City's First Multi-Year Budget Includes Record Capital Investments, Crucial Community Services

Following deliberations by the Finance and Administration Committee, City Council approved the 2024-2025 municipal budget. The approved budget represents a 5.9 per cent tax change for residents in 2024 and a 7.3 per cent tax change in 2025, which will undergo Council review.

For a homeowner with a home assessed at $350,000 the approved budget means a monthly change of approximately $26.

The 5.9 per cent property tax increase can be broken down as follows:

• A 0.5 per cent decrease in the operating budget for maintaining municipal services. 
• 0.7 per cent for provincially mandated programs.
• 2 per cent contribution to capital.
• 1.5 per cent capital levy.
• 2.2 per cent for service partners, including Greater Sudbury Police Service, Public Health Sudbury & Districts, Greater Sudbury Public Library and Conservation Sudbury.

The municipal budget includes significant investments in numerous priority areas, including road work, transitional housing, major building repairs, community services and water and wastewater projects.

Operating Budget

The approved operating budget is $782.8 million for 2024 and $804.2 million for 2025 (pending Council review). The operating budget includes the costs to support routine municipal operations, daily services and service partners. Approximately 46 per cent of the operating budget is funded by property taxes; the remainder comes from provincial and federal government funding, grants and subsidies, user fees and other revenues.

Additional service enhancements through approved business cases include:

• Free Transit service to seniors on Tuesdays in June to support the health, active living and well-being of older adults.
• Increased Transit service levels.
• Hiring additional Municipal Law Enforcement Officers at Transit.
• Implementing infrastructure improvements in relation to the Lasalle Elisabella Strategic Employment Area to increase business and employment opportunities.
• Improvements to community safety and wellbeing through increased staff in Fire and Paramedic Services.

Capital Budget

The 2024-2027 capital budget amounts to $681.3 million (excluding water and wastewater capital projects). This record investment addresses assets with the highest capital requirements and will make a significant impact on shrinking the asset renewal need over time. The 1.5 per cent capital infrastructure levy will support the renewal of local and arterial roads that would otherwise be unfunded.

Highlights include:

• $257.3 million for road construction to repair and maintain our transportation network.
• $18.6 million for community centre buildings and facility improvements.
• $10.3 million for library building refurbishments.
• $80.7 million for Fire and Paramedic Services including ambulances, medical equipment, emergency response vehicles, construction of a new station and renovations to various community safety stations.
• $67.1 million for investment in transit projects.
• $10.3 million for Greater Sudbury Housing Corporation building improvements.

Water/Wastewater Budget

The 4.8 per cent water/wastewater user rate increase is in line with the Long-term Financial Plan.

Municipal water and wastewater services are fully funded by water/wastewater customers, as mandated by the Province, with no impact on property taxes. There are approximately 48,000 water/wastewater customers in the community.

The $313.1 million includes $117.2 million operating budget for 2024-2025 and $195.9 million capital budget for 2024-2027 and includes the following significant capital investments:

• $91.2 million investment in watermains and sanitary sewers.
• $88.7 million investment in water and wastewater treatment plants and other facilities.
• $8.7 million investment in master and asset management plans.

This increase funds the asset renewal, repair and maintenance needed to keep the system sustainable and safe. The cost increase for 2024 is approximately $6.11 per month for the average homeowner, or approximately $73.24 per year. In 2025, the cost increase is approximately $6.36 per month or $76.47 per year.

Service Partners

City Council approved the 2024-2025 municipal share of the City’s service partner budgets which include:

• $162.1 million for the Greater Sudbury Police Service.
• $19.7 million for the Greater Sudbury Public Library.
• $2.6 million for Conservation Sudbury.
• $18.5 million for Public Health Sudbury & Districts.

Quotes

“As part of 2024-2025 budget deliberations, Council made important decisions to keep the property tax increase to a minimum while making ambitious investments in our city’s future and pursuing opportunities for growth, investment and employment. That includes investments related to the downtown arena/event centre and the cultural hub at Tom Davies Square. Building a healthy and prosperous city means finding ways to both attract new people and businesses, and to help those in our community who haven’t had the same opportunities or advantages. These two things are not mutually exclusive. To staff, my colleagues on Council, and residents who shared their feedback, the approved budget represents a collaboration toward a shared goal to improve quality of life for all Greater Sudbury residents.”

• Paul Lefebvre, Mayor, Greater Sudbury

“Preparing a balanced budget amid challenges such as inflation, aging roads, buildings, bridges and pipes,  legislative changes that impact costs and revenues, and the need to improve reserve funds is not a small accomplishment. The City budget is about more than just reducing the tax increase – it is also about investing in building a vibrant city that provides great quality of life to residents. I’m grateful to those who took part in the budget process for all the work that went into getting us here, and I want to thank my Council colleagues for their thoughtful deliberation on the important decisions that lead to the approval of a budget that supports our community.”

• Deb McIntosh, Ward 9 Councillor and Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee

“In creating this budget, Council and staff aimed to balance the cost of providing City services with the available financial resources. This multi-year budget supports Council’s strategic priorities with an emphasis on long-term outcomes and meeting residents’ daily needs. It ensures the well-being, safety and prosperity of our community by prioritizing record investments for capital requirements, such as roads, and investing in much-needed social services.  I thank Council for their leadership and for trusting staff to provide a budget that addresses the needs of the community. And I thank staff for ensuring Council had the information they needed to make informed, impactful decisions.”

• Ed Archer, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Greater Sudbury

For more information about the 2024-2025 budget, visit www.greatersudbury.ca/budget.