Building Whitby's 2023 Budget

How the Budget Process Works

Each year, the Town undergoes a robust process to create an annual budget that delivers the services and programs residents and businesses rely on each day.

Check out the below videos to learn more about how your tax dollars are spent and how municipal budget decisions are made:

• How Whitby's Municipal Budget Works - learn more about how a municipal budget is put together, including the Town's operating and capital budgets
• Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) 101 - learn more about how your property tax is calculated

For more information on how Whitby uses Development Charges (DCs) to help manage the cost of growth, visit the Development Charge Background Study page on Connect Whitby.

Out of all the taxes you pay the government in a year, municipal taxes make up only 9% of the total amount. Of that 9%, the Town receives 3% from overall taxes to operate and plan for services and infrastructure that you use every day.

To help manage these year-over-year costs, expenses in the municipal budget are broken down into two categories: operating and capital budget.

Operating Budget:

This accounts for the cost of operating day-to-day services in the Town including:

• Fire and Emergency services
• Town Facilities (e.g. Iroquois Park Sports Centre, Whitby Public Library, Port Whitby Marina, Brooklin Community Centre and Library and Town Hall).
• Recreation programs
• Road maintenance
• Waste Collection
• Debt payments and transfers to reserves

Capital Budget:

The capital budget consists of larger investments that help us prepare for our community’s future growth. Examples of capital expenses may include:

• Infrastructure development, building and construction projects (e.g. building new roads, sidewalks multi-use paths, bike lanes and bridges)
• Park and greenspace improvements
• Fleet expansion and maintenance (e.g. purchasing new fire trucks and snow plows)

Have a question about the Town’s budget? Email budget@whitby.ca.