‘I guess we’re going to have to pay for it’: St. Thomas municipal tax rate projected to rise 6% amid rapid industrial growth

St. Thomas municipal tax rate projected to rise 6% amid rapid industrial growth. Bryan Bicknell reports.

St. Thomas rate payers will find themselves digging deeper in 2026 to cover the costs of industrial expansion and rapid growth in the community.

It’s not something that sits well with resident Andrew Mills, who worries a tax hike will hit some harder than others.

“The taxes going up just hurts people that are barely trying to get by,” he said.

St. Thomas council has approved the city’s 2026 draft budget of nearly $79.5 million, with a municipal tax increase of six per cent.

“They’ve done a very good job of keeping minimal tax increases. So an increase of six per cent would be quite surprising,” commented rate-payer Geoff Turner.

The increase means property taxes for the average home will rise by approximately $192.00 per year, based on municipal property assessments, said St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston.

“The fact that we’ve delivered through two terms of council the lowest numbers for miles around, and the average this year. Because we recognize that the growth we’re doing in St. Thomas now are attracting the great industries that will help pay us a lot of bills in the future, and employ a lot of people, bring revenue to our community,”

The projected increase comes as St. Thomas welcomes industrial expansion in the community. It’s something that hasn’t been lost on rate-payers Sandy and Wayne Caldwell.

“They’re doing a great job getting everything ready, but I guess we’re going to have to pay for it,” Mr. Caldwell resigned.

“I’m a little disappointed that all the industry that’s coming into this area, that some of these taxes couldn’t be offloaded there,” added Mrs. Caldwell.

Mayor Preston explained that new industries like PowerCo and Vianode will not contribute to the tax base until they begin making products.

“That’s more than two years away. That’s a good distance away from when we start producing batteries and collecting taxes from PowerCo, or producing graphite and collecting taxes from Vianode. But we know it’s there,” he assured.

The largest item in the city’s operating budget is policing. The St. Thomas Police Services Board is asking for $21.6 million for policing costs in 2026. That’s up more than 22 per cent from $17.6 million in 2025.

Mayor Preston says the increase will allow the service to add five officers, along with a number of special constables downtown.

“Almost all personnel costs. Or if you want greater crime fighting and greater policing in that sense, then you need another platoon,” he explained.

St. Thomas council is scheduled to review the budget one more time, Monday, before it gets passed.