The budget is our annual financial plan and sets the direction for the work to be completed over the upcoming year.

Learn about the 2025 budget

On this page:

  1. Average residential impact
  2. Key dates
  3. Budget overview
  4. Read the budget
  5. Learn about municipal budgets

Average residential impact

For the average home in Kitchener, the rate increases for the 2025 budget are:

  • property taxes: 3.9% or $49 annually
  • water utility: 4.9% or $23 annually
  • sanitary sewer utility: 6.9% or $41 annually
  • stormwater utility: 7.4% or $18 annually

Our 2025 budget represents a combined annual increase of $131 for the average household, based on the average assessed value of $326,000 and annual water consumption of 170m3.

Key dates

This year’s budget process involves the following key dates:

  • Operating budget day: Monday, Nov. 18
  • Capital budget and public input night: Monday, Nov. 25
  • Mayor’s budget proposal: Monday, Dec. 2
  • Council votes on amendments: Thursday, Dec. 12
  • Budget adopted: Friday, Dec. 27

Budget overview

The 2025 budget includes three key priority areas: 

Delivering city services

The 2025 budget maintains the programs and services that our community relies on. For the past few years, the City has used a two-year inflation average as a benchmark to assess whether the proposed property tax increase is reasonable. The 2025 budget contemplates an increase of 3.9%, which is in line with the two-year inflation average (3.2%) for Ontario. The slightly higher proposed increase compared to the benchmark is due to growth-related pressures that in 2025 exceeds assessment growth, which is slightly lower compared to previous years.

One of the main growth pressures in 2025 is the opening of the new southwest library branch that will service the growing population in that part of our community. Operating costs for the new branch alone represent approximately a 0.75% tax rate impact for 2025. By taking a responsible approach when preparing the annual operating budget, Kitchener’s been able to consistently deliver property tax increases that have been below the rate of inflation over the past 5 years (cumulative tax rate increases vs CPI).

Investing in infrastructure

The City of Kitchener owns and is responsible for maintaining approximately $10 billion worth of assets. These include hard infrastructure such as roads and bridges; underground infrastructure related to water, wastewater, and stormwater. It also includes community-based infrastructure such as facilities, parks & open spaces and forestry.

Like many North American cities, much of Kitchener’s infrastructure was built in the 1950s and many assets are approaching their end of life. The City’s Water Infrastructure Program funds replacement of underground (water, sanitary and storm) infrastructure, with approximately $400 million in capital replacements since the program began. Annual funding for facility infrastructure has also been increased by $5 million a year since 2019. In 2025 specifically, the draft budget allocates an additional $6 million to support facility repairs and rehabilitation.

In addition to the rehabilitation of existing infrastructure, the City also needs to provide new infrastructure to support a growing community. This include $16 million for the construction of a new library branch in southwest Kitchener, $6 million for the Rosenburg Community Centre, and a $144 million for the Kitchener Indoor Recreation Facility that will be located at Schlegel Park and will include an indoor pool, FIFA sized soccer facility, and provide other important gathering space for residents and the community.

Advancing strategic priorities

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The City is in the second year of implementation of its 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. The 2025 Budget continues to build on investments made through last year’s budget process, with funding allocated within the budget to support actions identified under the five goal areas within the Strategic Plan including:

  • Building a Connected City Together
  • Cultivating a Green City Together
  • Creating an Economically-Thriving City Together
  • Fostering a Caring City Together
  • Stewarding a Better City Together

The 2025 Budget highlights approximately $75 million in funding that will help to advance strategic priorities. This includes $56 million in Federal and Provincial funding that the City has received to advance housing initiatives. Investments included in this year’s budget will build on progress made in the previous year and are needed to implement key priorities and commitments included in the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan.

We’re looking for feedback on these investments, visit our Engage page and take our survey. 

Read the budget

Check out our budget document to learn about our financial situation going into the new year and to learn more about service delivery in 2025.

Related documents:

Learn about municipal budgets

Check out these videos to learn more about our municipal budget: