Stratford residents to see another tax increase as part of the town's 2025-26 budget
Councillor says hike to fund public safety, transit projects, infrastructure investments
Stratford residents will see another tax increase this year as part of the P.E.I. town's budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The hike is not unexpected; the town is in the middle year of a three-year plan to raise municipal residential taxes by two cents per year that was approved in last year's budget.
The municipal portion of residential property taxes will increase by two cents per $100 of assessed value this year, bringing it to 49 cents per $100 of assessed value. Another two-cent increase is expected next year.
For homeowners with a property valued at around $350,000, this translates to approximately $70 more in annual taxes, said Coun. Jody Jackson, the town's finance chair.
He said the increase applies only to residential properties this year, with no changes for apartments or commercial properties.
"We have lots of different things that our residents want, and we only have a certain amount of resources, so we have to be very careful," Jackson told CBC News.
"You don't like increases in taxes, but we know to provide the services that we need, we have to do that."
Jackson said Stratford, like other municipalities, is still waiting for a new revenue-sharing agreement with the province, so a municipal tax increase is necessary to continue providing the services that residents have come to expect.
Home to about 12,500 residents, Stratford is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Prince Edward Island.
Jackson said user fees will see slight increases, with recreational programming costs rising by about $5 for activities like baseball, soccer, cricket and pickleball.
Water and sewer rates will also go up by 1.9 per cent, adding around $4 per quarter for customers.
"It's the amount that we had to put on just with the growing costs out there," he said. "With a potential new revenue-sharing agreement, which we know is coming, it may allow us some flexibility into the third year of that plan."
Investments in services, infrastructure
Jackson said policing and fire services remain a major focus of the budget, accounting for about 40 per cent of the town's general government expenses.
The town added an extra RCMP officer last year, and this will be the first full year for that seventh officer.
The town is also investing in public safety by expanding the E-watch camera system.
Other plans include expanding transit services within the community and adding more active transportation options.
Stratford's capital budget lays out a plan for spending nearly $24.8 million, with major investments including $4.5 million for sidewalk, bike path and trail construction and $4.8 million for the waterfront park.
The park replaces the former sewage lagoons at the town's entrance and features a boardwalk that connects to the province's active-transportation trail across the Hillsborough Bridge and into Charlottetown.
"It's turned into the extra transportation corridor across the bridge, regaining that lagoon space as a park, which we're going to do a lot more with this year with events — and hopefully phase two, depending on funding, we're going to make some more investments there," Jackson said.
Community campus faces funding roadblock
The capital budget also includes $14.8 million set aside for the first phase of Stratford's community campus, a 170-acre development between Bunbury Road and the Stratford Business Park that will include a new high school.
Intended to be the town's sports and cultural hub, the campus will feature six soccer fields, three ball fields and a cricket field. These are expected to open in the spring next year.
The big-ticket item is the $85-million Wellness Centre expected to open in fall 2027, at the same time as the new high school. The centre will include two ice surfaces, an indoor turf field, cultural spaces and a youth centre.
Jackson said the province has committed to funding the new high school and supporting critical infrastructure within the campus.
The town has yet to secure funding at the federal level, though, and progress may be delayed by the current federal election campaign, the Ward 3 councillor said.
"I'm hoping that those running for office in Cardigan will make this a priority for them. Because we weren't able to get the firm commitment before the election, and [we're] honestly disappointed," he said.
"We're a growing town. Just looking at [federal income] tax. We contribute about… $54 million from our town every year — just on income tax, not including HST, carbon tax, or any other consumption tax. So we just want to get our share."
With files from Island Morning