The president of the Chatham-Kent Association of Realtors (CKAR) is calling on the Ontario Government to remove its cap on Chatham-Kent for the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCID).
Barbara McCaughrin explained that the cap is hurting local taxpayers because they're being forced to make up for the lack of funding.
The municipality is set to receive $10 million from OCID in 2026, but municipal officials suggest it should be closer to $29 million when using the province's own formula to calculate each community's share.
The $19 million gap accounts for nearly half of the tax rate increase that property owners in CK are looking at in 2026. CK's council recommended a 4.63 per cent tax rate increase, with two per cent specifically due to the OCID cap.
"We are facing considerably higher tax rates than the other comparable communities across southern Ontario," said McCaughrin.
The cap, which also impacts Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay, was put in place to ensure no community gets more than 2.5 per cent of the $400 million being allocated.
McCaughrin explained she understands that the province is trying to be fiscally responsible, but there are other ways to do so.
In her opinion, leaving the cap in place puts the municipality at a disadvantage when trying to attract new people.
"Families considering relocation or businesses trying to expand their operations, the property tax rate represents a very critical factor in their decision-making," said McCaughrin.
Moving forward, she wants to see the province remove the cap, continue to find ways to be fiscally responsible, and for the municipality to also find ways to limit the tax impact on property owners since the cap doesn't account for the entire proposed increase.
