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Police in Durham Region are proposing a long-term funding plan that could push the region\u2019s total overall property tax increase above 10 per cent next year.<\/p>\n
If the plan is approved, estimates show total property taxes for Durham Region could rise between 9.02 per cent to 10.52 per cent in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Taxpayers would see annual increases in property taxes until 2036 under the service\u2019s 10-year financing strategy, created in collaboration with the region\u2019s department of finance. <\/p>\n
The suggested increase for police funds over the next decade peaks at 4.62 per cent in 2027, which amounts to roughly $173 per year, the region\u2019s commissioner of finance, Nicole Pincombe, said at a special council meeting on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The police portion of the annual property tax would then decrease each year after 2027, reaching 2.01 per cent in 2036.<\/p>\n
Police Chief Peter Moreira said the property tax increase will let the service hire enough members to support the region\u2019s needs and make overdue upgrades to aging and unsafe facilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur needs were 10 years ago,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But some councillors said they\u2019re concerned about how residents will manage the plan\u2019s costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Coun. Sterling Lee told CBC News he\u2019s \u201cwrestling [with] how to justify\u201d the proposed increases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve heard across the board in Ajax, in Durham Region, it’s that property taxes have become unsustainable,\u201d Lee said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Plan will fund new headquarters in Oshawa <\/p>\n
The police proposal comes after the regional council passed a 4.8 per cent increase in property taxes in January for 2026 \u2014 the majority of which went to DRPS.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That hike translated to an increase of about $14 per month for the average homeowner, approximately $10 of which went towards police, according to the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During Friday’s meeting, Moreira said policing is often scrutinized because it represents a significant portion of the property tax levy, but said \u201ccost should not be mistaken for growth.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said the service relies entirely on municipal funding for operational and capital costs. He also said the 10-year plan addresses long-standing issues within the DRPS. <\/p>\n
WATCH | Durham police officers with PTSD say the service challenged their benefit claims:<\/strong> Durham police officers with PTSD say the service challenges their workplace benefits<\/p>\n A CBC investigation has found the Durham Regional Police Service pushes back against some of its officers\u2019 PTSD claims. As CBC’s Rochelle Raveendran reports, officers say they feel betrayed after years of dedicated service.<\/p>\n Some aging police facilities are dealing with issues including leaky roofs, sewage backups and limited potable water supplies, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Funds would also go towards building an estimated $574-million police headquarters in Oshawa that would be used for education, training and professional development.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moreira said the building will be a cost-saving measure long-term, as the service spends about $5 million annually for leased spaces.\u00a0He also said DRPS is the only service in the province that doesn’t have a standalone police headquarters. <\/p>\n In total, Durham police are requesting roughly $1.14 billion in taxpayer funds over the next 10 years, which will go towards building the headquarters and several other new buildings, as well as renovations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moreira told Coun. Rhonda Mulcahy during Friday’s meeting that he\u2019s worried about the cost of his own property taxes, but said the increase is “an unavoidable cost.” <\/p>\n “The value is there for the services that we deliver,” he said. <\/p>\n Increase not realistic, councillor says<\/strong><\/p>\n But Mulcahy told CBC News the increased property taxes are not realistic, noting many residents are already struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not an anti-police issue, it\u2019s an affordability issue, and we need to be super aware and super careful with people\u2019s property taxes,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s council meeting was only to educate the council about the plan, meaning they did not vote on whether to approve it. A city staff report on the plan will be considered on Tuesday during a finance committee meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Coun. Chris Leahy sits on the finance committee. He said he\u2019s \u201cnot yet convinced\u201d about the need to make a billion-dollar investment to save roughly $5 million in lease payments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not the highest rate of return, in my books,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, I am open to being persuaded.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Leahy said he\u2019s heard from residents concerned about the cost of living, including the price of gas and food, but they\u2019re also concerned with keeping the community safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to balance both of those needs and see what we can achieve, but it needs to be done in a responsible way,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":783593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2147,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-783592","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116542982763807800","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778304680_872_default.jpg\")
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Coun. Rhonda Mulcahy said the plan’s proposed tax increases are not realistic as many residents are already struggling to pay their bills. (Town of Whitby)<\/p>\n