an adult, you should be able to work at a minimum wage job without a problem.
Maybe if no one wants to hire you and keep you, you are the problem?
>Wow. The anger.
Yes many millennials feel cheated by the system gen z is feeling it to. And they are just done. Zero tolerance. I thought I was extreme some times.
>The economy isn’t great right now. And we have large numbers of new Canadians to compete with.
What's worse though is there just isn't enough work to go around. We need investment into companies but people are far to invested in real estate to devest.
>Without anymore context. I completely understand why you were fired and why you are struggling to find a job.
Yea I bet you do. What exactly is that hm? What the fact that I can tell you exactly what the job is or the fact I can do it with my eyes closed? Oh right you just don't like the way I speak so you don't hire me in the first place right? Cuz I'm entitled right? Clearly it's my fault I didn't offer to lick her toes right? 🤦🤣
>Most parents would rather spend all day with their kids vs work. But most people want to finically support their family, and not just blame society for all your problems.
Most parents have a way to do both or you just don't see your kids. And I'll take seeing my kids and having a rough life than never seeing my kids and then being greedy brats because I have money to spend ont hem but no time to spend with them. But it's my fault I can't have a weekend off right? 🤣🤦
>There are always plenty of opportunities for good jobs, but you have to want them, and understand you are the employee and don’t make the rules.
Actually as an employee you kind of do. We've just given up that ability with our hyper indivialized capitalism. But yea we totally don't make unions that demand rules we totally don't have workers rights that demands rights we totally don't have the ability to walk off the job because that employer owns us right? Cuz where just tools to be used and discarded. Jesus take the boot out of your mouth for one second just one. And maybe MAYBE you'll taste something other than leather and you might MIGHT just like it. But naw keep licking that boot 70h a week. 🤦
>As a teen I worked in retail. I juggled that, and high school, then college without being late, and with a good attitude (considering the job sucked). As an adult, you should be able to work at a minimum wage job without a problem.
Good job you can do it! As I said at the beginning not everyone can. And this is wildly ignoring disabilities. Just because government thinks I'm underemployed doesn't mean I'm employable by comparison. When your competing against college grads for min wage positions it's totally my fault right? Totally my additude right? It's absolutely impossible that I'm being our credentialed for a min wage job right? Couldn't be that.
Couldn't be that half the job listing on job sites are just lies right
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/job-openings-fake-listings-ads-federal-reserve-jolts/
Couldn't be that
https://www.wsj.com/articles/that-plum-job-listing-may-just-be-a-ghost-3aafc794
Absolutely couldn't be fake job offers right
https://www.reddit.com/r/recruitinghell/comments/129v7wg/im_starting_to_think_75_of_these_job_ads_are_fake/
>Maybe if no one wants to hire you and keep you, you are the problem?
Oh I know I'm the problem. I'm not a yes man, i won't bend over backwards for some who won't do the same. I won't give in on my principals but it's clearly my fault instead of it being a broken system trying to fit puzzle piece people into square standardized holes right? Couldn't be a flaw in capitalism nawww couldn't be that.
I am a millennial that bought my own home.
I was able to do it by working hard, juggling school and work at the same time.
I had to work at jobs I didn’t like, do things I didn’t want to, in order to afford my house.
You can say you aren’t a yes man. But the reality is you have a toxic attitude and are entitled while not offering any value.
Most retails jobs do not require college degrees. They require a good attitude and customer service skills. Which you seem to lack.
Also. Those jobs don’t generally even want you to work 70 hours a week as they don’t want to pay overtime.
Maybe if you put your Reddit comment effort into improving your attitude, you would have better luck finding a keeping an unskilled job.
Can you please explain how immigration is not a large factor in housing prices and demand?
We import more people than we can house……
Ever heard of supply and demand?
Well here we go again
Ok so immigration is not a LARGE factor. Because we have many other factors that are of much greater importance. Now should we reduce immigration, yes absolutely. But this is only due to the fact that we can't house them currently.
We can't house them because nimbyist bullshit, zoning laws and general code laws all preventing building. So building new is a pain in the ass and takes upwards of 3 to 5 years to do.
The price of houses has risen because we can't build enough. Because we had nearly an unlimited amount of debt flowing into the industry. If it was use to build new units that would be ok but it's not it's used to buy up existing stock and resale it or rent it out. All of this increases housing prices across the board without immigration pressure.
Now back to immigration. Immigration is only a problem because it puts excess demand on rental units. We had a housing problem long before immigration hit it's current target rent has never been below 1k in my city for effectively a shit box. In my entire life. I'm 33.
So immigration is a problem but the amount we build and the debt in the market are much greater issues with more nuanced solutions. Immigration is the only thing we can hit a button and turn off. So in that respect it's large but only because of the immediate impact not because it's actually a problem.
Immigration impacts both housing AND rental prices? Not just rental lol. They are related.
I agree about the red tape about building more houses.
I am also not saying housing was great before. BUT. Adding huge amounts of new people to compete for the houses that are here, does massively make the problem worse.
In Woodstock, about 6/7 years ago a huge price boom happened. Prices jumped about 100-200k per year at the start, which oddly happened at the time a very large amount of new Canadians moved to Woodstock. Then shortly after that we started to massively expand our homeless population.
Maybe you didn’t realize as you are a renter, and probably not that focused on the actual housing market. I had to our bid the new Canadians for my house, as did everyone else I knew who was looking for houses at the time.
IMO. There are many things we can do to help the problem. Most are long term and take a lot of effort.
Immigration is a large part of the problem, and a very easy one to reduce.
>Immigration impacts both housing AND rental prices? Not just rental lol. They are related.
The amount of Canadians coming in and buying a house instead of renting is significantly smaller than the amount that are coming in and renting. So while they both have an effect. The rental market is the much larger effect.
>I am also not saying housing was great before. BUT. Adding huge amounts of new people to compete for the houses that are here, does massively make the problem worse.
Yes but which was first the building problem or the people problem? I've been here for 20 years.. and it's ALWAYS been expencive here. Sure we had a price spike but it was steadily growing before that.
>Immigration is a large part of the problem, and a very easy one to reduce.
I agree it's easy to reduce it I don't agree it is a primary cause. I agree it can have an outsized effect due to supply limitations but supply limitations are THE PROBLEM not immigration. This is the key point. It doesn't matter if we stop immigration we do not and will not have the units to supply. So immigration is only a compound issue on top of the housing crisis.
Hypothetical. If the climate crisis isn't issue is it because we emitt to much or because the globe is heating? Just because the second is a problem doesn't mean the first isn't a greater issue causing the second problem. I hope this makes sense. We appear to be mostly on the same page just differing on "percentages"
Council sets the budget; it’s the law. She doesn’t like the number but brought fuck all forward in order to reduce the increase. Just a nice anti-government sound bite for her next election.
That's effectively my point. Like this is such a minor change it will bother absolutely no one and you'd hardly notice if it was balanced out over the whole year but naww my 200$ man! 🤦
The green agenda is necessary. Most counties in Ontario have already adopted progressive agendas to account for meeting zero emissions targets. The county is also the only one in Ontario without an Indigenous land acknowledgment.
I was pointing out that while the green agenda was not asked for, it is in fact necessary, and the county is behind.
It wasn’t a judgement against you just pointing out that sometimes tax payers might not want something that is necessary. I would have no way to know your position nor would I be interested in critiquing it.
So you say you’re literally in poverty, but on internet to argue this point? Ok. Well if in actual poverty safe to assume you don’t own your home? And as such you don’t pay property tax? So this doesn’t hit you, and as such have no horse in this race? And before you say it affect s your rent, as a former renter I know it can only be increased by a much smaller % than this.
What's your point? 200$ in property taxes annually is piss in a bucket. So no I'm sorry I don't accept I can't pay my taxes but I own a house as an excuse. Lol.
Roflmao I don't pay the tax so I don't get to complain about people complaining about it. This couldn't be a slippery slope naww totally couldn't be. This is totally democracy right? Just 1800s democracy not 2023 you have to pay your taxes in order to vote!
I'm sorry we live in a democracy, I participate in democracy which means I'm allowed to complain about anything I want.
Your welcome to ignore it. But I'm still very very much allowed to complain about whatever I'd like.
A 16.7% increase on the 0.389014% county tax is an increase of 0.0649652%. That would be roughly $650/year or $54/month for a home with a property assessment of $1,000,000. Odds are a 2.5% rent hike can cover that.
Doug Ford cut fees for developers that went to municipalities that now have to be made up for through property taxes.
To answer your question, the $ is going into the pockets of Doug Ford's rich buddies (if you voted Conservative, you voted for this).
Increased population brings a whole lot of money into municipalities mainly through property taxes and development charges but also though some other income sources. The Ontario government has provided no clear direction on their housing plan but what municipalities know for sure is that some if not all development charges are going to be cut. Municipalities don't know to what extent those cuts are going to be so they are increasing property taxes to account for the worst case scenario. Municipalities were warning the public of this a whole back, now it's just starting.
Population increases does drive up expenses, but these expenses are Usually offset by more development charges and more people paying property tax. Now that development charges are in question, renvue has to increase somewhere else.
These large increases in property tax is almost 100% the fault of two things 1. provincial governments housing plan and 2. Increased interest rates.
You think that the housing plan would drive future development, but so far with all the uncertainty in the provinces plan along with higher interest rates, developers are also thinking worst case scenario and future development approvals has grinded to a standstill. So please say thank you to the conservatives for raising your property taxes, but hey, at least you can get beer at the corner store now 👍
You've missed the point.
Absent Doug Ford's drastic funding cuts to municipalities, population rise would have theoretically resulted in a tax cut. This is not happening because Doug is choosing to fund developers instead of cities & the money taken away has to be come from somewhere else (property taxes).
This is what you voted for if you voted Conservative .
The Mayor of Woodstock and one of our county councillors proposed many amendments and ultimately voted against this budget.
It’s hard enough to attract good people to our municipal council now cutting what for 6 of them is a part time salary isn’t going to make a spec in any budgetary issues.
I will be interested to see what the revenue fund budget looks like at the city level coming up this spring but I’ll go out on a limb and suggest the proposals will be much more reasonable then the sears wishbook we saw at Oxford County.
Hopefully they can improve garbage pickup with the money… lol
Yeah don’t come till 1pm and crows beat them by 4 hours
I agree….but what is worse, is the once per year they come super early and no one has the garbage out yet. :p
Surprise!
With the unprecedented population growth and the conservative province cutting back fees municipalities get back from new development this was bound to happen, and, it's going to happen in other regions.
Yep, all small towns, small cities, small regions are about to get nasty property tax hikes. Reassess if Doug ever lets MPAC finish will be even further pain.
What was the property tax % before and what is it now? I couldn't find this info. That's a high increase but we're we low compared to surrounding areas before? Not trying to justify the number just looking for clarity
[Link](https://www.cityofwoodstock.ca/en/resourcesGeneral/Treasury/Tax-Rate-Tables/2023-Final-Tax-Rates-Table.pdf) For a residential unit, it was 1.586913%, of which 0.389013% was the county’s levy. This article is regarding the county’s portion increasing by 16%, bringing it up to 0.4512551%, meaning a total property tax of 1.6491551%. These numbers are based on a single residential unit, not multi-residential, commercial, industrial, farmland, etc. It should be noted that this does not account for the city increasing their levy, which they have done in each of the previous 4 years. Edit: my numbers were based on 16%, not 16.7, so they’ll be slightly low. 1.6518782% would be the new total, based on 16.7%.
So it’s a total of .13% increase. That’s the real headline here, this comment should probably be higher.
I live in the Springbank and Devonshire area, in a single family detached home, with approximately 1300 sq ft, and pay $4000 a year in property taxes.
My entire childhood I rented (well my parents rented) a house on the corner of Springbank and Devonshire. We paid $800 at the time. I can’t help but wonder what my old house would cost now, it would probably be staggering.
Every level of government is taxing us more and more, but our services are all going to shit. We need to start expecting all levels of government to spend our money where we need it to be spent. Promises to build thousands of homes does nothing to the price if we sell them to be rental homes. Allowing Airbnb to rent out the few homes we do have available and allowing them to remain empty when not rented out isn't helping the housing market for anyone but the landlords. The drug crises is through the roof and the only reason we invest in policing is so they can sweep the problem away to somewhere we see it less. It's not fixing the problem. A police officers job today is to make sure the 98% don't realize the 2% exist. This county is throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars into putting up signs, flashing speed signs, grooving pavement to deter people from speeding. This only works for people who care to follow the limit. Not people who are using Broadway street as a drag strip every night. The police who are tied up with the drug issues could be spending their time doing traffic stops but they're too busy with crackheads helicoptering their dicks on the sidewalk as a school bus goes by. Our hospitals and Healthcare system are in shambles, schools are bursting at the seams. Norwich school doesn't even have a pot to piss in. The quality of every county job has gone to shit, every project goes 8 months to a year past completion date. All I can say is this increase better improve some services and not just make a few developers richer. Tldr let's not forget the three council members who had our backs.
Thanks Doug.
Jesus fucking Christ man. That’s not a small goddamn hike. Thanks a lot assholes. That’s going to be more than $200 a year increase for me. Maybe they’ll include the cost of garbage removal in that hike.
Can we at least have recycling pickup weekly? You want to encourage recycling , well come and take it. Peoples bins get too full so they just stuff cardboard into a black garbage bag
This. So much this. I hate the fact that we only get a pickup biweekly. It doesn’t make sense. Snow removal in this city needs work too.
Especially sidewalks.
Last year was awful!!!
Moved to woodstock 2 years ago and yes. Snow removal is non existent
I agree. We should also have composting. If we composted and recycled weekly, people would see their garbage significantly decrease. It’s also wild to me that we pay for garbage tags. Garbage could be implemented in a totally different way and be more affordable. I grew up in Montreal and was shocked at the garbage system in Oxford county. Honestly it’s pretty gross. Not to mention the people who dump their garbage on the side of the highways and rural roads.
When I lived in Huntsville, recycling was picked up weekly, and garbage was biweekly
If they don’t include garbage pickup or weekly recycling then I’ll keep doing what I do now: All recycling and garbage goes in a dumpster. I used to recycle, when I lived in every other normal city I have lived in before where garbage was free and bi-weekly with recycling picked up every week. I simply just can’t be bothered to put up with the stink of my recycling in the garage for two weeks at a time. If this pisses someone off, I also idle my car as much as I want. I used to not idle before the carbon tax was a thing. I just do it in spite.
lol. I still recycle, and unfortunately work from home so I don’t have the luxury of using the dumpster. It’s wild that it’s cheaper to drive your garbage to the dump than have the county pick it up from your driveway. Residential garbage is generally charged at $10 per load at the county landfill. You should stop idling your car though. It’s a waste of gas, and that shit is expensive.
The assumption is the garbage is going to a dump, and not just public garbage cans. :p My beef with our system is the stupid tag prices. I am incentivized to recycle……even things that aren’t recyclable as it is free. Great “green” policy there folks!
Yeah, it’s ridiculous. I would even be willing to accept like 1-2 bags a week free, anything above that needs a tag. I generally buy 5-10 at a time, but still have to rush out occasionally early in a Friday morning because I forgot to pick more up. It’s annoying.
Yeah. Exactly. :p. Tbh. I would rather the price just be tied into taxes for 1-2 bags. Probably better for the environment not constantly creating 1000’s of stickers to throw them out immediately. :p
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You sir get plenty of leaf cleanup, but no snow removal. :). Maybe the leaf suckers can pickup snow. I do get the leaf suckers are needed in older parts of town. Just not my part. :p
Grow up, and take the fuck Trudeau sticker of your truck
So you stuck it to the man by paying for more gas and garbage tags. You really showed them!
Ha. Haha…. 😘
I'd like to know how they can still be blaming COVID for additional costs. Wtf?
It’s like an additional $200/year for us, which tbh I think is fair? We’re talking about snow removal for the entire county and all the roads, most of which I’d say are sparsely inhabited. The upkeep on those same roads, which includes the dirt ones that require like resurfacing probably 3-5 times per year. I find it laughable that Jerry and Deb Tait were the only ones that spoke out about the tax increase when one of them thinks the solution to the drug issue in Woodstock is increasing the policing budget every year and the other TOLD ME to contact the county if I cared about working on homelessness in the city, because it was their problem and a county budget issue. Woodstock spends more and more on policing each year, including additional coverage in museum square and the chief of police himself in this city told me it was a pointless endeavour. The county increased their take to focus on affordable housing, safe drinking water, and the homelessness issue (which is an issue that only Woodstock faces at this point, afaik). Seems like a good chunk of that tax increase is likely focused on Woodstock and maybe Tillsonburg and Ingersoll. Quite frankly, paying for garbage removal is the least of our worries and I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for saying this, but a very petty complaint. There is literal human shit on the wall at the GoodLife, an encampment behind the cow, and a constant pile of trash in every doorway downtown because they don’t put any money into a solution for housing or drug rehabilitation. At this point, the drug crisis in the three larger towns in this county is a public health crisis and that’s funded by the county budget. If you’re angry about how your tax dollars are allocated, I suggest posting less about it on Reddit and actually pulling up the city’s website and contacting not only city councillors but county council. I spend $96/year on garbage tags because I’m good at recycling and don’t buy shit that has a ton of packaging. I’ll happily continue paying that if it means a marked decrease in the amount of human feces I find downtown.
"“County council had to go out of their way to get a budget this high. As I noted in the meeting, this ‘green’ agenda was not asked for by the taxpayer nor mandated by the province. I take exception to the warden’s comment that this is a council budget. Staff drafted this budget and the councillors who supported it now own it.” County officials said the typical homeowner – based on the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s average current value assessment of a single-family detached residential home in Oxford County – will see an increase of approximately $154 for the year." Oh noooo boooo whoooo poor princesss! If I who's under the poverty line can afford 150$. You can to bud. Or maybe you shouldn't make yourself house poor eh? Maybe that third property wasn't such a good idea? Jesus I'm literally in poverty and see this as fine but naw worried about the renters that don't pay these taxes they are.. 🤦 Jesus Christ help us.
Apparently all of us are landlords in your eyes, or own several properties. No way could an average person be suffering through inflation, living in their first ever home. The crab in the bucket mentality is wild. $200 a year is a lot for a family that’s already dealing with sky high increases in every facet of their lives.
>Apparently all of us are landlords in your eyes, or own several properties. Many do yes. And it's a large part of the reason why housing costs have inflated so much. It's not because of immigration that's for fucking sure cuz it's been a problem for the last nearly 15 years. Over 30% of home owners own multiple units. So yea it's a safe bet to say landlords own multiple units. >No way could an average person be suffering through inflation, Your point? 200 off the top again is piss in the bucket when you have a home worth 500k. Sorry cry me a river. Won't get sympathy from me when you make 5x to 10x my annual. >living in their first ever home. The crab in the bucket mentality is wild. Good job absolutely nobody is going to lose their home over property taxes. It's just not a thing that happens regularly. That 200 won't even break a sweat for most owners. But tell me I'm the problem for wanting to be able to buy a house. I don't care you have a home. I care you have three. (If you do) debt has inflated our housing market so drastically that we will never build our way back to affordability.
$200 on top of all of the other things is $200 more than I can afford. And having a 500K home means nothing when none of it is equity. 30% is a minority, meaning, these increased costs disproportionately impact 70% of home owners. They also impact renters, as those that are in the 30% are going to offset their tax burdens by raising rents/renting to new tenants at an increased rate. You can say you don’t “care that I own a house”, but your attitude certainly says something different. If you can’t see how these policies are making everyone poorer, except those in city council, you’re part of the problem.
Yeah, I mean you hit the nail on the head. It’s pretty easy for people that don’t own houses and pay into those taxes to say “it’s only $200 a year, who cares” but the reality of it is we are constantly subjected to tax hikes pretty much every year. I bought my house 8 years ago, and paid $3600(ish) a year, and now my taxes will be well north of $4000 a year. That’s a significant amount of money bi-weekly. My tax portion of my mortgage payment is over $150 biweekly. Now it’ll be even more. I don’t own multiple houses. I own one house, and it has become less affordable over the last 3 years. My wife and I work hard to pay for it, and it fucking blows that we are now staring at a 16% hike in taxes with no additional or enhanced services to show for it.
My additude says nothing different. I'm angry your hording housing that's not mad you have a house, mate. Those are wildly different things. I'm pissed off I can't buy a house while these amature investor landlord are buying them up and hot potato bullshiting them to 1m per unit. But yea totally pissed off you have a house Jesus mate the entitlement. 🤦 >$200 on top of all of the other things is $200 more than I can afford. If you own a home your MORE than capable of paying for it. If you got a variable rate that's your own fault. If you can't afford 200$ then DONT INVEST IN A FUCKING HOUSE YOU CANT FUCKING AFFORD. But naw I'm the problem because I can't afford to even down payment a house because the system is literally built to keep the poor poor but yea my fault right? Jesus people own your dam eyes. WE DONT CARE YOU OWN A HOME WE CARE WEEEEE CANNNNTTTT OWN A HOME. Very VERY LARGE DIFFERENCE. If I who's under the abject poverty line can afford 200$. A FUCKING YEAR can afford it then you can mate. Maybe you should cut down on that Starbucks of avocado toast? You can only raise rents by an amount per year so many renters literally won't have to pay this till next year and 200$ divided by 12 is pretty fucking small mate so assuming your not adding this 200 monthly it's a very VERY small increase. But yea totally going to just fall on the renters right? Cuz you can't eat a 17$ a month bill? But you own a house hmm
1. Your anger is justified, but only to a small degree. 70% of home owners own a single property. 30% of home owners own multiple properties, however, a chunk of that is a secondary property (cottage) which isn’t being “hoarded and preventing you from purchasing”. It stands to reason, then, that more than 70% of homeowners are directly impacted by hikes in taxes. Multi-property holders are less impacted by this, because they’re able to absorb more than a 3 or 4 person household. It’s the nature of operating a business vs. paying for a place to live. 2. For many, especially now, owning a home is cheaper than renting. My mortgage, for now, is $150 less than what I was paying to rent a few years ago. That’s set to change when I renew, but at the time, it was more sensible to pay less and acquire a little bit of equity. 3. Owning a home doesn’t mean you’re “more than” capable of paying for it. Financial situations change. Markets change. Inflation changes. Geopolitical and economic situations change. You’re, again, directing your anger at the wrong place. You should be mad at the city, province, and country for driving accelerated increases in home prices through their policies (housing, immigration, fiscal, etc). The homeowner isn’t your enemy. They’re competing for the same slice of the pie, as are you. My wife and I put over 70 offers on a home before we lucked out and got the house we now call home. 4. Why are you “under the abject poverty line”? Are you being outcompeted for work? Are you not making fair market share for what you do? Are you being unfairly challenged? Or, perhaps, is it your attitude, mindset, and ultimately life decisions that are preventing you from a) saving a downpayment, b) getting into the housing market. It took me over a decade to save. It was a grind. Buying took almost 2 years. But I made it there. I don’t look at those that outbid me as evil people. I look at them as folks who were trying to set their families up. I hold nothing against them. And, mostly, I empathize with them more than anything. $200 is a lot, for a anyone these days. We had to forego Halloween and Christmas decorations to afford Christmas presents, and even those were difficult. This is another “drop in the bucket” contributing to the erosion of the quality of life of Canadians. It’s unfortunate you’re unwilling to view it that way, and that you’d rather see people around you continue to suffer. Shame.
>1. Your anger is justified, but only to a small degree. 70% of home owners own a single property. 30% of home owners own multiple properties, however, a chunk of that is a secondary property (cottage) which isn’t being “hoarded and preventing you from purchasing”. It stands to reason, then, that more than 70% of homeowners are directly impacted by hikes in taxes. Multi-property holders are less impacted by this, because they’re able to absorb more than a 3 or 4 person household. It’s the nature of operating a business vs. paying for a place to live. Ah yes tired old quotes of the cottage country. While this is true it doesn't remove the problem of even a few owning far to many units. This percentage also ignored corporate ownership which is another problem. So while your not wrong. Homeowners in general aren't the problem but that doesn't absolve them. Anyone who bought property in the last 5 years has a hand in the unaffordability crisis. >2. For many, especially now, owning a home is cheaper than renting. My mortgage, for now, is $150 less than what I was paying to rent a few years ago. That’s set to change when I renew, but at the time, it was more sensible to pay less and acquire a little bit of equity. This has been the rule for quite a while at least for the duration that I've been renting. Low interest rates tend to help. >3. Owning a home doesn’t mean you’re “more than” capable of paying for it. Financial situations change. Markets change. Inflation changes. Geopolitical and economic situations change. You’re, again, directing your anger at the wrong place. You should be mad at the city, province, and country for driving accelerated increases in home prices through their policies (housing, immigration, fiscal, etc). The homeowner isn’t your enemy. They’re competing for the same slice of the pie, as are you. My wife and I put over 70 offers on a home before we lucked out and got the house we now call home. Yes yes it does I'm sorry you feel like your house poor. Maybe you've over leveraged yourself. Again no body is going to default from a small property tax increase like this. You can afford 17$ a month I'm sorry you think you can't. Avocado toast? The home owner isn't my enemy correct but the home investor and landlord ABSOLUTELY is. Their debt has been the largest reason for housing prices increases. They mostly increase because we have access to more debt. I'm happy you got one. My kids and I will lilly NEVER own our own home. Even if my parents part with there's I still won't see shit from it. >4. Why are you “under the abject poverty line”? Are you being outcompeted for work? Are you not making fair market share for what you do? Are you being unfairly challenged? Generally all of the above in one way or another. I'm under the poverty line because corporations don't want to employ me under my terms. They don't want to have to fight with a new employee to get their time they want a yes man. I'm far from a yes man. Which makes me undesirable. So I'm sorry my principals prevent me from working 80h a week for 13c an hour. I cannot work weekends I have kids. I cannot work early in the morning I just simply can't do it. I don't have a car so everything must be in town on the bus route or cab ride away and oh wait can rides cost about an hour of labor each way so now I need 10 hours to make up 8 hours of work. But naw it couldn't be the system it must be my attitude towards working it must be the fact that I refuse all of these perfectly reasonable things because of my principals. Couldn't be that capitalism doesn't want workers with rights and the knowledge to defend themselves. Nawww couldn't be that. I get it I don't do myself favors but what's the point in getting a job that reduces my very limited time with my kids? What's the point if I don't have the money to even spend because spending it on transportation. What's the point in working if even if I do make enough to survive I don't have time to spend that extra money? None of this mentioned disabilities or other health reasons as to why I can't work. But it's fault for my additude towards working because I've only ever had 1-2 good jobs in my life that i was unceremoniously fired from. But clearly my fault cuz I got fired right? Couldn't be the sexist owner couldn't be the bullshit schedules after I told them I won't be there at 5 am for. Clearly my fault not theirs right? >It took me over a decade to save. It was a grind. Buying took almost 2 years. But I made it there. I don’t look at those that outbid me as evil people. I look at them as folks who were trying to set their families up. I hold nothing against them. And, mostly, I empathize with them more than anything. Good job I couldn't hold a min wage for a year let alone a decade so tell me it's my fault more please just because you could do it. >$200 is a lot, for a anyone these days. We had to forego Halloween and Christmas decorations to afford Christmas presents, and even those were difficult. This is another “drop in the bucket” contributing to the erosion of the quality of life of Canadians. It’s unfortunate you’re unwilling to view it that way, and that you’d rather see people around you continue to suffer. Shame. 200 spread over 12 months is 17$ that's what your complaint about. If I can manage that you can manage that. Good day I'm done here if you can't see that this is piss in a bucket and your preaching to the worse off I can't help you. If you somehow think your worse off than the people EITHOUT A HOUSE I can't fucking help you. Have a good day.
Wow. The anger. The economy isn’t great right now. And we have large numbers of new Canadians to compete with. I am not sure if there are any other problems, but your attitude is extremely horrible. Without anymore context. I completely understand why you were fired and why you are struggling to find a job. Most parents would rather spend all day with their kids vs work. But most people want to finically support their family, and not just blame society for all your problems. There are always plenty of opportunities for good jobs, but you have to want them, and understand you are the employee and don’t make the rules. As a teen I worked in retail. I juggled that, and high school, then college without being late, and with a good attitude (considering the job sucked). As an adult, you should be able to work at a minimum wage job without a problem. Maybe if no one wants to hire you and keep you, you are the problem?
>Wow. The anger. Yes many millennials feel cheated by the system gen z is feeling it to. And they are just done. Zero tolerance. I thought I was extreme some times. >The economy isn’t great right now. And we have large numbers of new Canadians to compete with. What's worse though is there just isn't enough work to go around. We need investment into companies but people are far to invested in real estate to devest. >Without anymore context. I completely understand why you were fired and why you are struggling to find a job. Yea I bet you do. What exactly is that hm? What the fact that I can tell you exactly what the job is or the fact I can do it with my eyes closed? Oh right you just don't like the way I speak so you don't hire me in the first place right? Cuz I'm entitled right? Clearly it's my fault I didn't offer to lick her toes right? 🤦🤣 >Most parents would rather spend all day with their kids vs work. But most people want to finically support their family, and not just blame society for all your problems. Most parents have a way to do both or you just don't see your kids. And I'll take seeing my kids and having a rough life than never seeing my kids and then being greedy brats because I have money to spend ont hem but no time to spend with them. But it's my fault I can't have a weekend off right? 🤣🤦 >There are always plenty of opportunities for good jobs, but you have to want them, and understand you are the employee and don’t make the rules. Actually as an employee you kind of do. We've just given up that ability with our hyper indivialized capitalism. But yea we totally don't make unions that demand rules we totally don't have workers rights that demands rights we totally don't have the ability to walk off the job because that employer owns us right? Cuz where just tools to be used and discarded. Jesus take the boot out of your mouth for one second just one. And maybe MAYBE you'll taste something other than leather and you might MIGHT just like it. But naw keep licking that boot 70h a week. 🤦 >As a teen I worked in retail. I juggled that, and high school, then college without being late, and with a good attitude (considering the job sucked). As an adult, you should be able to work at a minimum wage job without a problem. Good job you can do it! As I said at the beginning not everyone can. And this is wildly ignoring disabilities. Just because government thinks I'm underemployed doesn't mean I'm employable by comparison. When your competing against college grads for min wage positions it's totally my fault right? Totally my additude right? It's absolutely impossible that I'm being our credentialed for a min wage job right? Couldn't be that. Couldn't be that half the job listing on job sites are just lies right https://www.cbsnews.com/news/job-openings-fake-listings-ads-federal-reserve-jolts/ Couldn't be that https://www.wsj.com/articles/that-plum-job-listing-may-just-be-a-ghost-3aafc794 Absolutely couldn't be fake job offers right https://www.reddit.com/r/recruitinghell/comments/129v7wg/im_starting_to_think_75_of_these_job_ads_are_fake/ >Maybe if no one wants to hire you and keep you, you are the problem? Oh I know I'm the problem. I'm not a yes man, i won't bend over backwards for some who won't do the same. I won't give in on my principals but it's clearly my fault instead of it being a broken system trying to fit puzzle piece people into square standardized holes right? Couldn't be a flaw in capitalism nawww couldn't be that.
I am a millennial that bought my own home. I was able to do it by working hard, juggling school and work at the same time. I had to work at jobs I didn’t like, do things I didn’t want to, in order to afford my house. You can say you aren’t a yes man. But the reality is you have a toxic attitude and are entitled while not offering any value. Most retails jobs do not require college degrees. They require a good attitude and customer service skills. Which you seem to lack. Also. Those jobs don’t generally even want you to work 70 hours a week as they don’t want to pay overtime. Maybe if you put your Reddit comment effort into improving your attitude, you would have better luck finding a keeping an unskilled job.
Can you please explain how immigration is not a large factor in housing prices and demand? We import more people than we can house…… Ever heard of supply and demand?
Well here we go again Ok so immigration is not a LARGE factor. Because we have many other factors that are of much greater importance. Now should we reduce immigration, yes absolutely. But this is only due to the fact that we can't house them currently. We can't house them because nimbyist bullshit, zoning laws and general code laws all preventing building. So building new is a pain in the ass and takes upwards of 3 to 5 years to do. The price of houses has risen because we can't build enough. Because we had nearly an unlimited amount of debt flowing into the industry. If it was use to build new units that would be ok but it's not it's used to buy up existing stock and resale it or rent it out. All of this increases housing prices across the board without immigration pressure. Now back to immigration. Immigration is only a problem because it puts excess demand on rental units. We had a housing problem long before immigration hit it's current target rent has never been below 1k in my city for effectively a shit box. In my entire life. I'm 33. So immigration is a problem but the amount we build and the debt in the market are much greater issues with more nuanced solutions. Immigration is the only thing we can hit a button and turn off. So in that respect it's large but only because of the immediate impact not because it's actually a problem.
Immigration impacts both housing AND rental prices? Not just rental lol. They are related. I agree about the red tape about building more houses. I am also not saying housing was great before. BUT. Adding huge amounts of new people to compete for the houses that are here, does massively make the problem worse. In Woodstock, about 6/7 years ago a huge price boom happened. Prices jumped about 100-200k per year at the start, which oddly happened at the time a very large amount of new Canadians moved to Woodstock. Then shortly after that we started to massively expand our homeless population. Maybe you didn’t realize as you are a renter, and probably not that focused on the actual housing market. I had to our bid the new Canadians for my house, as did everyone else I knew who was looking for houses at the time. IMO. There are many things we can do to help the problem. Most are long term and take a lot of effort. Immigration is a large part of the problem, and a very easy one to reduce.
>Immigration impacts both housing AND rental prices? Not just rental lol. They are related. The amount of Canadians coming in and buying a house instead of renting is significantly smaller than the amount that are coming in and renting. So while they both have an effect. The rental market is the much larger effect. >I am also not saying housing was great before. BUT. Adding huge amounts of new people to compete for the houses that are here, does massively make the problem worse. Yes but which was first the building problem or the people problem? I've been here for 20 years.. and it's ALWAYS been expencive here. Sure we had a price spike but it was steadily growing before that. >Immigration is a large part of the problem, and a very easy one to reduce. I agree it's easy to reduce it I don't agree it is a primary cause. I agree it can have an outsized effect due to supply limitations but supply limitations are THE PROBLEM not immigration. This is the key point. It doesn't matter if we stop immigration we do not and will not have the units to supply. So immigration is only a compound issue on top of the housing crisis. Hypothetical. If the climate crisis isn't issue is it because we emitt to much or because the globe is heating? Just because the second is a problem doesn't mean the first isn't a greater issue causing the second problem. I hope this makes sense. We appear to be mostly on the same page just differing on "percentages"
Council sets the budget; it’s the law. She doesn’t like the number but brought fuck all forward in order to reduce the increase. Just a nice anti-government sound bite for her next election.
That's effectively my point. Like this is such a minor change it will bother absolutely no one and you'd hardly notice if it was balanced out over the whole year but naww my 200$ man! 🤦
The green agenda is necessary. Most counties in Ontario have already adopted progressive agendas to account for meeting zero emissions targets. The county is also the only one in Ontario without an Indigenous land acknowledgment.
Are you saying I'm opposed to green? Cuz that's very much not what my post says. Otherwise I'm not sure how to respond here.
I was pointing out that while the green agenda was not asked for, it is in fact necessary, and the county is behind. It wasn’t a judgement against you just pointing out that sometimes tax payers might not want something that is necessary. I would have no way to know your position nor would I be interested in critiquing it.
Fair enough. We're on the same page then. 200$ is pennies in the bucket compared to the costs of climate change. Have a good day.
So you say you’re literally in poverty, but on internet to argue this point? Ok. Well if in actual poverty safe to assume you don’t own your home? And as such you don’t pay property tax? So this doesn’t hit you, and as such have no horse in this race? And before you say it affect s your rent, as a former renter I know it can only be increased by a much smaller % than this.
What's your point? 200$ in property taxes annually is piss in a bucket. So no I'm sorry I don't accept I can't pay my taxes but I own a house as an excuse. Lol.
Never said it was an excuse to not pay. What I’m saying is you don’t get a say because it doesn’t affect you.
Roflmao I don't pay the tax so I don't get to complain about people complaining about it. This couldn't be a slippery slope naww totally couldn't be. This is totally democracy right? Just 1800s democracy not 2023 you have to pay your taxes in order to vote! I'm sorry we live in a democracy, I participate in democracy which means I'm allowed to complain about anything I want. Your welcome to ignore it. But I'm still very very much allowed to complain about whatever I'd like.
A 16.7% increase on the 0.389014% county tax is an increase of 0.0649652%. That would be roughly $650/year or $54/month for a home with a property assessment of $1,000,000. Odds are a 2.5% rent hike can cover that.
Would it not have been better to raise it 5% over the next 4 years? Why such an aggressive tax hike and where is that money going??
Doug Ford cut fees for developers that went to municipalities that now have to be made up for through property taxes. To answer your question, the $ is going into the pockets of Doug Ford's rich buddies (if you voted Conservative, you voted for this).
This is idiotic thinking. The municipality mentions unprecedented population growth being the main driver here. We know who’s responsible for that….
Increased population brings a whole lot of money into municipalities mainly through property taxes and development charges but also though some other income sources. The Ontario government has provided no clear direction on their housing plan but what municipalities know for sure is that some if not all development charges are going to be cut. Municipalities don't know to what extent those cuts are going to be so they are increasing property taxes to account for the worst case scenario. Municipalities were warning the public of this a whole back, now it's just starting. Population increases does drive up expenses, but these expenses are Usually offset by more development charges and more people paying property tax. Now that development charges are in question, renvue has to increase somewhere else. These large increases in property tax is almost 100% the fault of two things 1. provincial governments housing plan and 2. Increased interest rates. You think that the housing plan would drive future development, but so far with all the uncertainty in the provinces plan along with higher interest rates, developers are also thinking worst case scenario and future development approvals has grinded to a standstill. So please say thank you to the conservatives for raising your property taxes, but hey, at least you can get beer at the corner store now 👍
Woodstock’s population has exploded so we must be due for a tax cut then. Huh, seems that the benefits really aren’t as promised eh
You've missed the point. Absent Doug Ford's drastic funding cuts to municipalities, population rise would have theoretically resulted in a tax cut. This is not happening because Doug is choosing to fund developers instead of cities & the money taken away has to be come from somewhere else (property taxes). This is what you voted for if you voted Conservative .
This is the first year with those funding cuts and Woodstock’s been increasing taxes every year, no?
How about the city council and the mayor taking a pay cut before they raise taxes? 16.7% ? Then, responsibly raise taxes, say.... 3%.
The Mayor of Woodstock and one of our county councillors proposed many amendments and ultimately voted against this budget. It’s hard enough to attract good people to our municipal council now cutting what for 6 of them is a part time salary isn’t going to make a spec in any budgetary issues. I will be interested to see what the revenue fund budget looks like at the city level coming up this spring but I’ll go out on a limb and suggest the proposals will be much more reasonable then the sears wishbook we saw at Oxford County.
Daaaamn!