Budget Input 2025
Budget Input 2025
The City of Sault Ste. Marie’s budget is about creating a thriving, safe, and inclusive community where you belong.
As we prepare for the 2025 municipal budget, we invite residents and business owners to take part in shaping the future of our City. Your feedback is essential in creating a budget that aligns with your needs while ensuring a bright future for Sault Ste. Marie. Each year, City Council makes important decisions about funding the services you rely on—some budgets are increased, others reduced, and some remain unchanged. Your input will guide these choices, helping us prioritize what matters most to you.
All ideas gathered during this consultation will be carefully considered in developing the 2025 budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
The City’s budget is a financial plan that describes how much money the City will bring in and spend within a year. It determines the level of service provided to residents and guides decisions on what City infrastructure – roads, buildings, and public transit –will be purchased, built, and repaired.
The operating budget is like paying your house bills to keep the lights on. It covers day-to-day spending on services such as recreation programs, parks maintenance, city roads, transit, police and other emergency services. Just like in a normal household, our bills go up with inflation. Approximately 30 percent of the funds for the operating budget come from property taxes. The remainder comes from provincial grants, subsidies, and user fees.
The capital budget is your major outlay: vehicles, house, renovations, etc. It funds the City’s infrastructure that supports service delivery. It pays for the construction and repair of transit, roads, bridges, public buildings such as libraries, community centres, fire stations, and parks. The capital budget is primarily funded from reserves.
The City is required by provincial law to balance its operating and capital budget each year – which means that the money spent must be equal to the money raised.
To balance the budget, the City can either increase its revenues using tools such as property taxes and fees, or through managing expenses by changing or reducing the cost of services.
The City of Sault Ste. Marie collects taxes for the Province of Ontario (for school boards), levy boards and outside agencies as well as the City of Sault Ste. Marie.
For example, in 2024, for every dollar collected based on an assessment value of $200,000, the taxes owed for this property would be: $3,578. Below is a breakdown of where the propery tax dollars would be allocated.
| Budget Area | Tax Amount | Percent of Taxes |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate Support | $325 | 9.08% |
| Fire Services | $306 | 8.55% |
| Police Services | $691 | 19.30% |
| Public Works and Engineering | $523 | $14.61% |
| Winter Maintenance | $159 | 4.44% |
| Waste Management | $87 | 2.43% |
| Community Development and Enterprise Services | $80 | 2.23% |
| Recreation and Culture | $38 | 1.05% |
| Community Centres | $87 | 2.43% |
| Planning | $15 | 0.42% |
| Transit | $172 | 4.82% |
| Levy Boards and Outside Agencies | $546 | 15.26% |
| Economic Development | $9 | 0.26% |
| Capital Financing and Debt | $236 | 6.58% |
| Education | $304 | 8.55% |
| Total | $3578 | 100% |
Use the Sault Ste. Marie Property Tax calculator to get a better understanding of where your tax dollars are allocated.
Email comments and questions to budgetinput@cityssm.on.ca
Call the Finance Department at 705-759-5350
Mail suggestions to: City of Sault Ste. Marie - Finance Department, 99 Foster Drive, Sault Ste. Marie ON, P6A 5X6