Hamilton’s Public Works staff presented a breakdown of its proposed $453.9 million budget for 2025 at this morning's General Issues Committee meeting.
Public Works is responsible for several essential services across the city, including garbage collection, road work and public transit.
In the 2025 proposed budget, $341.3 million of the total $453.9 million request is paid for from the property tax levy.
The Public Works budget represents around 1.2 per cent of the overall 5.7 per cent raise in property taxes proposed in the city budget. It is the second largest contribution to the percentage increase, next to Healthy and Safe Communities, which runs the city’s rec programs, housing programs, long-term care facilities and other essential services.
Some areas of the budget, like the city’s corporate facilities management department, which maintains city owned buildings including arenas, rec centres and long term care homes, are supported entirely by property tax.
The city’s engineering department’s most costly project in its proposed $64 million budget is the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Bridge replacement project on Dundas Street East in Waterdown. The project will cost the city about $7 million, the majority of which will be supported by property tax dollars.
Some of the main budget drivers are city contracts, employee salary costs and city vehicle and building maintenance and insurance costs.
Funding for each department:
- Corporate asset management – $19.3 million
- Corporate facilities and energy management – $37.5 million
- Engineering services – $64 million
- Environmental services – $51.3 million
- Waste management – $3.9 million
- Transportation – $41.1 million
- Transit – $110.8 million
The city plans to invest in 37 new full time jobs with Hamilton Street Railway, the city’s transit system, to offer more regular schedules throughout the city, including Waterdown. These additional jobs will cost an estimated $3.5 million of the $110.8 million transit budget.
Overall, the city is looking to add roughly 54 new employees to the Public Works department in 2025.
The 2025 city budget presentations wrapped up Friday with submissions from Public Works and Planning and Economic Development. Deliberations are set set to begin Feb. 7.
